Plastic Free Living

It’s been almost a year since I started my pledge to live without single use plastics - and mostly it’s gone very well.

The opening of the fabulous StoreSource Bulk Foods in Chiswick obviously helped make things a lot easier, as well as the great One Step and Four State stalls that pop up at lots of my Duck Pond Market.

The main advice I can give is be prepared. I always have some beeswax wraps, or Tupperware with me, and definitely never leave home without a metal water bottle and my bamboo tea cup!

Milk - is delivered (mostly - sometime they don’t bother!) by my lovely Milk and More milkman.

Vegetables  - come from my fabulous local fruit and veg stalls on Chiswick High Road, or Morrison’s has a brilliant British selection - especially when they do naked cucumbers in the summer.

Meat & cheese
 - comes from the counters in Morrison’s or Sainsbury’s, or sometimes in my local butchers or deli (when I’m feeling richer!) and I take along a good stash of Tupperware for these. All my Tupperware now have fairly sticky lids, from where the price labels get stuck on - but those are the only waste involved in these purchases!

I’ve stopped eating yoghurt, except for when I occasionally treat myself to a glass jar of delicious Riverford yoghurt.

Crisps/crackers/biscuits/cakes - I mostly bake myself. I’ve discovered I’m a whizz at making tortillas, and actually prefer them to the shop bought ones! The only exception to this is our local Lidl sells the most amazing pastries, so again, I take my tubs along to put them in.

Cleaning products - the Source has a great refill selection, so I take along my empty bottles and fill up with toilet cleaner, laundry liquid, white vinegar.

Toiletries - I’ve had a mooncup for about 10 years, so that was already sorted, and have had bamboo toothbrushes for a few years too. I buy soap, shampoo and conditioner bars from lovely people at the markets I do, but also refilled a bottle with shampoo at the Source, for my boyfriend, who refused to use a shampoo bar as he says ‘it doesn’t make sense!’

I am now so repulsed by the thought of buying anything plastic, that if I am out and about and hungry, I usually end up with a banana and a can of something to drink!

We have a few gadgets that help with the cause - a bread maker, and a Soda Stream machine! But I don’t want too many unnecessary gadgets cluttering up the kitchen.

New Flat! Having fun with interior design...

Just before Christmas, myself and the boyfriend bought a flat!!! I know this is a fairly normal thing that people of our age do, but it is made all the more tricky for us by the fact that we live in pricey West London, and wanted to stay here as we love the area.

Well we managed to find a lovely little flat near Acton Park, and the most exciting this for me has been having fun with the interiors. This is the first time I've ever been able to choose my own furniture, rather than just put up with what the landlords/my parents have bought to go in the house, and so it is very very exciting to be able to choose my own!

I am also an avid follower of many peoples enviously sleek and beautiful Instagram feeds showing off sleek and cool interiors, so the main problem was how to limit myself. I dream of the day when I have an enormous house to fill and can just buy it all, but for our relatively small one bed flat it is a very tough decision on what to decide to buy.

We were quite lucky that it was in very good condition, so all we really needed to do was repaint it so that the flat wasn't entirely peach (ugh!)

We had the compulsary trip to Ikea, complete with meatballs for sustinance, but managed to find some good pieces which manage to hide away a lot of our (well mostly my) things.

I got excited and decided I wanted to paint every wall or room a different colour, as we've lived so long in completely white rental spaces, but then toned it down and went for just painting the hallway bright yellow, and one wall in the bedroom turquoise, with the chimney breast in the living room being pale grey. Great for photographing my name banners on!

Here is the beautiful dark turquoise - to go with a fancy new bed (from Dreams - and it lifts up so again we can hide lots of our things away underneath)

And pride of place on the beautiful windowsill behind my desk is the beautiful Singer sewing machine that a friends Mum found in a charity shop for me. It is so beautiful. And takes my tally of sewing machines owned to 4 which is maybe a slightly ridiculous number for a one bed flat, but they do all get used!

So this is the current state of the flat. Excitingly there are still many more things to do and buy, but it is slowly coming together!

Christmas 2016

Wow Christmas 2016 was fantastic! I'm still recovering and frantically sewing to build up my stock again for the new year! Thank you so much to everyone who came and supported me and bought something - it makes me so happy to see people enjoying my creations!

Here are some photos from some of my Christmas markets....

