Paper Potter

My family are well trained - they know I love a nice eco gift! This Paper Potter was a Christmas present from my brother and his family. I have only just got round to blogging about it because I had to wait til Spring/Summer to use it!



I spent a relaxing evening cutting up newspapers and rolling them onto this little pot-making implement back in early Springtime. It takes a little bit of trial and error, the first few I made weren't that great. But after a while I started to build up quite a production line in the end, practise makes perfect and all that...



I think they look great grouped together, and they work really well. I grew sunflowers and nasturtiums in them back in April. They have been potted on and the newspaper will have rotted away by now.



I highly recommend these paper potters, just the fact that the company who make them have one of the best names ever is a good enough reason to buy one! they are a great way to make a small, ecofriendly change by rejecting plastic pots and using recycled paper!

Sustainable Fishing

Channel 4 are currently running a season of programs to highlight the current problems with the way fish are caught off our coastline. I watched Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's program the other night and it sent my blood pressure through the roof. It's a good job organisations like Channel 4 run programs such as these or I would never learn about the senseless waste of precious fish stocks.

Most people know that the seas are over fished and you assume that EU fish quotas are set up to help this situation. Apparently not. I cannot believe that nearly 50% of all fish caught in the north sea are thrown back dead. Fishermen are not allowed to land over-quota fish such as cod and haddock, so they have no choice but to throw them back. You can read more about the campaign here. You can also keep up to date with the campaign by following @hughsfishfight on Twitter.

If you are interested in joining the campaign to send a letter to to Commissioner Maria Damanaki, members of the Common Fisheries Policy Reform Group, and all MEPs, check out the Fish Fight website. Over 94,000 people have already signed up which is great news.

Channel 4 are also urging people to eat types of seafood that are traditionally less popular. They want to encourage people to eat more sustainable varieties and not turn to the usual suspects such as Cod, Salmon and Tuna. Find some inspiration here

It's ceratinly made me think about the fish I buy and I'm going to try out some of the recipes over the coming weeks.

Vintage fabric lavender hearts

Over the past few months I have been busily making lots of vintage fabric hearts. They always prove to be very popular both online and at craft fairs. They are very versatile, either hang them in your wardrobe (lavender acts as an eco friendly moth repellent) or place on the bedside table to help you drift off to sleep.



They also make lovely eco friendly wedding or anniversary gifts. If you are planning your own wedding, they make ideal keepsakes to give to your bridesmaids to thank them for their hard work and remind them of the happy day. Many people choose to have a more 'handmade' look to their wedding theme, and these hearts fit in perfectly.



Each heart is made from vintage fabric and filled with chemical free lavender. They have a satin ribbon hanging loop and feature a vintage button for added detail. The backs of the hearts are made from vintage broderie anglaise fabric.











I currently have four different colourways for sale at the moment, but I have lots more planned, so keep checking back to see more. If you have a particular colour theme you are looking for, please do get in touch!

Lavender hearts on Etsy

Earth Day 2010

Earth Day takes place on April 22nd 2010 and I just wanted to give a heads up on a couple of events I am involved with.



2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, so the Eco Etsy Team are pulling out all the stops to mark the day. You can read more about the fantastic Green Share scheme and the proposed 'silent auction' on the team blog.



I am also taking part in the Cosa Verde Earth Day giveaway in association with Modish. I will blog further details nearer the time!




To keep up to date with these Earth Day events, you can follow Pouch, Cose Verde and the Eco Etsy Team on Twitter
Pouch
Cosa Verde
Eco Etsy

And the winner is...

Last month Pouch ran a blog giveaway, up for grabs was a vintage Liberty fabric peg bag.

The winner picked at random from all the comments and followers was...
babalisme
her comment read:
"I'm not kidding when I said everything is wonderful because, they are hard to pick!! Really, I love lavender owls, I had a hard time choosing the fabrics, so I guess i love them all and reversible bags are so on top of my list. but, if you really insist me picking only one, it would be Burnt orange and rich brown vintage fabric Dilly tote, just maybe. because I love them all!!"

