Sharing the love...

You may have realised by now that knowing where my clothing comes from has been an increasingly important issue for me. And in a recent post I listed some ideas that could help me become more ethical when it came to the action of dressing.
Recently I met a fellow mum who sells beautiful clothing at markets in Sydney. I purchased a beautifully soft, cotton top which has been simply too good to wear! (I stare at it lovingly in the wardrobe - but fear not, I'll get over this pretty soon) The label is Read & Bell (the surnames of the two women behind the clothing, accessories and homewares).
The thing I love the most, apart from the fact that their stuff is gorgeous, is that it's not mass produced in a dungeon somewhere, it's made in a caring environment which you can read about here.
Something else I discovered over the weekend was a Fair Trade fashion website: http://www.eternalcreation.com/ They have some nice articles of clothing and you can meet the tailor, tour the workshop and watch 'how-to' demo's all on their website.

THE WORLD NEEDS MORE OF THIS!!!!
HELP TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST SLAVE LABOUR, SWEAT SHOPS AND MASS PRODUCTION!!!

Pipstars

I was sitting in a doctors' waiting room today scanning the display shelves for something interesting to read when suddenly a little sparkle of fun jumped out at me... it was this:

It is not something that one would expect to find in such a place and a tingle of anticipation rushed over me.
The back of the card read: ORIGINAL CLOTHING FOR KIDS + beautiful things for you and your home.
Quite excited by this and the fact that the shop was only a few doors away at 112 Percival Rd, Stanmore we popped on down after our appointment to find a beautiful little shop filled with lovely little things. I got chatting with Jenny the owner and found out that she does all her own screen printing and applique, while also sewing up many of the garments out the back! (So inspiring. But how do these people find the time? I've got to sleep less!) There were bunting kits, the most amazing quilts that I have ever seen (made by another local woman), earrings and much much more... And everything was so clean, tidy and organised... I LOVED it and so did my four-year-old who busied himself at the kids' activity table - something all shops should have!

So if you're in the area, be sure to stop by.