Good Morning!!

Thought I would quickly share a really good column I just found on the Independent Newspapers website...I was trying to find an article where she talks about owning her own sheep to make her own jumper (What do you think are the chances of me keeping a little sheep in the corner of my flat without anyone noticing are?!) but alas I seem to have lost it, anyway I began reading her other columns and she's really good at tracking down little independent companies that are changing her way of seeing fashion...

http://sanjidaoconnel.livejournal.com/

Today was great...yet incredibly busy...especially with blooming tube replacement buses to contend with!!

Anyway...today at the V&A they held "Swishing party" where everyone was encouraged to bring an old vintage find that they didn't wear anymore and exchange it for something they liked the look of!! The queue was extensive and with everyone clutching their raffle ticket ready to pounce I got a little scared heehee!! 

To begin with we got tickets for a lovely lecture by Elizabeth Laskar about "restyling your wardrobe", which turned into a little clothes tips session as well as a great overview of her interpretations of ethical fashion, why the Ethical Fashion Forum is a great way for like minded people to connect and what is being done by small designers that is slowly making the fashion industry rethink their 'fast fashion' attitudes! She was lovely and even allowed us to ask a few questions relating to our Forum for the Future project!!

Afterwards Katie went off to swap her wares and me and Ivan went to explore two rooms that had been dedicated to bespoke tailors from some Saville Row stores, they openly spoke to us about the aesthetic preference to fabrics over their ethical stance...although as a suit stays in peoples wardrobes for decades is it sustainable from a longevity stance?!



Elizabeth Laskar's lecture props



The swapping commences



and again..



Thee worst designed toilet ever..I felt like Alice in Wonderland!



Henry Pooles & Co window on Saville Row



Carnaby Street lights



Interesting old Singer sewing machine display in All Saints window



Absolutely lovely christmas tree display in United Colours of Benetton's window display...I want some for our tree!!

Another big project I have on at the moment is my Personal Project....at first I was very overwhelmed and because sustainability as a whole is a huuuuge issue I didn't know where to start, what I wanted to focus on, what was most beneficial for my learning and progression in the course and whether what I love doing could connect into it easily without me repeating myself...I still have a few of these issues to work through but have decided to progress with an idea that has been with me for a while...I love wool, yarn, knitting, everything related to these topics but have always wondered what happens to the old jumpers someone has lovingly hand knitted you but no longer fits? Why is there not a bigger market for 'recycled wool'? I want to bring life back into old discarded/broken knitwear and research into the possibilities of creating new 'fashionable' items...how many can I create with one unloved item?..only time will tell!!...

Our new project at university is in partnership with Forum for the Future and Levi's...It has turned into quite a challenge and really hard for us all to get our heads around but the ideas we have generated so far have been really interesting and I cant wait to develop them more!! Working in a group (we are scenario 3 - a slow and fragmented world in 2025!) is so rewarding if a little challenging to combat all our different personalities at times!! Its a pleasure working with such motivated people and is great to know were all reliant on each other to produce the best project we can!!...three weeks to our deadline and the pressures on...I am concentrating on the raw materials side of the project which gives me a a great opportunity to expand my knowledge on local skills that have been lost through the generations and research deeper into the British wool industry which I am already fascinated with!!

I love Bonfire night...I love fireworks...I love the smell...I love everything about wrapping up really warm and watching sparkly things shoot in the sky all night!! I had a lovely train ride up to Newcastle to see my lovely boyfriend, and we had a great time with sparklers and a mini picnic near his house whilst watching all the fireworks going off around Newcastle and Gateshead!! 

On the Saturday we took a trip to the seaside and had a great time walking along the pebbly beaches up to a castle then had an amazing fish and chip lunch mmmmm...

Julia and I successfully played our LMB DVD to everyone...we we're slightly prepared for a backlash from others about the fact that there shouldn't be that amount of textile waste in the first place, and is it right to ship it over to Africa for them to deal with? however in our opinion the fact is that the society we live in today accepts the sheer amount of waste we create and there is a major waste issue...at LMB they sort through the waste and only send re-saleable clothing to Uganda - where there is no viable textile industry at the moment to sustain themselves - we are not saying that it should continue this way forever but at the moment is it not good to be giving people over there a chance to earn a wage and create their own businesses rather than rely on charity?!

Here's our link to the short animation (Julia's poem is amazing!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srYvvaigZ-E

Not that I celebrate halloween but due to my sisters birthday being close by and it happening to fall on a weekend it was an easy chance for a catch up when I returned back to Bolton for a family/friends weekend!!

