Posts Tagged ‘Upcycling’

Review: London College of Communication Green Week, 6th-10th February 2012

Between the 6th-10th of February 2012 The London College of Communication hosted a vibrant Green Week at its Elephant and Castle building with super special guests such as Supermarket Sarah, Skip Sisters, Garudio Studiage, Magnificent Revolution and Food for Good

Written by Maria Papadimitriou

LCC Green Week 'Urban Farming Installation' by Deborah Moon

Urban Farming Installation by second year Interaction & Moving Image students as part of LCC Green Week illustrated by Deborah Moon

Within an atmosphere of playfulness and improvisation the London College of Communication organised a Green Week between the 6th and 10th of February - part of the nation wide People and Planet Green Week. It was packed with workshops, pop-up installations, film screenings and talks aiming to encourage students to share ideas for improving sustainability in their creative practice and at home. Under the motivational general title 'You Can Make a Difference' the week explored the themes of 'found', 'upcycle', 'change', 'waste' and 'activism'. Every day of the week the upper galleries of the college hosted both student led initiatives and the work of invited creatives.

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An interview with Victoria Foster of The Aviary

Victoria Foster and Ben Fletcher began The Aviary as a way to make the most of their hoarde of vintage goods, creating gorgeous upcycled jewellery and charms with an illustrative twist.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Victoria wears the Darling Jane Detachable Peter Pan Collar.
The Aviary is the brainchild of two fine art graduates, Victoria Foster and Ben Fletcher. In late 2009 the project began life …

London Art Fair 2012 Review: Part Two

Part two of this year's London Art Fair review details work from galleries such as Byard Art, Woolff, The Contemporary London, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Vigo Gallery and Bearspace.

Written by Amelia Gregory

You’ve read the first part of my London Art Fair 2012 round up, now catch up with the rest… starting with Elisabeth Lecourt of Byard Art in Cambridge who creates …

London Art Fair 2012 Review: Part One

The London Art Fair is very much a mixed bag: loads of not very interesting art interspersed with some real gems... Read on to discover the best new talent and trends, from the likes of TAG Fine Arts, Danielle Arnaud, JaggedArt, Rebecca Hossak and Jealous Gallery.

Written by Amelia Gregory

London Art Fair 2012. Detail of Andrea Mastrovito’s Gulliver’s Travels.
You may remember from my previous blog that the launch of The Catlin Guide for the best graduate artists took place …

Vintage Tea Party, by Angel Adoree: Book Review

A cook book with a difference: Vintage Tea Party guides the reader through the whole process of putting on an old school tea party, with style tips galore amongst the recipes, and lots of wonderful illustrations.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Time for one final book review before Christmas. Tea and Cake, enjoyed in all their fashionable old style glory have never been more popular – I suppose it’s a retaliation …

Contemporary Patchwork and Quilting at Papered Parlour with Cassandra Ellis

On Saturday 9th April I spent the day working on my very first quilt at the Papered Parlour in Clapham. It was a wonderful chance to upcycle some fabrics that I've been carefully hoarding for over 20 years...

Written by Amelia Gregory

Papered Parlour fabric blooms at the Quilting class. All photography by Amelia Gregory.
Since I went to the fantastic V&A quilting exhibition last year I have become somewhat fixated on learning …

Junky Styling Junky Air and Ju.St A/W 2011 Catwalk Show Review

Junky Styling eschewed the official London Fashion Week schedule to show their A/W 2011 Junky Air and Ju.St collections on Tuesday 29th March at the Old Truman Brewery. It was bloody fabulous.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Junky Styling A/W 2011 by Olivia Rose.
This was apparently the first catwalk show that Junky Styling have staged in two years, and I’m rather ashamed to say the first that …

Silversmith me: Jewellery upcycling workshop at the Papered Parlour

Grandma’s brooch with the broken pin is no longer confined to the jewellery box, but swinging on a chain in its new life as a necklace. The Papered Parlour’s silversmithing class is full of little histories given a new lease of life. With illustrations by Naomi Law, Madi and Avril Kelly.

Written by Jessica Furseth

Illustration by Avril Kelly
There’s something about coming out of the Tube in an area where you’ve never been before. I realise this is an extremely London-centric point, but bear …

London Fashion Week A/W 2011 Catwalk Review: Clements Ribeiro

Clements Ribeiro: ethical fashion meets the catwalk, bringing original prints and vintage features and longer, leaner sillouhettes - with illustrations by Avril Kelly and Jenny Robins!

