“I didn’t really decide myself. People saw me in the street picking up umbrellas and said it was like Mary Poppins. I had the idea of Marypup because it’s funny,” says designer and eco-activist Melanie Iudica, as she recalls how the name of her upcycled rainwear brand...
Mirror - midcentury, Swedish sofa - 1880s, pendant light - 1980s. I am fond of an interior design remix, but getting it right can be tricky, so I called upon experts dealing in everything from architectural antiques to vintage, textiles and art to help master...
“I didn’t really decide myself. People saw me in the street picking up umbrellas and said it was like Mary Poppins. I had the idea of Marypup because it’s funny,” says designer and eco-activist Melanie Iudica, as she recalls how the name of her upcycled rainwear brand...
I have yet to attempt to encapsulate the London vintage shopping scene for the same reason I have not written a Paris guide (until now): the choice is intimidating. It is impossible to enjoyably squeeze even these twelve recs into the length of a usual city break, so...
I found myself staying on Courage Yard this week as we moved out of our flat to renovate the kitchen. Naturally, I’ve been thinking about my first reclaimed renovation when I transformed the kitchen into a walk-in wardrobe, and strangely, remodelling the kitchen has...
Offers on things that won't last or make our lives better are about to be everywhere as Black Friday promotions roll in. Don't get me wrong, it can be a good time of year to make big purchases like electrical appliances, tech or beauty staples at a "steal", but Black...
From the walls to the worktop and the floor, your kitchen renovation may offer the perfect playground to use reclaimed materials. It is an ideal space to be ambitious as most of us spend a lot of time in our kitchens, and reclaimed elements have already passed the...
Once nicknamed Little Paris, Koukaki is the neighbourhood I was lucky to call home for my recent visit to Athens. Little did I know that its ode to Paris for me would uncover 70s Saint Laurent and 80s Celine. Once an industrial district named after the founder of an...
We are at a precipice moment for the planet, living through precarious times, so what is it like running a small business right now, let alone a sustainable fashion brand? I first met Sophie Dunster over five years ago. I interviewed her just three months into...
For the first time in a decade, the ENO are opening their archives for a special sale. This unique event arises from a need to make space for new, exciting productions on the horizon. More than a simple sale, this is a unique opportunity for enthusiasts and collectors...
‘Our lives don’t need more things, things need to be given more lives’ read a corkboard beckoning me into the exhibition by Burniture, a new collective working with furniture that is skipped, unwanted, broken, about to be burnt… I am no stranger to street-found...
Spring heralds new stories, and a group of antiques dealers that were born, branched out or set up shop in the last couple of years are set to share theirs at the Bath Decorative Antiques Fair in March. What may have seemed like a moment for antiques attracting...
Julia Roberts’ wardrobe in Pretty Woman is often referenced when 90s fashions are trending, but the interiors struck me most the last time I watched it. Although a set, the penthouse suite created for the film was in keeping with the Beaux Arts style of the Beverly...
It’s complicated - I do not have the answers, but my hope in writing my column as we close secondhand September is at least to explore some solutions and lay out some of the current debates about sustainability, particularly in fashion. Responsibility It can be...
So far, I have salvaged an Arts and Crafts hall stand and the below late sixties lithograph poster from a Chagall exhibition at the Maeght Foundation in St Paul. I knew the Edwardian hall stand had value, but it was not until I researched the poster that I found it...
Tune in. Yes, this column is mainly about how we installed a 200kg slab of English alabaster rescued from a convent in Sussex in our 2-bed flat. However, it is also about the rise of listening rooms. So what is a listening room? For me, it is a space to enjoy...
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” a friend messaged me in response to my “weekend working on the floor with my husband.” Despite distractions, including mould and moths, our renovation is moving along. We now have reclaimed terracotta roof tiles for...
Ewe Kente textiles from the Volta region in Ghana © Tribal Arts & Textiles Art and design have the enviable ability to break down barriers that traditionally divide cultures. The universality of interiors that involve and speak to people around the world is surely...