I hope the winner enjoys their prize and that it makes laundry day just that little bit more cheerful :)

Many thanks for all your lovely comments and for taking part.

Howies + Folsky competition entry

Folksy, the new online venue to buy and sell handmade crafts, is running a competition in conjunction with Howies



we submitted our Purple Berries Messenger Bag entry yesterday
It is made from recycled corduroy and repurposed vintage cotton fabric
To see the full explanation behind our entry, please click here!

Taste of Somerset Festival

Pouch had a stall at the annual 'Taste of Somerset Festival' in Hutton on the 27th August.
Despite the rain and grey skies, the event was well attended. The large marquee was full of people sampling the best of Somerset food, drink and crafts. There was plenty of variety on show at the market. Produce ranged from the more exotic, such as boar and buffalo meat to more traditional fare such as Cheddar strawberries and of course, scrumpy cider.
Festivities carried on into the evening with a pig roast, music and cabaret and real ale and cider bars!

Repurposed belts

We are taking part in the 'Taste of Somerset Festival' on the 27th August
So we're currently in the process of putting together lots of stock to take along.
This is our latest batch of belts, made from repurposed belts covered with fab vintage fabric!

StyleSearch Competition

StyleSearch is a competition to find the UK’s most stylish and ethical dressers. The competition is part of Thread, the BBC’s online ethical fashion magazine.
It shows people how to get an eco-glam look through a unique mix of affordable fashion, videos, photo galleries and features.

The competition involve asking fashion lovers to create an ethical look from a selection of organic, fair trade, vintage, recycled or customised clothes.

The winner will get the chance to spend a day with a top stylist at London Fashion Week in September, assisting with the styling of the Thread fashion show.

More details here:
StyleSearch Competition

and here is the link to Thread magazine:
Thread

The image at the top of this post is of one of our reversible mini messenger bags made from vintage fabric and recycled denim.

Ethical Expo 2008

The first Ethical Expo will be held on the 9th and 10th May 2008, incorporating International Fairtrade Day.

"Ethical Expo will help consumers make the right choices by bringing together producers, distributors, resellers and the public. Ethical Expo will cover three areas; Eating, Wearing and Living, with seminars, demonstrations, shows and stands."
"With 60 major exhibitors, a programme of seminars,workshops and key speakers all designed to educate, inform and enthuse the public, Ethical Expo expects in excess of 10,000 visitors over the two days."
Where?
Bristol, UK
9th and 10th May 2008
more info here:
Ethical Expo 2008

Pouch will be taking part in an ethical fashion show at the event on 10th May.
A number of our bags will be featured along with clothes by Adili, Boutique Ethique, Bishopston Trading’s new Lotus Collection, Chandni Chowk, Curious Tales, Ethletic, Green Shoes and People Tree
The show starts at 5.30pm

Fashion show coordinated by Oxfam and FLOCK Fashion

Earth Day – 10% discount in our Etsy store

22nd April is Earth Day
The movement was set up to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's environment

We are offering 10% discount on a selection of vintage fabric totes, so you can ditch the plastic bags and use something much nicer instead.





Please follow the links to see our discounted vintage totes!
Reversible purple daisy market tote bag EARTH DAY

Blue tweed vintage fabric tote EARTH DAY

Reversible sunny yellow market tote bag EARTH DAY

Large tree hugger tote with pocket EARTH DAY

Delicate flowers navy corduroy tote EARTH DAY

Big blue flowers vintage fabric tote EARTH DAY

Recycled distressed denim tote bag EARTH DAY

Tree hugger vintage fabric tote EARTH DAY

English rose vintage fabric eco tote EARTH DAY


Other Etsy sellers are celebrating Earth Day, see Hedgewitch's blog for further details:
Earth Day at Hedgewitch

Pouch clutch purse featured in Etsy Spotlight

Our Scarlet eco friendly clutch purse wristlet was featured as a Spotlight item on Etsy on April 12


