fair@square, peppermint and summer dresses

Next month I'm going to be showing several dresses of mine at the fashion parade of the Fair@Square Festival. It's at Fed Square in Melbourne on Sunday December 13th from 11am-7pm and all about embracing all that's ethical and fair trade.

As well as the fashion show, there's going to be panel discussions and workshops - t-shirt reconstruction, screenprinting, hat-making and kids craft activities. Plus you can shop for fair trade and ethical goods from over 50 vendors. I won't be selling, I'm just going to be presenting at the fashion show. Come along, if you're in the area! It's sure to be heaps of fun and educational, too.

The festival is being sponsored by the wonderful Peppermint Magazine, among others, which makes a good segway for pointing out that I'm in the latest issue, yay!

(click to enlarge)

I thought I'd show you some of the one-off dresses I've been making lately. I haven't decided which to present at the fashion parade yet. Your thoughts would be lovely!











Which do you like best?

WINTER IS HERE

Yes, I know I'm a bit late. Forgive me; I have pretty things for you to look at. I listed 40 cool winter threads in my Etsy shop today (and holy cow it took almost an entire day, crazy). Here are a few of my favourites.

heidiandseek on Etsy

Several of the oversized collar jumpers have disappeared already (which is awesome for knowing what to make more of next). So there will be more of those coming soon!

This is obviously not a traditional 'collection' where I make a bunch of things then I'm finished and done designing until the next season. That means I'll be making new things (from Friday) and will continue to list new things regularly again once I've caught up.

So! If you have any suggestions about things you'd like to see more of or less of, I'm all ears. Okay, now I'm imagining a person covered in ears. Gross.

the uniform project

It's rare that I find something online that makes me inwardly squee. But this has done it because it's fashionable, it's ethical, and it's just a really cool idea. From 'About the Uniform Project':

Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade's boudoir.

I'm jealous of her superb style and admiring of her ethos all at once. At least it's motivating me to get my style together, because lately I've just been wandering around in as many layers are clean. It is freezing here in Melbourne and I am not a cold weather girl. I suddenly want some cool sock/tight combinations...

You can add the Uniform Project via RSS to your blog reader for daily doses of sustainable style inspiration. Or just visit the site at The Uniform Project.

a little update in the midst of chaos

Hello ladies, sorry for the infrequent posts lately, but it's crunch time at uni! I'm stealing a procrastinatey break right now, but I have an assignment due tomorrow (it's about the Melbourne-based zine called YOU, anyone heard of it?). My computer has also been infected with a sneaky, pesky virus so I'm in the process of backing up all my stuff so I can reformat. Fun times!

Anyway, I was delighted to find my Georgia dress in an Etsy Finds article about repurposing used items into fashion goodness. You can check it out here because there are some delightful finds included. I particularly loved the Wooly Baby shop - cosy woollen slippers and shoes for little ones! They are adorable, made from preloved materials and very reasonably priced.

Mountain Laurel slippers by wooly baby

Purple mist baby slippers by wooly baby

Since it has been a month, here's a little hair update, following my shampoo-free post:

• My hair still feels and looks much better than before.
  
• On the second day after washing, my hair still looks clean, but gets flat after I brush it. I suppose that's a little inevitable and something that I could address with some hair product if I could be bothered, but I don't think it's worth the trouble. So I just tie it up in a ponytail, as I often do anyway, and it looks good as new.
• On the third day after washing, my hair kind of does the sticky-together thing in the fringe, which I don't like, so I wash it. It's still not as bad as the second day after washing with shampoo.
  
• It doesn't make a difference to my hair cleanliness if I use as little baking soda as possible to cover my scalp. Same with the apple cider vinegar - I just pour a little in the cup and then add water. I found that I was getting through my supplies too quickly and it was unnecessary. Less is more!
• I am enjoying making use of my shower cap.

If you've tried it too, do let us know how it's going and leave a comment!

Heidi & Seek in Peppermint magazine

The second issue of eco-friendly and ethical fashion magazine, Peppermint, is out on Monday. And a few of my pieces are included in the spread! That's my real girl dress in the shot above. The gorgeous cover was drawn by the talented Bec Winnel of My Charlie Girl.