My new flat is the equivalent of workout leggings. It’s comfortable and a little styling goes a long way, but I am anxious that renovating at a slow pace will be the home equivalent of a hard transition out of trousers with an elasticated waist. My current sense...
As the leaves start to fall, it’s time to feel again with a plethora of physical decorative antiques fairs in the diary. The last eighteen months have been challenging, but thanks to an unwavering business drive, digital community (and sales!) the architectural...
Save the dates 16 - 19 June 2021 because the original architectural salvage fair has found its new home, with the best bits of the virtual and real world to toast Salvo’s 30th Pearl Anniversary. Seven years ago I hadn’t even stepped foot inside a salvage yard, so my...
Comfortable clothes continue to rule, and it’s hard to imagine what could come along to convince us otherwise, but that doesn’t come at the sacrifice of decoration. Speaking to friends, jewellery has been the mood lifter, and yes an opportunity to shine on...
Reclaimed Eames style leather office chair to make a loved one more comfy wfh. Architectural Forum on Salvo Organic & Botanic Madagascan coconut rejuvenating night moisturiser Dr Botanicals Reclaimed vintage silks headband by War & Drobe + We-Resonate....
Kissing Couple silver brooch ©Modern Decorative The moment we’re experiencing is quite rightly making us pause for thought, what should we be buying if we feel we can spend money right now? No matter what the pandemic has done for your personal budget for life’s...
Wearing accessories from my new carbon conscious label ethazon When Beck and I first came together to create ethazon we desired an eco fashion place for people to dress for the world they want. Fast forward two years and we have seen a flurry of fashion trying to...
I am not sure where “bins” the abbreviation for glasses comes from, but considering my need for increasingly telescopic lenses it seems appropriate to refer to them as my binoculars. I enjoy the time when it comes to choose new glasses, well new old glasses as I...
How will fashion become fashionable again after lockdown? We are waiting to see if the expected shift to more conscious shopping will be accelerated following the reflection time that beings, brands and businesses have had to take in the bigger picture. Categories...
This is Fashion Revolution Week, where we ask #whomademyclothes to coincide with and commemorate the Rana Plaza factory, which collapsed seven years ago today. This is the day Fashion Revolution was born. A month in lockdown has likely resulted in more time for...
Week three wfh and I am ready to be wild from home. The highlight of my weekend was singing Nirvana's Teen Spirit whilst dancing around the lounge with my husband. "You call that wild? You need to get out more" I hear you say. Yes, I do. And one day I will. We all...
Did you know that Glasgow rates highly for green spaces per capita with 90s parks and gardens? The clue is in the city's nickname "Dear Green Place", which is derived from the Gaelic word for Glasgow. Other glorious green places are uncovered as you chat to people...
There is nothing like a good research session to get one in the mood. I like to seek out the eco fashion and decor offering when I visit a new city, but hopefully I can skip you to the main event with my shares from Edinburgh. Sustainable secondhand usually...
I won’t try to dress-up the fact that this is consumption season and this week sets the spending scene with a bombardment of Black Friday offers. Whether you are wrapping up your 2019 projects, buying gifts, or figuring out how to dress yourself and your home...
Ensure you get space on the handrail during a crowded commute with this voluminous sleeved button-down by Amour Vert [If you're in the US or Canada it’s worth noting that it recently teamed up with the online thrift store thredUP, so you can close the loop on your...
Upcycled kitten heels by Ancuta Sarca at London Fashion Week “Wake me up when September ends” are words I've heard from editors doing the four fashion capitals in less than four weeks. Our eyes are closed to the emergency according to Extinction Rebellion, the...
"You’re going to open a cleaning shop?!" questioned Bella Middleton’s mum when she came up with the idea to create eco-friendly cleaning products. Now a fully fledged member of the Norfolk Natural Living team, Bella’s mum works in their shop in Holt, which has...
