a year of ethical fashion

so i spotted pip encouraging people to

join her in pledging to a

Year of Ethical Fashion 2014

#YOEF

now this is my kind of thing

i have for most of my adult life bought

second hand or upcycled clothing

i love buying from a maker when i can

i own plenty of clothes to meet my needs

& i'd like to join in a swap thing somewhere, sometime

oh & now i have been back sewing

clothes for me ......

these are small grass roots ideas that are not new

all of history has determined that our textile industry

requires of us to have these attitudes to sustain our resources

sub or lack of standard conditions for workers are not new either

what is new is that our world wide economy of scale

has escalated over the last generation+

we are not satisfied with what we need

our desires to have more

accesibilty to more economic clothing

& the hype of fashion that creates 

some kind of 'socially approving' desire

to want to have to use up & to discard

we have created an impossible whirlwind that our planet can not sustain

and

then there is the issue or what is 

fair????

fair conditions & fair payment

from the very production of textile fibers

to the actual garments

there are more and more companies

are joining in with supporting 'fair' & 'ethical'

Oxfam Australia regularly posts on their face book page

join in over there too ....

so in 2014 ..... i 'pledge' to be always mindful in 

shopping/sourcing for

clothing to wear for both myself & my family .....

that it be ....

:: bought from ethical makers 

= fair trade or handmade sellers

:: bought second hand

:: made by myself

:: be it already in our wardrobes

:: swapped or borrowed or gifted items

essentially i have what i 'need'

but in finding 'my-style' which is a

'first-world' fashion esthetic ..... 

i would of course like to have 'new-to-me' items

since May '13 i've made myself lots of new items

they are unique, fitted to me & my taste

& i can only hope that the people involved

in the production of the fibers were treated 'fairly'

who knows ..... probably not!?

but at least i'm half way to helping getting this 'right'

join in ....

the gift of sharing

a note on sharing

what do you share?

we share our lives with our family & friends

we share our love with special people who warm our hearts

we share our homes with people we care deeply for

we share our thoughts & wishes

we share our skills in our work place & in our homes

we share our gifts .... or do we?

way back last advent....
 ann our director of Wellspring spoke 

about the 3 wise men & their journey

a journey that for certain had many physical obstacles

those wise men carried gifts

gifts for a king

a king sent to save us all

sent to share his love
to share his word
to share his life

perfect model for all of mankind

got me thinking then & i keep revisiting about

how i share my 'gifts'

been reflecting on what my gifts are?
i am an artist, a maker & a teacher
i naturally want to share ideas

 ann made the point

that if we ALL actually 'shared' our gifts
instead of hoarding them for 'some day'

(when is 'some day'??)

the peace that we all search for would
'be'

God asks us ...

to share

to act justly

to love mercy

to walk humbly

Micah 6:8

in our 'humanness' we all find it hard to share
sharing means that we have to take a risk

we find ourselves overwhelmed with timetabled commitments

 with loyalties, we protect our individuality, we hoard
... or simply we are fearful

fear is such a powerful matter of the mind

that can cripple us from our path

now .... i'm going to
share
my thoughts about:

sharing & blogging

might be a touchy subject ..... 

so be warned or simply ... do not read on!

when you are a blogger you are naturally sharing

...sharing ideas or feelings or thoughts

its personal
(but its my blog so i can essentially blog what i like!)

i will often write in comments i leave for other bloggers
"thanks for sharing" .... as i appreciate what it takes to actually share!

when the un-spoken rules of blogging etiquette are ignored

its hard to take

hard because you've shared yourself

& then the response has not been
just
or humble
or respectful

in all of history there has never & never will be a vacuum of ideas

the history
of architecture

of art

of food 

of farming

of dance

of music

of literature
of science
of story telling

every single creative mind has been
influenced

so of course if you read a lot of blogs

then you to will be influenced & inspired

it kind of ...
is the point
!!

but the very personal element of this is ...

