Sew and Save VII

Still a source of inspiration, but back in 1941 a necessary item; the piece-bag with small left-overs. I always have ribbons, small pieces of fabric, threads, buttons etc. Just can't throw them away....
This is what Joanna wrote:

ACCESSORIES FROM YOUR PIECE-BAG
Never throw away any odd pieces of material, as some kind of decorative or useful purpose can always be found for them. A well-ordered piece-bag will save you many odd pence from time to time, and will do much to relieve the monotony of a rationed wardrobe. 
It is better to store pieces in a large square  cardboard (hat)box than in a bag. If you put pieces of material, lengths of ribbon, buttons and buckles into a large bag they will get crumpled and 'mussed', the buckles are likely to tear delicate fabrics, the buttons drop to the bottom of the bag and get lost, and the bits of material become really dishearteningly crumpled. So find a large box, and get your bits and pieces in order.
Isn't this a lovely way to describe such a handy item.....

Sew and Save VI

Here's about another skill that we are loosing: darning.
Back in 1941 it was a common thing to do; clothes had to be kept as long as possible. I reckon we will need some time to practice this skill......

A DARN THAT LOOKS LIKE KNITTING
It may be that your most attractive jumper has a moth hole in it where it shows most. In this case you will have to mend it by grafting so that it won't show. Thread a needle with a length of matching wool and run it along the garment just before the place where the stitches have gone. Put it through two stitches at the lower part of the hole, draw it through, and pick up another tow stitches at the top of the the hole, then down again into the lower stitches. Draw up tightly enough to fill the gap, but not so tightly as to put any strain on the main section of the garment. Grafting forms a line of imitation knitting that is non-detectable. 
As long as a garment is not too far gone, neat efficient mending will give it a new lease of life. Repair where you can, and renovate where you can't.

                                                        Norfolk fisherman's jumper museum Sheringham 2011

Sew and Save V

Together with Sew and Save there's another great book from the forties in Britain: Make Do and Mend. This collection has reproductions from instruction leaflets. On clothes, fuel, household keeping etc.
Austerity out of need made everyone a hero in reinforcements and good care in those days. Here's on laundry:

YOUR HOUSEHOLD LINEN HAS GOT TO LAST!
Washing hints:
Mend all tears before washing- whether they are done at home or in the laundry. If you haven't time to do a proper darn catch tears together. Laundries are working under difficulties these days and a stitch in time will be appreciated.

Never let clothes or household linens get really dirty; several light washes are less harmful than one hard one and use soft water- rain water is best.

Dry out of doors when possible - the whites in the sun and the coloureds in the shade.

And indeed, there's nothing better than laundry freshly dried outdoors......

Sew and Save IV

And this is what Joanna Chase wrote in 1941 about bed time:

A BED-TIME ROUTINE FOR CLOTHES
Your three great allies in clothes care are heat, steam and a good, stiff brush. Always brush your clothes when you take them off at night, as dust left on overnight works its way into the material and is responsible for that grey 'bloom' on clothes. Buy several twopenny wooden hangers, so that when you hang your clothes up they fall into their natural folds and retain their shape. Be sure to get the hangers wide enough, so that the shoulders of clothes do not sag over the ends. Never hang a garment on a hook by its neck. If you do that, you simply ask for bulging neck-lines and sagging hems.

Come to think of it; it would maybe make us sleep better after this. Away from daily business, problems and thoughts in our minds. Just hang, brush properly and then sleep well...

Sew and save III

From 1941:
PRECAUTIONS IN PUTTING CLOTHES AWAY:
When you are storing clothes, remember that all shoes should be wrapped in newspaper, and all dark and heavy garments folded with sheets of newspaper between them. The printers' ink is disliked by moths. Mothballs, of course, are an elementary precaution.
Summer clothes should be stored in white paper so that they do not get soiled; hats put down crown downwards into large boxes, one crown into the next. If you are storing silk lingerie, or silk stockings that are new, do not wash them, but put them into an air-tight jar and seal the top. In tis way they will keep without perishing.

If you read this; we completely lost the skill of storing! The fight against moths is still going on today, and the newspaper method is worth doing, not harmful and very easy. I also have eco-bags with herbs that they don't like which I buy in my local organic shop.