Holiday Fabric

At one time, I would have bought a ridiculous amount of souvenirs when on holiday, but having lived in one of the smallest houses around for the last 4 years, I've got more into the mindset of thinking that I just don't have room for anything.

So instead, I try to buy fabric, as then I know it will be used, and also it's a chance to get a different selection of fabrics that I wouldn't find at home.

So this year, I was very excited to find many many fabric shops in San Jose, while we were waiting to fly home from Costa Rica, and especially to find one that sold remnants of fabric by weight!!!

Luckily, when I went on holiday, I took lots of supplies out for my friend who I was meeting, who had been away from the UK for a long time, which meant I had plenty of room in my rucksack to bring back lots of lovely fabric. Oh and rum. My boyfriend would never have forgiven me if I'd come home without rum!

So I went a little wild, thinking I'd treat myself, and got a lot of fabric, and even more amazingly, it only came to $7!!!

Here is my beautiful selection....

I've only made 2 cushions so far but I am too excited - I just LOVE these fabrics!!

Gaya Street Sunday Market: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

So I'd read mixed reviews of Kota Kinabalu, mainly saying that it doesn't appear great on the surface, but if you give it a chance, you'll actually have a good time there. One thing that they all agreed on though, was that the Gaya Street Sunday market was AMAZING! Well, amazing, if you want to go and see weird things, mixed in with the general tourist tat, fruit and veg, dvd's, plants - this was all sorts of market mixed into one. 

Now, as a regular market trader here in the UK, I love a good wander through a market abroad, and this one did not disappoint, from 6am every Sunday, the locals here are busy setting up some weird and wonderful stalls....here are some of my favourite photos....

Starting off normal looking, just like Colombia Road, just a little more exotic...

I'm not sure Pets at Home would agree with these cage sizes....

I love you love fruit. The label says it all. Definitely an essential at 6am on a Sunday morning!

Just in case you don't have an HD TV. Plus they are wrap around so if you have to squeeze onto the sofa sideways, you still get HD vision.

Goldfish anyone?

And finally, the weirdest thing possibly ever: a purse, made out of a genuine dead frog skin. Fit.

Many Markets

I've been having a busy few summery months, testing out lots of new London markets. I've had some great days out! I've also had some baking hot indoor days, and some very wet and windy outdoor days, but there have been some great opportunities to meet lots of people and sell some of my crafts,

Here are some photos of various stalls:

Richmond Duck Pond Market - in Heron Square - such a delightful place - and so much bunting!!

Hampstead Sunday Craft Market - such a friendly place!

North Ealing Primary School Fair

Back at the Duck Pond in Richmond

St Margarets Fair - So beautifully sunny - a great day to be outside!

I am so lucky to have such a wide choice of lovely markets to go to and trade at. They are always lots of fun and great days out! I am off on holiday now for the rest of the summer (I can't wait) but am looking forward to more markets in September!

New Favourite Fabric Shop

I love living right next to Goldhawk Road! It saves me so much time (although also means I probably spend far too much money!)

My favourite shops are:

Goldhawk Silks & Trimmings
The other side of the tube station from all of the other shops, on the same side of the road as Shepherd's Bush Market, this shop is fairly new and is a fabulous haberdashery. It is the expanded upstairs section of A-One fabrics, run by 2 lovely, helpful ladies, and has a lot more crammed into the very tidy interior than you would imagine!

I go most often for: embroidery silks, bias binding, elastic, curtain tape, and fun trimmings.


A-One Fabrics
This is one of the biggest shops on the road, crammed full, just across the road from the tube station, and I think the cheapest shop on the road. I have found fabrics in there that are at least £1-2 less per m than identical fabrics in other shops, and they always give me discounts if I buy large lengths of fabric. They are also incredibly helpful and quick at re-ordering if I get to the end of a roll and need more. They are also one of the only shops who will give you a sample.

I go most often for: mainly work commissions, most recently pale washed denim, fabulous printed cottons, and silk chiffon for bridesmaids dresses.


Goldbrick Fabrics
And finally to the newcomer, but currently my firm favourite!! It has a very different layout inside from the others, and smells of new wood. All of the fabrics are very clearly grouped and labelled, and they have a whole rack of sample sections, which they are happy to give you a piece of. They have some amazing fabrics which you wouldn't find anything like in any of the other shops. Slightly more expensive per metre than the other shops, but totally worth it.

I go most often for: splurging on fabrics to buy for ME!! And for work commissions as it's so clear and easy to see their whole range.

