reFashion Workshops- Call for Co Creative Partners

What if every day was filled with more creativity, fun, informative gossip, more community bonding activities, more LIFE!

The RE: FASHION  Network is seeking a permanent home. We are inviting  partners, co-operators, mentors, students, innovators, artists, no sewers and yes sewers, teachers, runway walkers and photo enthusiasts and well PEOPLE.

Fashion has been dominated by a way of thinking that no longer feels appropriate, as Fast Fashion is doing more harm, way more harm, than good.

I am writing a book which will cover and "prove" * this and make suggestions for alternative fashionable visions and actualizations. Think local talent! and innovative creatives...re-use is just a start.

*
"Prove" is one of those tricky words that defy absolute reason. In this instance,  I am addressing the environmental, the physical and mental, the social and the philosophical realm by unraveling history in a way that exposes some really strange habits our species accepted as "normal."  Realizing how and why information travels through cultures makes this "normal" a very suspect collection of ideas and outcomes. Then the fun begins!

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marcelprou107111.html

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

Marcel Proust

 https://www.facebook.com/reFashionWorkshop/

Please emai me at faithinart04 at yahoo.com, thank you.

 

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marcelprou107111.html

 

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marcelprou107111.html

FYI on DIY

Beautiful Soul from pages of ReMake It book

 ReFashion and Sustainability -partners in fashion futures 

& so not the dirty , sweatshop "progress" of the old world

 University of Washington Bookstore has great taste and terrific employees. 

Support local and we all rise together.

 

These new books at UW Bookstore prompted me to start pulling at the threads i will need to weave an opening design on something that now appears so obvious that i cannot imagine how i didn't like bump into it months, years ago!! This is the way the "reality" of what is possible shifts when you choose to see another, better "reality." The suddenness can take a long while and that is perplexing yet is where the faith kicks in, so makes another kind of sense.

Earlier that day, I had a great conversation on some of the Bible issues that have bothered me -what with the myth  deconstructing and all- this stuff jumps up and bites.

The greatest thing emerged and i was validated by a "man of the cloth," this was so validating. So wow, someone gets me and that some one wants to continue the conversation. Date and time have been put on calendar.

Then i went to browse the books and saw titles that revived my sparks for reFashion. The fire had been doused with the closing of the Kerf Gallery and was further damped after the Seattle Community College Continuing Education Course manager told me "no one was interested" in these kind of classes.

The school is pushing  big business plug ins, as in deeper tunneling into the current mainstream vision -so leaping is probably not on their radar.

But these books, full of  people and design companies i met during my trips to London, made me happy! Here is further proof of common goals and supportive community working to manifest a new way of thinking!  tThere it is , right there...and it hit me.

Project Talent Hub has been reignited. The Serendipity Trail is now unfolding (unfurling as i wrote to a key person minutes ago today)

I think i hear the uni-verse hum. More will follow, as the lyrics emerge.

Choices, really?

"The idea of 'choice' is what drives us to export all the risk, disorder and poverty out of the gated community of the West and into other parts of the world, so that we can enjoy shopping. We live in a fantasy culture, a culture of comfort. We must always have choice, even if someone else has to pay for it, even if it's not really real. We're so obsessed with this that it's an article of faith with us that 'you can be anything you want to be.' This is essentially a politics of masturbation." -- M. John Harrison

I tripped over this while trying to to get down to homework. Immediately the conversation about "choices" at Revolution Books yesterday, took the stage. We discussed how in the vast array of similar products, services and skills, there is just a small boring range of all the possibilities. Limited by profit margin speak, we have become entrenched and almost buried in stuff. This is one of those weird juxtapositions that beleaguer our culture.

When i walked in i was recognized from my sustainable fashion lecture on Youtube (sweet ) that ended with the stenciled "Capitalism is Boring." Better, the same day the women of Revolution B watched the video, a young man had come into the shop and said "Capitalism is boring." Love this!!

Law of attraction or a vibration in universe that just starts humming? Paying attention to this magick is fun and rewarding. It returns that sense of wonder and joy that dropped off somewhere after becoming a "grown up." Hallelujah, it was only a plateau, one can recover.

Next surprise, a fundraiser dinner and a movie on November 10th for the bookstore. The movie: Banksy's "Exit Through the Gift Shop" yes!! Every time i stand up in a group wrapped in head to toe, protective denial, i tell them i am bringing an elephant into the room (in my head i see the Banksy elephant (graffiti-ed with non toxic face paint) It gives me grins and courage.