This purse is made with repurposed bright red needle-cord fabric
Fully lined with beautiful, recycled Chandni Chowk cotton fabric
Features bow-tie fastening and wrist strap
This purse is interlined with padded fabric to give it a great shape
Pretty and stylish, great for year-round use
eco-friendly, 100% recycled

To read the Spotlight article on Etsy, click on this link

eco friendly, vintage fabric belts listed in our etsy shop

Click on the following links to find the belts in our etsy shop

Blue tones vintage fabric belt with bakelite buckle

Purple daisy repurposed and recovered belt

A living wage for the people who make your clothes

The campaign group Labour Behind the Label are lobbying large corporations in the UK to pay garment workers a living wage:

"We all know that fashion executives and supermodels live in excess on seven-figure salaries, while garment workers remain - systematically, across the world - mired in a poverty trap. This winter, LBL is calling on the fashion industry - and four companies in particular - to finally live up to its promise to pay workers a living wage."
"Even adjusting for the lower cost of living in developing countries, most earn just a half of what they need to get by. Workers producing the clothes we wear can be earning as little as 22p per hour in Mauritius, £1.13 per day in India, £16 per month in Sri Lanka, £145 per year in Bangladesh."

If you'd like to take direct action and support the LBL campaign, please visit their website for further details:
Labour Behind the Label: Take Action

Pouch listed in the Bristol & Bath Green Pages

We are really excited about being included in the 2008 edition of the Bristol & Bath Green Pages.
It is a directory of ethical businesses operating in the Bristol & Bath area. Categories range from gardening, shopping and health, through to ethical money advice and green home improvement.
Pouch is listed in the shopping section under 'Design and Craft Products'.
The ethos behind the B&B Green Pages is this:
"We believe that the way we buy our goods and services can have a real impact on the world today and in the future. However, these choices are not always easy or obvious, so by bringing all these different aspects of green living together in one directory, Green Pages aims to make it a bit easier! Green Pages is part of a diverse and growing community of businesses, all of whom have strong ethical values at their core.
We believe that we have a responsibility to operate our business as ethically and sustainably as possible, for everybody’s future. We therefore aim to act ethically, avoid damaging the environment and people, and believe our business offers an ethically preferential choice. We aim to be sustainable, to offer quality products and services and to always look at how we can improve our practice.”

Find out more and where you can buy the directory by visiting their website:
Bristol & Bath Green Pages

Flock Fashion Show: Fashion Recycled and Rethought

At Pouch we are delighted to be involved with Flock Fashion's first show on the 8th March 2008.

Flock's ethos is:
"As well as putting on lots of lovely glamorous events, we want to raise awareness amongst the fashion industry, as well as amongst the public. we want to show that it is possible to look and feel great in what you're wearing, without causing any damage to the environment or creating unfairness within trade"
Some of exciting designers are taking part in the event, including:
Traid
Enamore
SI:SU
Dig For Victory
Ani Townsend Millinery


Please see the following flyer for further details.
Tickets are available from www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

Taking lots of photos

This week I have been taking lots of photos of our handmade bags to show the organisers of the Flock Fashion Show.
We are due to take part in a catwalk presentation on March 8th, I will post more details nearer the time!
Here is a small selection of new bags for 2008, all are made from vintage and recycled fabric.

Creating images with Flickr tools

Flickr tools is an incredibly useful website to help you collate your Flickr images together in creative and imaginative ways.
Here is a mosaic of our peg bags!



Find out more about Flickr tools here:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/

Vintage Haberdashery Finds Part 2

I recently found these in my new favourite shop!
Big vintage bakelite buttons, look a bit like eyes, 5p each from the Hospice shop in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, UK

Get off to a green start this year by recycling your Christmas cards!

Last year the UK recycled 82 million Christmas cards, this year's target is 90 million.

Recycle Now and the Woodland Trust have joined forces with several retailers who'll provide special bins for cards and local recycling points.

Some of the retailers offering Christmas card recycling are:
WHSmith, TESCO supermarket (including selected Express stores), TK Maxx stores and Marks & Spencer

find out more here:
Recycle Now
Woodland Trust

Don't forget Christmas trees can be recycled too, contact your local council for chipping and composting services.