Sew and Save II

If what you buy is precious to you, you will take care. Regarding clothes, that's what we've lost a bit. So read what Joanna said in 1941:

TAKE CARE OF YOUR CLOTHES
Clothes, like everything else in the world, respond to care and kindness in your treatment of them. If you look after them, they'll not only last you much longer but will retain indefinitely the speckless appearance they have when you bought them, thus giving you a well-groomed air which is more than half-way to being a well-dressed woman. The secret of looking after clothes is to make a regular job of it, just like washing up or sweeping the drawing-room carpet. Allot a few hours one day each week to going over your wardrobe for cleaning and repairing.
A few ours each week...but that must have been meant for the wardrobe of the whole family, or?

photo taken at the archetype exhibition in MMKA 2011

Sew and Save

I found a most inspiring small book published in Britain in 1941: 'Sew and Save' by Joanna Chase. It's a manual to assist women getting themselves and their families through war and crisis in decent clothes. The way she describes how to handle clothes when new, how to maintain them and  how to take special care; we can learn a lot from it in these days. In 1941 clothes were on coupons and money was poor. Nobody had too many clothes; however sustainability was not an issue back then. We in our times are struggling with our consciousness regarding the circumstances in the clothing industry, poor quality of cheap clothes an an ongoing fashion merry-go-round of 2 collections each year. In those days you had clothes that were produced in your own country, of good quality and were relatively expensive to buy. So taking care was important. Reading the book made me think how useful the descriptions and ideas are for us now. So here's the first:

TO PLAN YOUR WARDROBE
Every woman wants to be well dressed. At any time, but especially in war-time and now that clothes are rationed, this is a matter of planning rather than of plenty. So find five minutes to sit down with a piece of paper and pencil and plan your wardrobe carefully to fit in with the money you have to spend and the type of life you lead. Go over your existing clothes and make a list of what is still wearable, what will have to be replaced, and your next necessary and important 'buys'.
When you've done that decide on a colour scheme and stick to it, otherwise you'll find you have odd frocks that don't match your overcoat, or a sweater without a matching skirt, and not enough coupons to remedy these difficulties.

NEW COLLECTION 2013

From tomorrow on my new collection 2013 HAND KNITTED VASES will be on sale at museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. A new exhibition will be openened: handmade. The value of crafts and craftmanship are central themes so I'm happy my collection was selected for the shop.

photo: Jeroen Dietz

Seikatsu Kogei - Living Crafts

Recently I bought the book "New Standard Crafts" by Kazumi Tsuji. This book has been put together because of an exhibition about Seikatsu Kogei, living crafts. Japanese are very good with crafts, and crafts are highly valued in Japanese society. So even before opening the book I knew it would interest me. I would say it's a silent book. Silent in its book design and silent in it s content.
'Things' we need for our daily lives, like buttons, haircombs, cups, spoons, chairs etc need to be made to last long and must be made to be utilised properly. Those things make our lives good, clear our minds and make us ready for our daily tasks. When you look at things in this way, you can see their beauty. You can also see immediately when they crappy, unpractical, unnecessary, of no value at all.
The images in the book are of such simple beauty, it struck me straight away.
They made me think of those items in my house that I value highly. My ceramic bowls, my bamboo comb, my wooden chairs, my hand knitted scarves, the handmade wooden table; really well designed and crafted.
The idea of Sekatsu Kogei suits my idea of design very much. For a sustainable angle at design you need to have things that have longevity and beauty. Besides that, the designers, makers and crafters are part of the product as well. In mass production their role is totally evaporated. Price, materials and the process of making have lost their value in mass production. That must change. Seikatsu Kogei is a way of revaluing things and makers. It's an ongoing process!

Kinfolk

The first post in 2013 is a review I've written about Kinfolk. A beautiful magazine from Portland USA. Food, friends and living, in a wonderful mix.  On sale at Athenaeum, of course!

Material Change II

Halfway I am, reading this book by Eve Blossom. It's good; she says some very interesting things about (social) design. I can relate to her practice with Lulan Artisans through the craft projects in Malawi. Even with many differences, for the craft projects in Malawi are focusing on a local market, which is essential in this case. Still, we can learn from all of these projects.
Here's a few issues worth quoting:

Good design is creating enduring values. For good design sustainability and social good are new values. Essential is that local culture is partner in the ownership of a project.
Indeed these things are essential.  Enduring value has to do with beauty, longevity, material sources and social circumstances for production.
Social design and fairtrade don't work if you come in from abroad and push some 'design' into the community. That won't last, and has little to do with local strength.