All are open from 9am ish to 6pm ish (A-One closes for prayers on Friday lunchtime) and all are shut on Sundays.

We Make London

We live near (I say near as I LOVE to walk everywhere) the canal in Acton and so I love to wander along the canal, either on foot or by bike. I've cycled the canal path from Limehouse in the East, all the way out to the River Brent in the West and then around and about with the Thames to get back to my house.

Normally, Camden is one of the least exciting parts as it is full of tourists and difficult to get through, but I was very excited on a quiet day last year to discover the beautiful 'We Make London' shop, full of gorgeous gifts made by lovely London residents like myself. 

Excitingly, in March, I was given the opportunity to start stocking some of my items there and I am very exciting to have sold a fair few things already!

The items I've sold are below:

If you're out and about in Camden please do go and visit: http://www.wemakelondon.co.uk/

Christmas Shoebox Time!

Yay! It's that time of year again when I am allowed to be buying Christmas presents without it seeming too early as I need to buy things for my Christmas Shoeboxes!

I planned to do 2 boxes this year, but as usual got far too excited shopping and have ended up doing 4. Here are some of my favourite finds for the boxes:

Mini connect 4, a giant pencil sharpener and cats cradle!

I Love To Wear...

I'm quite fussy about my clothes. Not that anyone would think it given the bright, colourful array of bright patterns that I do wear, but I am definitely not a shopaholic, and often when I do go out shopping, I come home with nothing, as everything I find is just not quite right.

My two main things I focus on when shopping are: I don't want to be wearing the same thing as anyone else, and also I hate clothes which look cheap, so am very fussy about the sort of fabrics I buy.

My one exception to the first rule is that I have loved some of the recent collections by Designers for H&M. So whilst this often means I see someone else wearing the same outfit, it does mean I get some beautifully designed clothes, from some of my favourite designers, at a price I can afford.

I remember lovingly looking at the entire Isabel Marant Etoile collection in Liberty's when I first moved to London, wondering if I'd ever get a job that was well paid enough to afford even just one item, and had the same feeling in the Marni outlet shop in Bicester Village.

So I was very, very excited to finally get my hands on a pair of Isabel Marant quilted sneakers. They are beautiful, so beautiful I can't take them off! And very festive at the same time. And hopefully as they were in the Kids Boys range not quite so many people will have them....?

A Quest For Pipecleaners

This week, I have been on a quest for pipe cleaners. It was one of those things where I didn't realise that it would be a quest until I started looking for them and realised that there is 1. a massive London shortage of craft shops and 2. a massive lack of knowledge of what pipe cleaners actually are.

I swear that many of my childhood crafting sessions, both at school and at home, involved pipe cleaners. They were essential legs, connectors, edges, amongst other things, but I just can't imagine not knowing what they are!

After wandering around a few shops asking for them and getting totally blank looks, or just weird offers of drain unblockers and sink plungers, I began to wonder if maybe I'd imagined their existence, or at least just called them by some weird name that no one else had hear of?? When I tried to explain to people that they were small pieces of wire, with fluff on that you used for crafting, I usually got a terrified look and was ushered out of the shop!

Luckily wikipedia reassured me:

A pipe cleaner or chenille stem is a type of brush originally intended for removing moisture and residue fromsmoking pipes. Besides cleaning pipes, they can be used for any application that calls for cleaning out small bores or tight places. Special pipe cleaners are manufactured specifically for cleaning out medical apparatus^[1]and for engineering applications.^[2] They are popular for winding around bottle necks to catch drips, bundling things together, colour-coding, and applying paints, oils, solvents, greases, and similar substances.

Contents   [hide]  1 Description 2 Crafts 3 Manufacture 4 References

[edit]

Crafts

Many children enjoy bending pipe cleaners into various shapes.^[3] "Craft" pipe cleaners are usually made with polyester or nylon pile and are often longer and thicker than the "smoking" type, and available in many different colors. Craft pipe cleaners are not very useful for cleaning purposes, because the polyester does not absorb liquids, and the thicker versions may not even fit down the stem of a normal pipe.