Reclaimed materials at Alberts Schloss in Manchester © Insitu Architectural Salvage The Manchester-based fast fashion retailer, Missguided recently made headlines for the wrong reasons with a £1 bikini. Depending on which side of the sun lounger you woke up on, you...
Earth Day seems appropriate to talk about something borrowed. The trousers covering my tush and blouse on my back [leased from Laura Ironside] and of course the earth are all borrowed. Fashion is just one piece of the sustainable development pie, but today also marks...
Fireplace from Wharton Antiques on SalvoWEB / Vivienne Westwood sunglasses on 1stdibs
Ardingly Antiques & Collectors Fair showed its mettle (albeit disguised as petals )this week, as a major fair that continues to attract a strong following of dealers, designers and private buyers. It could have been the sunny start and morning light hitting the...
Had I not already left my heart in San Francisco in 2015 when I met the man I would marry seven months later, Love Street Vintage would have stolen it. Sustainable gems are dotted in many neighbourhoods, but High on a hill, Haight Street calls if you are after a...
This edit sums up my mood for the month ahead. It's that time of year when your pinkie ring should give you super powers and you can cloak your face and your body in pillows [when not showing off that you're capable of dancing in white whilst eating cranberry...
Is it me or are haircare ads stuck in the 1950s? Can the contents of one plastic bottle really deliver on all of those promises? And are we even looking for those things at the end of a good shampooing? Hair diaries of women with great locks usually involve a lotta...
Paolo Carzana, the boy behind this quote and the collection below titled The Boy You Stole was one emerging talent presented in the season that put sustainability top of mind at LFW. The British Fashion Council’s announcement that London Fashion Week would be...
Long gone are uninviting dark Dickensian cluttered shops. Antiques have entered a new (eco) friendly state where they have never been more desirable. If you are excited to step back inside now that the number of hot days have outweighed ideas for al fresco...
I didn’t see myself squeezing into another capsule challenge so soon - having spent 6 of the coldest weeks in just 6 items of clothes for Labour Behind the Label at the start of the year - but this was too good to resist… 10 items, 10 days, easy right? Ah, but this...
If you’re looking for proof that magic exists then Kimaya's ethical elegance will suit you. After more than a decade working on fashion planet aka Paris, Anne-Sophie Planet swapped city life for southern India to realise her dreams as a designer. Following her...
I packed learnings of balance in my suitcase back from Berlin (alongside this Resolution organic cotton tee by Cruba). I should have known it would be a knowledge excursion when I spotted my school history teacher on our flight over. Ms Hodson taught me everything I...
The upside to taking a train to Córdoba on a Monday and realising many of the monuments and markets are closed is you get to really enjoy the neighbourhoods. We still got to explore the western world’s most stunning example of Moorish art, the Mezquita and the Roman...
Nobody wants to feel like a tourist. Who us? No no, we’re trailblazers - so you can imagine our surprise when we discovered our destination of choice is Lonely Planet’s No.1 city to visit in 2018. If like me you have to work through some guilt before enjoying your...
Having recently calculated that the renovation of my flat is 4x more sustainable than one planet living, I could be feeling smug, but with two flights in the pipeline next month I am less carbon footprint proud. Let me explain… One Planet Living is a framework...
Encaustic tiles The Vintage Floor Tile Company Artelli Canasto bag from Rev En Vert Organic cotton shirt & organic denim skirt both War & Drobe [If you're in London get yourself down to War & Drobe at 31 Lamb's Conduit Street from 14th - 27th May...
I know Sex in the City has been relegated to box-set territory but sometimes I refer to my flat as sustainability in the city, because like Carrie Bradshaw, I keep sweaters where my stove would have been. Reflecting on the moment I decided to turn my kitchen into my...
My husband and I suffered a bout of food poisoning this week, but off he went to his conference in Brussels and off I went to join him for the weekend. Since completing the Six Items Challenge for Labour Behind the Label I have been conscious to wear more of my...