Here's my review on the first issue. I was really impressed and I'm looking forward to the following issues.

If you're Australian, you can nab a subscription to the magazine for a tiny $35 ( including postage) until April 3. Check out the website for more details and stockists.

Backpacks and Round She Goes market

I love backpacks and don't quite understand why 99.9% of bags in stores are not backpacks. Unless I'm interested in wearing a sporty number with an Adidas logo on it or some such (I'm not). Bag-makers - there's a whole market there that needs taking advantage of! Stylish, unique, cute backpacks.

I've come to appreciate backpacks a whole lot more since I've had Ellie, because carrying her means I'm constantly having to rely on the strength of my arms and shoulders and neck. They are not appreciating it. Backpacks are much friendlier to my body than shoulder bags, especially given the amount of junk I seem to carry around these days.

For the past few months I've been on the look out for a cute second-hand or eco-friendly backpack for everyday use, to replace this one.


I got this in Thailand a few years ago. I still love it. Maybe I'll try to figure out how to convert it into a backpack at some point.

Anyway, I headed to the Round She Goes market on the weekend and found one. I intended to mention the market here before the event, but it completely slipped my mind, sorry ladies. It's for quality preloved and local designer goods. And I'm going to be selling at the next two markets in July and October! For those readers in Melbourne, check out the website for more details.

Here's the backpack I found for a whopping $5.


It reminds me of the early 90s a lot, but I like the fact that I haven't seen anyone wearing something similar recently. I was drawn to the plaid, the blue, and the cute drawstring. It's a good size. Hopefully I can make it look a little more current.

I also picked up this merino wool Country Road cardigan for myself, as well as a few other pieces to reconstruct for Heidi & Seek. I think the cardi is calling for a couple of ruffles at the neckline.


Here's what I wore. I forgot to take a picture in the daylight, but I was really pleased with the outfit and wanted to capture it despite the darkness.

Scarf: salvaged from mum's charity shop donations
Shirts: thrifted
Shorts: Had them forever, not sure of the brand. Mum shortened them for me before I could sew; they used to be knee-length.

Green indie wedding

Tim and I have been engaged for over a year now. We didn't set a date because a) we are naturally procastinate-y people and b) we didn't have enough spare cash to fund the event. Tim just got a raise so we're starting to plan the thing (by 'starting to plan', I mean we had a conversation that went, "We should start planning," and, "Yes. Yes we should.")

I really don't have much direction at the moment. I've only been to two weddings before, and I was a kid then. At age 22, I don't have the benefit of seeing what my friends have done first because none of them are married. I know that we don't want a traditional wedding. It won't be in a church, things won't necessarily be white, I won't necessarily have bridesmaids. It'll be small, green, indie. I don't want to buy new things that will just be thrown away afterwards, so we'll look for eco-friendly alternatives, or skip unimportant traditions altogether.

I'm starting with the dress, because it's probably the easiest. It doesn't necessarily have to be white (I mean, with a daughter I'm obviously not exactly 'pure'). Actually, I don't particularly like wearing white, anyway. I'd like it to be unusual, and preferably not exclusively for wear as a wedding dress. I'm thinking something with lots of layers and textures.

I'm inexperienced at making intricate, delicate dresses, but I might give it a try. I'll try to use reclaimed materials so I'm not impacting the environment so much. I've been looking for inspiration.

The doily dress by Armour sans Anguish

A new piece from the lovely Tawny (who I interviewed here). I love this. I haven't seen anything quite like it before. Loving the textures and the flattering fit, though I think it's too short for a wedding dress.

Grey sparrow dress by Makool

I love the pop of colour in this, and the asymmetry. It's gorgeous and unique. I'm stuck between whether I want a floor length or knee-length dress.

Vintage grecian gown from designarchives

This is much simpler than I'd like, but I'm liking the idea of the big bow and the asymmetry.

Antique lace pouf sleeve shrug by hollystalder

I put the white one there to show what the whole garment looked like, but I like the dusky purple one much more. Who would have thought a giant shoulder pouf would look so amazing?