really the ideas of someone
albeit on their blog

are that person's intellectual property

so no one should really be
pinching ideas

the nature of blogging as an absolute has
no vacuum!
on one hand if you do not wish for your ideas to be 'pinched'
then simply don't blog about them
but what if they are purchased items?
when the detail has not been disclosed via multi-media?
what if as an original idea no-one 'owns' the copyright
but the way you've made something is uniquely yours as far as you know it to be?

so when we are influenced
 ... we pinch ideas or 'elements of'

it can't be helped in one sense

its why the www works

information & ideas spread quickly

nothing is original 

i've made plenty of things that have in no way

been my original idea

but as you may have read ....

i am proud of how i tweak it my way

so people ....
work on making it your way

& not directly or indirectly copying it
copying with no credit is not polite, its stealing, especially for gain
copying for no profit with no credit is still not polite
copying with permission & credit is the way to go
or simply make it completely different

i share from time to time

'how-to-make' stuff

often, none are my ideas essentially

but you know .... they've been given my wendy-tweak

so that makes them original right? ... or does it?
kind of yes but not
so i don't hold the 'rights' to them
yet does anyone?
grey area hey!

so 'share' people with full grace

share your ideas where appropriate
task risks
that way we'll all 'feel the love' ....
& the rebounds of sharing will be abundant!

if you'd like to make a comment on this subject you are most welcome

i may or may not choose to publish your words
if you have been a sharing blogger you too may have
found that sometimes sharing can backfire & be hurtful
perhaps even hurtful enough to not wish to share or blog-on?
not by anything you have done but from the actions of others
let me know how you handled it

if what i've had to say
'hits home'
 in some way

consider it, reflect on it ....

 i have considered these words long & hard
i hope that they will be understood as they are intended

so how will you use the gift you can give?

the gift of sharing?
take that risk
believe that the rewards will be great indeed
for if no one were to share
this world would be a very sad place indeed!

thoughts

i've heard this mentioned in different contexts over time

i like it

it makes sense to me

be kind to yourself & mind your soul ...

live with integrity

 

“Mind your thoughts, 

for they become your words.

Mind your words, 

for they become your actions.

Mind your actions, 

for they become your habits.

Mind your habits, 

for they become your character.

Mind your character, 

for it becomes your destiny.”

 

not sure who wrote it or where it came from

JOY of hearts desiring ...

i know this is an ad at the end but

i just have to show you ...

see

handmade inspires the soul

it obviously still has a place 

in our industrial revolution

we all know that

money makes those cogs revolve in industry

but how wonderful it is to step back & see

just how the handmade can cause you to pause ...

not sure a phone can do that!?

love the old wood forest & the sounds of stillness in this clip too

soap box tags ....

made some little extra tags for all my market items .... its a little preachy but i figure i have something worthwhile to say ...

"THANKYOU for choosing to own or gift this HANDMADE item ...

... it seems that in our Post-Industrial world as humans we have 'sold out' to the mindset that we 'need' to have it 'all'
& that it must come at the lowest price possible ...

the true COST of this 'need' is usually out of sight ... often ending with the people behind the factory turnstiles ... so in light of these thoughts THANKYOU kindly for supporting the concept of HANDMADE ... made with care by one human who'd like to encourage all to seek out the handmade, the up-cycled, the ethically made, the kind to earth & the unique objects of our world ... 

... not so that you have 'more' but so that you love what you have with an ethical & environmental mindset !!!"

I'm currently having ethical issues with where the cotton that makes the quilting fabrics I love comes from? how it is grown? use of pesticides? how the humans that help grow it are treated? & paid? & at what cost? how the cotton is transported? what kind of 'fabric miles' has it truly done & at what consequence? what other environmental impact this has & what kind of non-fair trade is evident? what kind of dyes & inks are used? how do they affect the environment? how do they affect the people using them? what kind of impact does this production cost have on water supplies? who & what issues are involved in the whole process? crikey .... we know more about eggs than any of this??

me thinks our chickens are more fairly treated than most likely the humans in this chain

... i still value of course our part in the world of handcrafts & art ...

that very need to create is innate & simply human at its roots

what do you think or know??