It seems appropriate to end my Six Items Challenge for Labour Behind the Label in the little white dress I started in. I wore my white Reformation dress to celebrate our two year wedding anniversary and it got me thinking... I have too many clothes and although I am...
Abacá / Montezuma's also see Tidy Street general store to easily shop Abacá in the UK
Having spent a few days working away in Brighton - the town where I grew up - talk turned to where I might ultimately set-up home if my husband and I decide we have out-grown our little garden flat barely made for two. Back home in London, I dropped-off my luggage to...
My Six Items Challenge made packing simple for a last minute work trip to Madrid. I got out the Gabriele Vintage green dress - a symbol of fresh starts and progress, as we think of the green light as go. This Maison Bengal bag I got from Tidy Street general store in...
Today’s eco-warrior is less hemp, more hot. I don’t mean to do a disservice to the durable natural fibre, but hemp clothing is still building a new rep amongst fashion seekers that have discovered sexy and sustainable can coexist - as they do in the #ecohot label...
Retrouvius / MMPillowStore
The respectfully renovated Portland Stone building on Poultry Street, The Ned was the perfect setting to speak about how my reclaimed renovation resulted in me wearing the same six items of clothes for six weeks. There's been a bit of friendly competition in our...
There may be snow on the ground, but spring starts in March and I'm thinking about a sari. I have that bought something new feeling - when you want to wear it straight away and never be parted - but my Six Items Challenge, which continues for most of the month means I...
I definitely didn't expect snow when I picked mainly dresses for the six items to see me through six weeks. ©Photograph courtesy of PHIPPS - a newly launched menswear brand founded on the principles of respect and curiosity for the natural world. They're exploring...
Two weeks into six weeks wearing the same six items of clothes, I am tongue twisting and definitely compensating with shoes. On a side note, these 1940s pigeon holes make perfect shoe storage (complete with drawn-on letters, this piece was reclaimed from the post...
On arrival in Brighton yesterday I was confronted by my ten year old self. Two girls dressed almost identically were leaving the train station - one had a mini pink backpack (like the one I had from Tammy Girl) and both were wearing skater sneakers. They linked arms...
Wearing a choker made of surplus sofa fabric on my sofa upholstered in surplus bus seat fabric, contemplating second life in my deadstock Persol specs from the 1980s. Choker from beautiful inside and out PETA-approved Vegan brand Noumenon Persol spectacles from Spex...
Charity shops are name-checked by anyone advocating for sustainable and ethical fashion, so I can't ignore the scandal that recently broke about Oxfam - a charity that I donate to and shop from regularly (where I bought this Longchamp bag). Of course Oxfam is not the...
I saw the Queen yesterday (the day I wore jeans). More on that later as I didn’t have the energy to write last night. This morning my friend made me chuckle with a link to an Inc. article - Why Successful People Wear the Same Thing Every Day You see by wearing the...
Wore my M-24 backpack made of used truck tarpaulin to the Designer Showrooms today. Fashion week has a growing number of sustainable brands and stands - one being The Sustainable Angle, a not for profit organisation dedicated to projects that promote sustainable...
I met a fashion journalist from Spain the other day and we joked that even if it means crossing the road, stopping to soak up every moment of sunshine is essential to make it through the grey months in London. Fashion week might be all about autumn winter collections,...
My days are all messed up. It's the second day of fashion week, but it is in fact the weekend, so Saturday feels like Tuesday, but it's also masquerading as Thursday - on this, the forth day of my challenge. Despite setting my alarm for 7am on a Saturday, I knew...
It may be day three of my challenge for Labour Behind the Label, but it really only got challenging today on the first day of London Fashion Week. For some reason it felt like my first day at school. Perhaps it's because when you're a kid you get away with wearing...
Straight talking feminist, and star in the #MeToo incarnation of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, model, actress and author, Paulina Porizkova will return to London for the first time in 35 years to walk at London Fashion Week for emerging ethical designer Jiri...