My little sister turned 19 on the 4th of November so we decided to all get together as a family back in Bolton to give her her presents (which she had conveniently written in an email list to us all haha!!) She appeared to like them (whats not to like about posh make-up?!) and cute bags heehee!?!

On the 31st I met up with a lovely bunch of friends and we had a highly sophisticated meal (heehee!) before turning all 80's and going to watch a re-run of American Werewolf in London...I had never seen it before but would definitely recommend it for a cheesy night in!!

I also went and visited Caroline and David who we're really lovely and let me into their home to have a look at their spinning wheel and fleeces, They have the most amazing craft room with a hand made loom (made by David) and every type of fibre and craft implement you could ever think of!! I had a great time learning how to spin and a spinning wheel is definitely at the top of my christmas wish list now!!

After a leisurely morning with all the family, me and my sister both went our opposite ways (up to Leeds and down to London) with long journeys ahead of us...Megabus slightly failed me by being over an hour late but I guess I saved a lot of money on the ticket anyway!!

Wow...well I have been very very lax about this blog lately...so much has been going on...and late nights/early mornings/travelling north a couple of times, that time has flown by without me having a chance to write it all down...sooooo here it is...catch up in pictures and bullet points!!...

The absurdity of this is they are about 8....and are already trying to con money out of peoples attempts to help others by donating clothes...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KnzOd5WlA

As Sunday afternoons dictate now is the time to catch up on bad tv, eating leftovers and apparently perfect blog updating time!! Well this week has been full to the brim with old friends and new friends popping in and out of my daily life as well as a full uni schedule!! Sunday hailed the arrival of my lovely friend Kellie and after a fruitless wait in a hotel lobby for her 'too tired' uni group we decided to go it alone to the V and A to soak up some historical fashion culture!! We managed to revisit the "Telling Tales" exhibition before it closed...the fairytale furniture journey was amazing...as you wound you way further and further in crossing at first 'normal' objects which then at second glance revealed amazingly intricate designed pieces (I especially liked the gold plated tables made of a factory stand with the table top made from the billows of smoke rising from it, and the 'Adam and Eve' inspired wardrobe set out with branches as coat hangers all surrounded by individually glazed leaves).



Monday was university morning time, we then went on the hunt for fabrics on Berwick St, the ranges were amazing (some astoundingly expensive!!) but for quality and choice the Cloth House had an amazing array of different fibres and textures.



After a quick trip to The National Portrait Gallery, soaking up the vast array of nineteenth century paintings we had a wander around China Town and Soho before a trip into Hamleys for a bit of grown up fun!!

I had a good lecture on the techniques of Oral History and the importance of professional interviewing techniques in the evening before heading out for a quick drink for Julia's birthday...cozy pub and pear cider = sleepy Zoe!!

Tuesday consisted of a trip to CosProp on Holloway Rd, Kel had organised this and asked if I would come along so I didn't really know what to expect...what I didn't expect was free reign to look through all the costumes from The Dutchess and Evita to Pirates of the Caribbean and From Hell!!...I know I sound like an utter geek but actually being able to see first hand the detailing and skill that goes into each costume was amazing..and I got to touch Johnny Depps headband and sword heehee!! 




 
 After another quick stop off at the V and A to try and source some 1800's fabric patterns (to no avail...must be hidden somewhere eh Kel!!) I sadly said goodbye to Kellie and headed off to swap her for an equally lovely Geordie!!

After shunning the prospect of another hour bus journey we decided to wander around the exclusive area surrounding Sloane Square and Knightsbridge...oh how the other half live eh!! The Saatchi Gallery raised some interesting 'debates' between me and my other half as to what constitutes art (I think we both agree brown tape and bubble wrap stuck to a wall wasn't really to our taste!!) and we decided to head back up to slum it around Regent Street heehee...searching for a good old pub that showed the United match no less....actually turned out to be harder than I imagined...





 So after leaving him still searching for one I headed back to Uni to catch a really exciting lecture held by Helen Storey and Sandy Black called "Clash Collective". It brought up some really interesting theories to do with designers interacting with scientists to create a more technologically advanced sustainable world. I cant wait for the next lecture which involves the links between fashion and emotion and how emotive interactive design could affect our fashion choices in the future!!

On Thursday me and Julia had organised to visit LMB's waste textile recycling plant in Bow, It was a great eye opening trip and the family run business was so welcoming to us, the statistics that were revealed were astounding and to see the sheer amount of waste clothing produced in just the central london area really hit home about the wasteful society we live in!! ...I am going to write up a full piece on here with pictures later on...so i'll leave you in suspense!!