For a strong development of social design we need disruptive entrepreneurship. 
Entrepreneurship that has a strong vision, that is grassroot, that doesn't wait for official canals to be ready. Indeed we, those with ideas, just have to do it. Make it happen. In Malawi we, the women and me, just started. I brought in the ideas, curated their skills, they were eager to just do it.

Material Change

I've just started reading Material Change, by Eve Blossom. A book in which she tells the story of how Lulan Artisans was established as a sustainable business in Vietnam. Design Thinking and the Social Entrepreneurship Movement - is the subtitle.
It's about design rooted in local culture, sustainability rooted in traditions.
The book has a wonderful poem by Fausto Contreras Lazo as a dedication:

"Our Forefathers"
In our hands they deposited
the tools that interweave our dreams,
what we see, what we feel, what we live.

In the weaving they taught us how
to weave with yarn the rainbow,
colors, with the fragrance of our country
from this, we cultivate and harvest.

They, too, did it this way, like this they flowered,
today we, their children, mark new trails,
together with our greatest teachers.

The photography by Mark Standen is beautiful, inspiring and clarifying.
Later more about the content.

Biobrandstof | Biofuel

Biobrandstof. De vijand van voedselschaarste.

Biobrandstof, ooit gepresenteerd als duurzame oplossing van onder andere het klimaatprobleem, blijkt helemaal niet zo duurzaam. Sommige biobrandstoffen zijn zelfs nog slechter voor het klimaat dan fossiele brandstoffen als olie en gas. Miljoenen hectare landbouwgrond worden gebruikt voor de productie van biobrandstof in plaats van voedsel. De landbouwgrond die gebruikt wordt om Europese auto’s te voorzien van biobrandstof zou genoeg tarwe en maïs kunnen voortbrengen voor 127 miljoen mensen.Het grootste deel van de biobrandstof aan de pomp wordt gemaakt uit voedselgewassen zoals graan, maïs, suiker, soja en koolzaad. Nieuwe soorten biobrandstof, gemaakt van gebruikte vetten, landbouwafval, planten en algen (de zogenaamde tweede en derde generatie biobrandstof) zijn nog minimaal beschikbaar. Het grootste deel van de bijgemengde brandstof bestaat uit eerste generatie biobrandstof.

Veel voedsel verdwijnt dus in de tank, en dat is schrijnend. Zeker nu steeds meer mensen hun dagelijks eten niet meer kunnen betalen vanwege de hoge voedselprijzen. Benzine of diesel bij de Nederlandse pomp bestaat uit méér dan 4% biobrandstof. Zonder dat dit wordt vermeld. En weigeren kan niet. Dat paar procent biobrandstof lijkt een klein aandeel, maar al met al is het een enorme hoeveelheid. Bijmengen moet volgens Europese en Nederlandse regels. In 2008 werd door de EU al bijna 3 miljard euro uitgegeven aan belastingvoordelen en stimuleringsmaatregelen voor de productie van biobrandstoffen. Indien er niets verandert met betrekking tot het huidige Europese beleid, kan de verplichte bijmenging van biobrandstof in 2020 elke EU-burger zelfs 30 euro per jaar kosten.

Wij betalen dus voor de lobby van biobrandstof, gooien voedsel in de tank, werken mee aan armoede in de wereld en een andere keuze lijkt geen optie. We kunnen wel wat doen om voedsel in de tank tegen te gaan. Ga naar biobrandstof.nu en kom in actie. Nu!

The Alpine Review

Read the review (in Dutch) I wrote on the website of Athenaeum Booksellers about the great new magazine The Alpine Review.... which observes the things that matter.