Too many ideas, not enough time to test them all. I'm sure I'll be making a few trials. I'll keep you updated. I have yet to shop for materials.

Outfit favourites from the blogopshere

Some Girls Wander

Okay, so pretty much anything that Emily from The Black Apple wears, I adore. She has a cute classic style that doesn't seem to get boring even though she often dresses within a theme. Her pops of colour are also refreshing.

Hel-Looks

I'm a little iffy about the scarf, but everything else about this outfit is great. Particularly like the patterned tights, the smidgen of bright tangerine, and the round bottom hem of her coat. I'm not sure whether her tights are layered, but she's just given me the thought to experiment with that.

The Satorialist

I've been at uni or otherwise out for the past few days, and it seemed that plaid jackets similar to this one (a bit more 'bomber' in style, though) are everywhere. I automatically avoid 'all the rage' items on principle (even if I like them, i.e. gladiator sandals) but this girl's outfit makes it look fresh and I wouldn't say no to dressing like her.

The Coveted

The thing I love most about this outfit is the patterned dress coupled with a longer, deep purple skirt that pokes out at the bottom. I'm very much a fan of layered skirt-ing, especially when the colours are as complimentary as these.

Things to try:
Layering tights
Layering skirts
Incorporating bright, rich colours

Splurge

Ahh, I just splurged on this top and will henceforth blame it on being an early birthday present (my birthday is two months away).

Emerald Grey Blue by Replicca

I'm starting to wonder if signing up to her mailing list was such a good idea after all.

I'm aware of the fact that this is not, as far as I can tell, made using eco-friendly or recycled fabrics. But I guess the most important thing to me with fashion is that I'm not rewarding (paying) a company to keep exploiting garment workers. This hoodie does not. I think that ethical fashion is about having the knowledge to choose what issues important for you, and then reducing what you buy to select pieces that you will treasure and adore for a long time to come.

I'm quite unhappy with the extent of my wardrobe at the moment (although that may have something to do with the washing that's been piling up since before the fashion show). I guess everybody goes through that stage once in a while, where our wardrobe just feels old and a rejuvination is desired. I'll be reconstructing my own things when I have spare time, and largely keep my clothing to second-hand or self-made. This 'spare time' does not seem promising, as I just started back at uni, but we'll see how I go.

If you're interested in peeking at others' refashioned clothing, check out this inventive blog: Wardrobe Refashion.

"Participants of the blog pledge to abstain from the purchase of new manufactured clothing for the period of 2, 4, 6 months or LIFE. They pledge to refashion, renovate, and recycle preloved items with their own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium or make their own from scratch."

I really appreciate the values behind this idea. Huge props to Nichola for creating and maintaining this.

Also! I was interviewed in depth over at the modernemotive blog. I think that this is my favourite interview so far, the questions were fun to answer and the post ended up so pretty!

The Made It relaunch is here!

Made It is an Australian website for buying and selling handmade, and they've just had a complete overhaul. There's now favourites, a new look, and other nifty new things. I think they're still working out some of the kinks so it won't be perfect just yet. I've uploaded a slew of new things to my Made It shop. My favourites:

finders keepers dress

anchored top

rally singlet top

Check out the rest at madeit.com.au/heidiandseek.

And! Here's a sneak peek at what else I've been working on recently.


To be made into various accessories. Still working everything out. Who would have thought there'd be so much work involved in making and selling these little things?! Just thinking about planning packaging for them gives me a bit of a headache because I already have lots on my plate with the fashion show coming up this weekend. If you have any ideas for phrases to put on them I'd love to hear them. I've had a few more ideas since I made these, but haven't had time to create them.

I'm starting back at uni next week. I want to be there and I'm excited to be back, but I have no idea how I'm going to juggle everything. I need to be way more organised. I seem to have misplaced one of my three diaries, which isn't helping. I have a huge one for recording Heidi & Seek work, a weekly planner for personal, business and study events, to-dos and notes, and a mini one (which I lost) that I carry around everywhere to write things down in when I'm out. I want to start jotting down every purchase I make so I can cut down on the unnecessaries. Tim pokes fun at my having three, but they make sense, right?