See you at the movies!

Poster Power

The Non Toxic Revolution poster is on Broadway, a bit north of John and i circled the block and stopped in the road to get a photo. (No one was behind me!)

It was great to see this announcement, all bold and beautiful and because i personalize things as gifts from the Universe, i felt validated.

We, in the trenches of sustainable activism, the eco designers and innovators, the greeners and social justice advocates, the vegans and scientists, all of the people who are determined to change the course of of this slide towards disaster, get a lot of bruises. ("Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds." Einstein )

However, taking the planet's diversity and who knows what else, back thousands of years, is just stupid and intolerable. This is not the rerun anyone really wants to stage. So, we that push boundaries, continue.

Sometimes we feel very alone and confused. Then a spark lights the path and we know we are to go on. And as more awareness shows up more often, we feel we must be doing something right and our spirits soar.

Just because most of what we have learned came from the past, taught by experts on getting "here" and is reflected in our laws, policies and regulations doesn't mean we have to continue to cater to it It is a problem, but it is not beyond our collective capacity to overcome.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." (Because one "Einstein" is not enough)

The paradigm is changing as we grow towards the light of a living universe.

Clean Clothes

What do we know about the manufacturing practices that create "the style" that gluts the stores?

I know a little, as am always digging up the information. But most of us learn only about the end product from marketers and their allies in the media, who tell us what is hot and then shame us for wearing it a few months later. This arrangement is an almost perfect waste generating, resource gobbling mechanism that assures the corporations who now own most of the labels, a stream of "reliable" revenue.

But under the hype and gloss, the illusions and lies, are very real people, resources and toxic processes.

Ok, a lot of us are calling all of this out on the carpet of shame, as no way can this form of capitalism continue. Eventually the resources are used up, the environment tainted and the humans that feed the c-machine are too unhealthy to bother with shopping. The few predators who end up on top of the world will be sitting on dead soil, tainted air and foul water. Like how is that a win even in corporate speak?

So if that scenario makes zero sense in your awakened state, then do something! It gets easy to ask front line employees about the products and services they are involved with selling. Simple questions like " do you know where this was made, is it a Fair Trade item, is this really organic, because that certified label like, means almost nothing in the USA, etc. can open up brilliant discussions. This generates today's knowledge. Facebook in real face time.

"Labor Behind the Label" has a pocket insert you can download from their site and slip into jean pockets while still in the store. LBL is trying to call attention to and therefore stop the lung damaging sand blasting practices that some jean labels still use, despite the known health risks.

Together we will stop the madness.

Propaganda, Inc.

Propaganda Inc. Selling Americas Culture to the World by Nancy Snow (2010) is a must read for everyone. Really, if we don't understand the game we can't change it.

Fast fashion and the wastemaking darma of the American Dream is awakening to be the Nightmare we didn't see coming. Now, as a culture locked by laws and regulations into a dis-eased economic system based on the industrialist vision, we are a socially, environmentally, culturally and economically unsound nation that appears to still be bragging. That is embarrassing!!!

However, many visionaries are working hard to build the new infrastructure with positive actions based on a healthy mental shift that utilizes todays science ( more than green ). We do not have to be part of the problem to be a 'success,' (?) we can be instrumental in building the healthier future.

Anna Herman on the Air

red silk Anna Herman dress

well not actually. On the air was a term used for analog radio days, but now? Air plays a part as sound waves travel through the air unless one is using a headset or earbuds to channel the vibration. Still and all, on the air sounds nice.

Besides it's the content that counts and my friend Anna Herman spoke right up last week on Womens Radio.com to let the USA know we of the eco fashion world may be small in numbers but we are passionate, dedicated and growing. Helping each other help the world change some industrial model fashion concepts is a big job, but we are doing it anyway.

Fashions ability to enslave some very sophisticated and intelligent women for centuries is getting a shakeout as we now understand that looking, feeling, being and enabling good is do-able and a standard we want to share with everyone. We are the world and we are next door, we care and we ask you to care as well, it really does matter and it will make a huge difference.

Nicole Bridger

Vancouver Eco Fashion Week 9/2010

Red Jade

Vancouver Eco Fashion Week

More Elena Garcia

enjoy!

the Waterline chapter

Springing ahead despite the weather. Water color blues and light fabrics are pulling me.