Phew!! They do really exist. This brings me on to the lack of craft shops in London. I happen to have moved within walking distance of Goldhawk Road, which is very exciting fabric wise as it means I can just stroll along and look at fabric to my hearts content. But even though they do have a very good selection of fabrics, and a few haberdashery sections, they are in massive need of a general craft store. I think one of the main reasons is that I was spoilt by Creativity (http://creativitycraft.com/), the amazing craft shop I used to work in in Bristol. They stock everything crafty, in all different genres, and what won't fit into the jam packed full shop, is still stored in the basement, in case anyone asks for it. It is an absolutely amazing shop, and I tend to wait until I go home to visit my family and stock up then. 

For the meantime, I will continue my quest for pipe cleaners in London and also good craft stores!!

Tribal & Other Prints

I fell in love with a tribal print skirt at Boden recently, but sadly, although it was gorgeous, it just didn't suit me. It was a bit grown up officey for me and as much as I loved it, I just knew I wouldn't wear it.

I was a bit sad about it so had a bit of a look around for another tribal print skirt and instead found this dress from asos which I love. I'm sure you're not really supposed to wear it with a fur wrap (vintage) and this amazing hat (Debenhams), but why not (although I didn't actually end up going out like this, don't worry). 

I also now have my eye on this beautiful dress from Zara. It's got a bit of an Aztec-y feel, but then with all the beading, kind of an African essence too. It reminds me of all the beautiful African batik fabrics you can buy, and as I have a fair few in my collection, I might have to get sewing. 

A Mini Adventure to Paris

Last weekend, I took a mini break to Paris with a few of my friends. It was something we'd been talking about since January when the Eurostar was on sale, but by the time we actually organised it, it was £150 so annoyingly we had to fly instead. Although I was lucky enough to have enough British Airways airmiles to be able to fly for almost free and in style so I didn't mind flying too much.

We had a rare day of really hot March sunshine, and so spent the Friday with bare arms and feet which was lovely, and I'd forgotten how much I love Paris!

It was amazing to discover that you can get in free to almost everything if you're European and under 26 so we made the most of this and went to St Chapelle, which was stunning with the sun coming through the windows, and to see the Degas exhibition at the Musee D'Orsay, and to the Pompidou centre - very cultured.

We also found a fantastic food market really near our hotel, which was full of locals and had some delicious offerings (I smuggled lots back in my suitcase) and a huge vintage market north of the city. Here I could have spent hours wandering around through all the little lanes, with shops crammed full of all sorts of exciting curiosities.

I of course bought some buttons - there were millions to choose from and I very conservatively bought 5 (I had to limit myself or I'd never have stopped with the buttons), and also an apple core necklace (which my house mate thought was real, and disgusting!)

I spoke a lot of French while I was there and really didn't want to come back - but as it's so close to London, I'm sure I'll be back very soon!

Prop Making

One of the most fun parts of my job is being asked to make props for various photo shoots. This is really exciting as it could be absolutely anything - and made from almost anything.

My first creation was a kite to match an anorak and wellies which would be worn by a child running along flying the kite. As it was very last minute, and we didn't have any spare fabric, I had to but up an anorak to make the kite. Combined with some kebab skewers which I found in our 'man' drawer in our flat, and some pretty ribbons, I think I made a pretty good kite!

(Shot in Camber Sands on a surprisingly sunny September day)

I had a few small commissions in between, but then my next big challenge was to make a Bedouin tent, out of some of the SS12 dress and skirt fabrics...which was about 6ft tall....and could be packed into a suitcase to be transported to South Africa! 

Luckily, I found a gazebo which although it didn't quite fit into a suitcase, it was well within oversize baggage allowances and so easily transportable onto the plane (along with the other 47 suitcases we took!!). I took off the existing boring green cover, and transformed it into a floral Bedouin tent. 

I was pretty pleased with my result, although my sewing machine nearly over heated after all the miles of straight stitching in one day. This tent took about 7 hours to make, and used about 40metres of fabric. But looked amazing.

We did put it up one day to be in the background of some shots, but sadly it won't actually appear in the background of any of the photos. Very sad. Still, maybe next year?

So, my most recent challenge was to knit a cover for a small stool. Didn't sound too hard, except that I can only actually knit squares or decrease. I'd never exactly mastered increasing. Not one to say no to a challenge though, I watched a few you tube videos on how to increase, and had a bit of a play and although I think I may have invented a new style of knitting - I managed it!

These were my instructions...

My halfway through the attempt....

And the finished result. Once again, I am very very proud and will look forward to this appearing in the catalogue or on the website very soon. Well, in about 6 months really when the AW12 collection is actually launched.