For some reason, diaries make me happy. The kind of happy I get when I'm browsing in a Kikki K store. Just think about the pretty organisation prospects, oh my! I would love to have enough time to organise the entire house, crafting and thrifting along the way, and having a rightful place for everything. I think that's just a pipe dream at the moment though, unless we win the lottery or a house. Ah, what-ifs.

Australian fashion ethics to improve?

I now have a better idea of which Australian fashion brands I'm happy to support and which I'll actively avoid.

An Australian government review of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear industries has set out fifteen recommendations for long-term improvement. The review, called Building Innovative Capability, is a heavy read, probably not ideal for late night browsing. But I steamed ahead anyway. (By that I mean I read the recommendations and ignored/skimmed the other 142 pages.)

A few of the recommendations address ethics in the fashion industry. The one I found most promising was the one that suggests a new Australian Ethical Quality Mark, which would set standards for labour conditions, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. Another is to provide better protection for Australian homeworkers.

The review is currently getting submission responses from stakeholders in the Textile, Clothing and Footwear industries. Reading some of them (here) has put me off certain brands (though really, I no longer shop for women's clothing at any chain store).

The Just Group (Portmans, peteralexander, Jacqui E, Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Dotti) wrote, "We own the fabric and control the production process through a range of registered suppliers and believe that the general, unquantifiable proposals put forward in the Green Report will greatly reduce our confidence in effective Government assistance to local manufacture in the Australian clothing industry."

They also wrote, "Improved processes, supplier collaboration and the adoption of technology will see a traditional manual supply chain transform into a competitive, efficient and effective quick response supply chain." (source)

"Quick response supply chain"? Right. Fast fashion is not a good. I'd also like to know what their local manufacturing involves, and I have an inkling. You might interpret these quotes differently, but I don't trust their vagueness. In any case, they made no mention of agreeing with the proposed ethical standards.

I'm not sure what to make of the Pacific Brands submission (Bonds, Berlei, Dunlop, Grosby, Hard Yakka, Hush Puppies, Mossimo, Rio, Sleepmaker, Slazenger) in terms of ethics. They wrote about their disappointment with other parts of the review, but didn't mention the ethical items. (source)

A pleasant surprise was the Target submission, which said that they recommend "the development of a new Australian Ethical Quality Mark," and that they "strongly recommend that the introduction of such a mark would be globally aligned and not specific to Australian standards. If this was not the case, given the globalisation of the manufacturing industry, it would be meaningless." (source)

This is the case of high-end footwear label, Anna Fiori: "...although we are known Australia wide as leading manufacturers this alone cannot help us to compete with the onslaught of Asian imports (namely china). Although the product we produce is undoubtedly better quality than our cheaper imports we cannot offer retailers the big margins they can achieve by buying and selling the Asian import. Infact to quote one retailer 'if all the customer can buy is the Chinese import then we can sell it at any price.'" (source)

Disheartening. I truly hope that the proposed ethical standards goes ahead, that they are policed well and that there are adequate consequences for failing to comply.

Replicca: pocketed pulse protectors

Rebecca of replicca is pretty popular in the Etsy clothing world, so everything seems to sell out in a flash. She was also featured in Etsy's 'Quit your day job' series here. I always find the interviews in the series inspiring. Anyway, yesterday Rebecca did a massive upload and there are many pretties to be had.

Medium Black and blue

I am particularly adoring these pocketed pulse protectors.




They look like so much fun, and handy too, because there's a little pouch in them that holds things. And, awesomely, they're made from remnant fabrics.

Little leaves

Every piece is so ancient and plain that I won't bother naming brands

A quick pic of what I wore today. It was hot hot (yet again) so I put on this outfit, realised it was a bit boring, then got out my jewellery collection to spice it up a bit. These are two of my favourite necklaces, but I'd never thought to wear them together before.


I adore the result. In case you can't tell, they are: a multi-layered antique bronze necklace with leaf charms hanging from it, and a reed necklace handmade in Thailand with tiny multi coloured beads. I used to buy jewellery like nobody's business, but it's almost completely halted now since I don't wear it often and I don't want to buy unnecessarily. I already have nice pieces that I can pull out when feeling decorative.