Six weeks wearing only six items of clothing - one of which is this white Reformation dress. I'm glad to say it survived day one of the challenge and Valentine's Day date night. Big napkins are a must for me now. Support and share my page here 📣 ©Photograph...
©IWM (D 14826) Lent hasn't fallen on Valentine's Day since 1945. Today shiny heart shaped gifts and ash crosses collide, as I start my Six Items Challenge. I pledged to only wear six items of clothing for the next six weeks in support of Labour Behind the Label, a...
At the risk of sharing TMI, I just got back from a romantic trip to Bruges which perfectly coincided with my period. I don’t normally write in acronyms, but having found a new solution to life’s unmentionables, I feel like my pre-teen self experiencing a period for...
I have pledged to only wear six items of clothing for six weeks - starting just before London Fashion Week If it takes a collective to make a fashion, it takes collective action to end fashion abuse. The Six Items Challenge is a campaign created by Labour...
I recently transformed my kitchen into a walk-in wardrobe and my living room into my kitchen, so I thought this was a recipe worth sharing. My kitchen before Tiny kitchens are the norm in flats in London and although at one stage I merely used mine to reheat or "cook”...
British bee supporting cause aside, it’s just a brilliant statement sweatshirt. Gung Ho donates £5 to a charity that works with endangered bees with every purchase of this piece. The Gung Ho philosophy is undeniably designed to get people talking with its forward...
party season trousers Morv London rare card c.1910 from dealer Val Jackson-Harris at The Ephemera Society Winter Fair
Fashion Revolution fanzine #001:Money Fashion Power pages of poetry, illustration, photography, graphic design and editorials that explore the hidden stories behind our clothes green rose earrings by Gung Ho from Ethical Collection nothing more, nothing less t-shirt...
I recently discovered that my nickname at university was the swan. Okay so I have a long neck, but my friend suggested that it was more likely to do with my perfect hair. Rest assured, I also dislike the woman with the “perfect hair” my friend described, as...
Just like a business, we personally rely on our reputation so we should all know a bit about PR. The other week I saw movement maker and musician, Charlie Dark talk about his life through the theme of encouragement. The plus one of a friend, I had no idea what I...
Sometimes less is more. This is the approach of designer Laura Ironside, who set-up her label with the aim of creating seasonless garments, thoughtfully, through sensitive and sustainable manufacturing. For some, sustainable fashion is a contradiction in terms, and...
Ilia mascara in Nightfall from Content Georgia midi dress Mara Hoffman Miami Circle earrings Lee Renée shopper Vivienne Westwood
Run, don’t walk through the gates of Goldfinger's Haggerston School when the Midcentury East show returns to the London Borough of Hackney on 15 October 2017 - for pieces like this psychedelic film poster from exhibitor Orson & Welles will be in high demand. It...
Transforming my kitchen into a walk-in wardrobe might sound crazy, but as you can see above, my windowless eighties kitchen was destined for new life. I reused bits from the old kitchen and moved it to the back of the living room to make the most of the biggest room...
Chinti and Parker / Westland London I just watched the nineties classic So I Married an Axe Murderer for the first time. If you haven't seen it, I urge you to check out Mike Myers' beatnik poetry performance from the film. Hence why my...
Artist Chloë Holt and dealer in rare antiques, Chris Holmes have cultivated the kind of careers many dream of, doing what they love. There is an air of anticipation as I interview the two, both buzzing, ready to stand at Bruton Decorative Antiques Fair this October. ...
Part free spirit, part dedicated fan of fashion, 10 years in the industry has ingrained particular months (before fashion weeks) when I feel the clothes in my wardrobe aren’t cutting it. Coupled with 10 consecutive grey London days and counting, I know I am not alone...
Weekday / Retrouvius
Whether you're into antiques or not, Tallboy Interiors takes a new approach to old interiors that can inspire us all for the cosy season ahead. On his 18th birthday, Matt Dixon of Tallboy Interiors was given £1000 from his parents to spend as he wanted. Instead of...