Unless You Remove

Last Tuesday I went to the Graduation Show of the Design Academy during Dutch Design Week. Always good to go there, very inspiring. It's great having taught there at the then-called master Man and Humanity, and I might teach there again.
From all the projects I've seen many were good, some were brilliant, some were unnecessary and some keep popping up in my mind. Here's one of the stars.
Luis Gomez Barquin. He graduated from the master Social Design. His project Unless You Remove is poetical, a sign of the times as well as a proof of the past.
Ancient architecture was purely for protection. Against weather, animals or human enemies. It was done by removing soil or excavating rock. Ancient garments were also made by removing. A fleece from a sheep, a bark from a tree. These were remade. All this needed focus and dedication.
Today's dangers and lifestyle are more complex, so products as well as garments are way beyond the ancient pieces. But we lost the skill of removal. We constantly add. That's also metaphoric and reflects our lives which are reigned by consumerism, speed and distraction.
But we can learn, and remove. Focus again, reflect, commit.
That's why Luis designed items that will become ours by removing elements. Objects that ask for an action, he calls them.
I fell in love with the idea, for it's part of the questions we have to ask ourselves: what do we really need, what can go? I fell in love with the objects as well.

the blanket is too thick to wrap yourself comfortably unless....

the chair is uncomfortable to sit on unless..........

Campaign for Wool I

Raised by Prince Charles, spreading over the fashion and design world: the campaign for wool. Wool has a traditional place in our daily lives since centuries. Wool is beautiful, wool is warm, wool is natural and organic, wool is recyclable, wool is fabulous. Wool however is threatened. Farmers hardly get any money for the fleeces they sheared from their flock and often just destroy the wool. Some wool, like merino, is often taken from the sheep in a cruel, painful way. So it's time for a change!
We must emphasize the beauty and heritage of wool. And make a new future for wool. That's why I've joined the campaign for wool.
It's obvious that wool is my favourite material for my handmade designs. On sale at Options, April&May and Royal Tichelaar in The Netherlands, and Deshima in Tokyo.
From 6 till 11 November it's woolweek. Many events, constantly updated via facebook.

Little Sun

I've bought one when in Tate Modern last week. What a wonderful object, with an amazingly strong light for such a smally!
Great project, brilliant artist, Olafur Eliasson.
Have a look at little sun

Buy Nothing New

October has just started and there's a very good initiative (originally from Australia) with a lovely website. Easy to do: just buy nothing new. First look at what we have; do we really need anything now and why? Closets, cupboards, shelves, sheds, attics and basements are usually full with stuff and clothes. There might be items that we forgot about. Why not polish them and re-use? Repair them and re-use? Customise them and re-use?
Or borrow, if we know someone who owns what we need. There are more online communities such as peerby on which we can connect and borrow or lend. A drill, a tent, a workmate. Anything.
I think it's good to reflect on everything we have, and sometimes just feel good not to buy. We have a lot, you know. Too much often. Live good, consume less, reduce .

Miscellaneous Labour

Malawi: farms and construction sites. All farm work is done by hand, all bricks for buildings are moulded by hand and even most tools are handmade. So labour is very demanding. Slow but steady!

B-Corporation

Last Friday I read an interesting article in NRC Handelsblad after which I dived into the subject. Nothing inferior, B- Corporations are the companies of the future. B is benefit. These companies are now legally supported in the USA to have social and environmental responsibility as objectives for entrepreneurship. IceStone is an example; workers are earning twice the minimum wage, work in daylight as much as possible to save energy and work with recycled materials. And still make beautiful work surfaces for kitchens. Patagonia outdoor gear is another example. No child labour, environmental awareness and even a think-before-you-buy-policy.
Different from multinationals who want to keep growing while proclaiming to reduce their footprint. Ofthen there's a lot of clever marketing involved. Juliet Schor, sociologist from Harvard says in her book 'Plenitude' : Responding to our current moment, Plenitude puts sustainability at its core, but it is not a paradigm of sacrifice. Instead it’s an argument that through a major shift to new sources of wealth, green technologies, and different ways of living, individuals and the country as a whole can actually be better off and more economically secure.
Of course also in The Netherlands we have these kind of companies which are focusing on corporate responsibility. Quite a few I would say.  But to have it as an objective, that's quite radical. So it's good news that in the huge USA this kind of entrepreneurship is supported. It could be a game-changer!
Truly redefine business, truly redefine profit, truly redefine entrepreneurship. Wow.
In the end consumers have the power, of course. These products will not be the cheapest. But in the long term they might be. If you really think ahead....