Water is a huge issue but don't just trust me, listen to Sandra Postel -a Post Carbon Institue Fellow and think for yourself.

The waterline skirts will be featured in an afternoon event at the NW Center. I will be leading a discussion that starts with the skirts former lives on April 23. I hope for an inter-generational, multi sexual mix to gather for a this focused conversation all around fashion and refashion. It will be a great way to learn a lot about each other and the recent history of "dressing" The how and why we wear what we do intrigues me Its a fascinating way to undress (address) sociology, anthropology, cultural mores etc.

Please check with the NW Center for more info.

Sustainable Fashion- how one industry is re-inventing itself

Obvious self promo here, but i need to start supporting this work in another manner as i have pretty much run out of things to sell! Book this ultra fab lecture at Teachstreet.com

The dead mic, dark space and no extra lights ( gonna get me some roadies one day!) the awkward set up with the remote on the fritz....all of this couldn't stop Cynthia, Mom and me from going on with the show!

The live event was about 1 1/2 hours long , and could've gone longer as the discussions were still going strong. However it was a classroom setting with time limits. I really love how so many shared information; its such a fun, surprising and intuitive way to learn.

Sending Forward

"never forget"

and the beat goes on

Had another selling weekend for the fashionRIP Project and sustainable ideals everywhere.

I have been consistently surprised by these "open house" sales that started in May! The conversations has been stimulating and educating. It morphed into an experiment on how to explain and promote the project and what it stands for. This has been a major task because what "i see" is a 5 d plus picture and translating it into words .....well still a work in progress.

Then a returning guest shows up sporting an item she purchased at the debut sale and it all makes sense. Not in some literally translatable fashion but in the context of the whole and it is sublime!

PS the photo caps have links with visual aids....the better to message you, m'dear!

Dior NYC near 5th Ave

the next day

the first day

Had to point out the drag lines across the bust, this top looks uncomfortable even on a mannequin! The gathers (fullness) aren't where they're useful! I took the photo to add to my "famous designer delusions" file. Funny thing is that the next day i walked by and the window had been changed ....spy cams are everywhere in NYC, but there? Anyway it goes to show that we all can add to positive changes; so the next step is to slow the fashion cycle and develop sustainable economies that don't waste resources or need growth to survive- ideas welcome!

recyCouture dress No. 2

Illustration in marker, fabric, thread and paper of Dress 2 for the Verge chapter of fashionRIP. The illustrations are for the altered book; which is an element of the installation of this first chapter.

Mixed mediums 1

a fabric and paper collage of a recyCouture suit to be shown in Verge.

Show must Go On

Well, I haven't heard from Bumbershoot so I am guessing this year is out; however new support opportunities for this collaborative installation are peeking over the horizon and I am courting them because this isn't a mere flirtation. nope this is the real thing.

How can a fashion, video, photo, music, painting interconnect /mash up with an activist backbone and a sustainable heart, how can that not be exciting, interesting, fun, informative.....As an installation it will be more than entertainment. it will be a catalyst that grows possibilities; for once a person sees through an idea or theory or they challenge a construct of culture, they change their perceptions of the world and their place in it.

We humans thrive on change and challenge (see Brain Fitness on PBS anyone?) so beyond the eco, enviro, socio and politico issues it's also good for our health.....kind of proves the shake it up instinct!

Victorian Mourning For Species on the Verge

of Extinction

this is the title of my work in progress... the recyked dresses will be featured in a video and if the universe is willing the lot will be part of an installation at Bumbershoot. I say part because some amazing local talents have responded to my queries and will also show....you won't want to miss it!

Welcome to FashionRip

Restylers rip to sew, eco fashion designers use sustainable fabrics and processing, recycouture is one of a kind and usually involves hand or detail work. Recyked is anything renovated from something else.

Those who prefer vintage are fashion aware and appreciate the quality and the aesthetics of the past. The wearers of vintage have always had a stylish foot in sustainability. Thrift store and yard sale finds are great; however there really is such a thing as too much.

Anyone have other terms that they use in this sensibility? Please send them in with the definition so we can all get a nice working vocabulary. To own the language is to own the concepts and a way to maintain a viable structure that will facilitate growth. Its street up, savvy, sane and soon to be soaring as fast fashion falters by default.

Welcome and please let me know if you want to create collaborative crossings with links, pictures, tips and ideas.