Jumpsuits aren't always the smartest move when it comes to travelling, but I always seem to choose one because the chic/comfort balance outweighs the likely woman v jumpsuit wrestling in the loo. This People Tree collaboration with the V&A is wonderful. The Tulip...
Part-time harpist, educator, occasional snowboarder, and driving force behind phannatiq, Anna Skodbo takes a “clothes for people” attitude to designing. Attracting people from the likes of musicians Kate Nash, Harper and the pavement population with her city...
Laura Ironside / Tallboy Interiors
Lulled into a false sense of ceramic security by the fact my mum had a Belfast sink in her back garden (don’t most mums?!), I was expecting a kitchen sink to be one of the easiest things to source. I would have taken my mum’s, but she is saving it for her own...
Aside from the fact I love a bit of Radio 4's Dessert Island Discs (where presenter Kirsty Young asks famous guests to pick eight records to take if they were to be stranded on a dessert island), Stella McCartney's Dessert Island Discs seemed a good excuse to define...
Carla Colour Lind recycled sunglasses from Ethical Collection Amour jute tote The Jacksons also check for the jute totes on Ethical Collection & at their Portobello pop-up shop open until 30th July 2017. They have a delicious selection of Carla Colour...
Ever practical, I chose a glazed 1940s staff noticeboard reclaimed from London’s Kings Cross station from SalvoWEB to style as my kitchen cabinet. Not that I was intending to consume as many tubes of tortilla chip Pringles as the decorators, but soon only pretty...
Vintage Roots / The Architectural Forum
Moments of the first half of 2017 brought to mind the Paris motto, Fluctuat nec mergitur, a Latin phrase meaning “Tossed but not sunk.” At the beginning of the year our boiler broke, whilst having reclaimed wood shelves installed - which turned into a much bigger job...
I couldn't resist Randy's Reproductive System Sweater from Rachel Antonoff for World Population Day with a portion of the proceeds being donated to Planned Parenthood (even if it is harder to get your hands on in the UK) Barocco handcraft pieces like these Wishbone...
Think you are ready for your renovation project, then prepare to neglect your usual e-com candy for sites like Broken Bog. My daily scroll of choice was Style.com when I started planning my flat renovation, which has since been discontinued as Condé Nast partner with...
Pachacuti / Retrouvius
Wardrobe dilemma - It's summer and all I want to do is break out playful printed dresses when our British climate plays ball, but switching between boots and sandals, bohemian dresses and woolies doesn't make my winter white skin feel ready. Wardrobe solution - The...
Antonia Burrell Holistic Skincare / The Home Bothy
Julia Jones put the Jones in Mary Jones Vintage, a divorce lawyer that sources and sells vintage fashion. Based in Liverpool, stocked in Liberty of London and preparing for her first Salvo Fair in my Fair Fashion pop up, which opens in Henley tomorrow (23rd until the...
I just visited Athens, city of marble for the first time. The Greek side of my husband's family visited us in London before we all headed to a big fat Greek wedding in Athens. I'll keep references to that film brief, but it's been a running joke since my first dinner...
Veja / Boochi & Co
I know I am not the only one to have jewellery boxed-up in drawers, saving it for best. The same goes for antique silverware, often passed down through family, brought out for special occasions when firstly, we remember it’s there, and secondly, we can digest more...
I’ve got my eyes on a pair of made in England clogs stocked at Mahala, an independent homewares and accessories shop selling handmade bags and handcrafted pieces by designer/maker Emily Griffin. Emily’s East London shop is based in an old fishmonger, where a material...
If you love wine, but you are less attached to the sulphites, perhaps in search of vegan or biodynamic wine, then you need to know about the organic wine people, Vintage Roots. The name was derived from a reggae compilation tape on a road trip the founders took to...
One year ago I left my corporate fashion job to follow a more conscious life. My job gave me pleasure and pain, and enabled me to buy my first home in west London. Like a secret diary, I started to blog about my journey into a more sustainable existence (shoe...