Monday 22nd January: Patternity X John Lewis "POSITIVE PATTERNS"

I’ve been a fan of pattern powerhouse “Patternity” since their inception and enjoyed following their success from screen printing tights to exhibitions, events, book deals and collaborations such as The Imperial War Museum and Clarks shoes.  The latest and most epic venture is with John Lewis to bring a range that merges home and fashion of over 100 pieces. The collection is called ‘POSITIVE PATTERNS’ with the concept to address and inspire positive rituals and flowing transitions in daily life.

My flow has literally been inspired with the athleisure line which I wore to Chromayoga before the official launch over the road at The Ace Hotel.  A whole day of workshops was laid on to to dig deeper into the themes of the collection, focusing on both our wellness and also practically using the pieces.  This involved mindful marble printing to match their gratitude journal and a meditation practise supported with the sweat towel and cushion!

Organic cotton and recycled materials have been used on these items where possible and designed to be multifunctional and inspire mindful living.  The event taught us that by taking time out for ourselves during a working day is ultimately more productive.  So it’s a double whammy of relief to our consciousness to be assured that the items are ethically produced.  Another bonus has resulted by John Lewis researching and adopting these manufacturing processes so that it will carry into other products across their departments.

So, congratulations Anna & Grace for both this beautiful collection and for actively championing Fair Trade practises to one of the county’s biggest high street retailers!

Thursday 21st December: Emma Aitchison Jewellery workshop for Hackney Arts, Part 2

Following on from the previous post at Emma Aitchison's jewellery studio to her wax ring workshop for Hackney Arts.  In the two hour session we got to discover the process of this traditional craft and also see Emma's work to inspire us to find our own style to sketch a design.  From using the selection of tools I sculpted the jewellery wax to translate my 2D drawing into a 3D model.  With this original carving, Emma then took it back to her studio to turn into a finished polished metal.  Here is my final piece which I'm in love with and can't believe that I managed to make from scratch without knowing the technique beforehand.  That's the beauty of this initiative.  It's not necessary to have previous knowledge of any of the arts featured so you can turn up on the day to experience something new and create a tactile result to take away.  

Find out more about the Hackney Arts manifesto in the previous post and check out the timetable of upcoming events here.

Thursday 21st December: Emma Aitchison Jewellery workshop for Hackney Arts

We're all watching Blue Planet from the comfort of our couches, witnessing Polar bears and Walruses struggling to find some ice to sit.  It's heart-wrenching facts that we feel totally useless and unable to do anything about in reversing the effects of devastating pollution.  It shouldn't take a David Attenborough documentary to really bring these issues to our attention.   I'm sure if the world's leaders didn't have anywhere to rest, they would do something about it straight away, but until it's on their own doorstep its going to be scarily slow progress.  

So it's encouraging to see that it's not only campaigners communicating this situation but also artists and craftsmen.  Here is the studio of Emma Aitchison who is a dedicated "planet conscious sustainable brand" and bases her designs on weather systems.  Here you can see bangles formed from NASA satellite maps of lost ice and glaciel retreat.  They are beautiful shapes derived from natural narratives such as mountain gradients or volcanic lava molten rock.  Emma's interpretations of natural phenomena are hand crafted from fairtrade materials for a completely ethical package.  Her ethos and methods start from the hand-made domestic process to the wrapping in recycled packaging.  As a member of NDG (No Dirty Gold) all sourcing of metals and gems is sustainable to ensure conflict-free materials.  In this way she's simultaneously promoting ethical practise in addition to her concepts of climate change patterns in the aesthetic.

Each collection and commission is unique as every piece is individually hand-crafted.  Thanks to Hackney Arts I had the opportunity to learn some of these traditional jewellery techniques with Emma at her wax ring workshop tailored for the programme.   Her talents are just one from a wide range of multi-disciplinary designers teaching their skills via the Hackney Arts platform.  The scheme has been set up to give creative opportunities to residents, providing a platform for local artists to share their work. The social enterprise uses the power of creativity to make a positive impact on the lives of individuals within the community by bringing everyone together.   Studios are opened for viewing and local landmarks host the events such as the Geffrye Museum for the wax ring workshop.  Closed spaces are opened for investigation and there is even a session of wild wood foraging in the next term of classes!

Head over to the site to see the full listings from floristry, herbals, Henna design, graphics, ceramics and poetry to tie-dying!  There's also another chance to take part in Emma's workshop .............. see more in the next post.

Sunday June 12th: MCM X Christopher Ræburn SS17

For S/S 2017, Christopher Ræburn debuted a capsule sustainable textile collection for MCM in celebration of the luxury travel label’s 40th anniversary.  The show's theme "made to move" was presented in this 360-degree digital screen which projected weather pattern film, flying around the circular space.  It was totally cosmic, beginning with the collection's camo print and ending in a sonic solar system of stars.  The Bavarian flag colour palette has been made from breakthrough technological fabrics as MCM has committed to becoming fully sustainable by 2020.  In amongst all the speculation of change to the industry's seasonal schedule, that's the best news all week!  Here's to the future............