Written by Akeela Bhattay

Illustration by Avril Kelly
Finally escaping the intermittent drizzle, I find myself standing in a beautiful hall within the restored Northumberland House in Trafalgar Square. The ornate ceiling is touching the …

London Fashion Week A/W 2011 Catwalk Review: Prophetik (by Amelia)

Jeff Garner opened Vauxhall Fashion Scout with his Artist Wonderment collection on Friday 18th February. This is our FOURTH blog about his lovely catwalk show. Yes really. With yet more wonderful illustrations.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Prophetik A/W 2011 by Gilly Rochester.
I will confess now. I may have gone over the top. Yes, this blog is positively popping at the seams with illustrations. And it’s the …

Marina Spetlova: creating fabulous upcycled fashion garments from zips

Yet another Central Saint Martins graduate doing exciting things with fabric: Martina Spetlova's latest collection makes clever use of deadstock zips. Definitely an ethical designer to watch.. this is a taster of her interview in ACOFI.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Martina Spetlova S/S 2011 by Krister Selin.
Fashion designer Martina Spetlova hails from Bohemia in the southern part of the Czech Republic. She studied Chemistry and Biology at university in Prague …

Lu Flux: playful upcycled ethical fashion design

Lu Flux creates amazing clothes out of fabric scraps. Here's an excerpt of her interview in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Lu Flux S/S 2011 by Lesley Barnes.
Lu Flux was born Elizabeth Flux, but gained her delightful moniker thanks to her little brother’s inability to say her full name. She hails …

Hetty Rose: how to create beautiful shoes from old kimonos

Shoe designer Henrietta Samuels makes beautiful bespoke shoes from kimono remnants. Here's an excerpt of her interview in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Hetty Rose by Lesley Barnes.
You make bespoke shoes… if I wanted a pair of shoes for myself how would the process work?
I create a collection each season from which clients …

An interview with Kim Sklinar, aka Preloved Reloved

Preloved, Reloved is one girl's challenge to wear only recycled, upcycled, vintage and second-hand items for a whole year, to raise awareness of clothing ethics and money for Macmillan Cancer Support…

Written by Matt Bramford

Vintage fashion, illustrated by Matilde Sazio
Kim Sklinar, aka Preloved Reloved, has set herself an interesting New Year’s challenge. For the duration of 2011, Kim isn’t going to buy any new …

Goodone: eco fashion designer Nin Castle talks upcycling and collaborations

She's well known for her fabulous body-con knitted dresses, but designer Nin Castle has her sights set on changing mainstream fashion through collaborations with the likes of Topshop and ASOS. Here's an extract of her feature in ACOFI.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Goodone A/W 2009 by Natasha Thompson.
Goodone is a tight-knit team who share a passion for sustainable design and fair business practice. At university, designer Nin Castle decided to recycle fabrics …

From Somewhere: Upcycled Fashion from Orsola de Castro

A pioneer of ethical fashion design, Orsola de Castro has been recycling fabrics since 1997. Here's a taster of her interview with me in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration. Featuring images of her fabulous new Speedo collection for S/S 2011.

Written by Amelia Gregory

From Somewhere Speedo Collection S/S 2011 by Rachel de Ste. Croix.
You were one of the first fashion designers to embrace sustainability, way back in 1997. What prompted you to design …

Christmas Gifts: Ethical Fashion and Skincare Ideas

Amongst a sea of competing goodies I bring you my top selection of luxury ethical Christmas gift ideas from Bonbi Forest, Tout Nouveau, Liv, Dr. Hauschka, Pai Skincare and Savonnerie.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Illustration by Timothy Hunt.
A couple of days ago *ahem, more like a week* I put a callout on twitter for people to send me their fabulous ideas for Christmas presents …

London Fashion Week S/S 2011 Esthetica Review

Some of the finest at Esthetica for S/S 2011. Including Nina Dolcetti, Sägen Butik, Little Glass Clementine, Martina Spetlova, Oria, Michelle Lowe-Holder, From Somewhere, Partimi and Joanna Cave.

Written by Amelia Gregory

Partimi by Joana Faria.
I probably shouldn’t do this because I actually don’t believe the ghettoisation of ethical designers is a particularly good thing, but for ease of storytelling in the …

London Fashion Week S/S 2011 Presentation Review: Ada Zanditon

A review of Ethical Fashion Designer and Esthetica Innovator Award Winner, Ada Zanditon with beautiful illustrations by Paolo Caravello

Written by Sally Mumby-Croft

Illustrations by Paolo Caravello
Monday saw the fourth day dawn on London Fashion Week and delightfully my first day of intriguing ethical fashion presentations. First up on No. 1 …

Vintage at Goodwood: Festival Preview

Are you going to Vintage at Goodwood? We're not. Here's why. Here's how not to run a brand new festival. And what does Vintage really mean anyway?

Written by Amelia Gregory

Vintage at Goodwood by Natasha Thompson.
I must admit, I’ve had my reservations from the start. Right from the moment when they wheeled out that universally irritating celebrity known as Lily …

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