Wombling free.
I was always fascinated with the Wombles. I loved that they 'made good use of bad rubbish'. These funny, furry, singing creatures appeared on our TV screens in the 1970's bringing with them a very poignant message - to reduce, reuse and recycle!
This notion of taking something that is no longer required or wanted, and transforming it into something else with a new life or purpose, is one that I hold very dearly. This process, called 'upcycling' is something I have always been drawn to.
I had a good foundations though. My parents taught me the value of material goods and showed me that, if you look after your belongings, they will last a long time, meaning that we don't need to use more of the earths resources than we absolutely need to. Perhaps at the time this was more as a way of saving money but either way it has shaped me to think consciously about my belongings.
They taught me to use tools to sew, build and repair, and to think outside of the box. They were the real-life wombles and often re-imagined everyday items. A particular favourite of mine is a lamp my dad made out of an old carpenters plane.
As a student I turned my hand to all things textiles and discovered the art of deconstructing old clothing and refashioning it into something new and unique, a technique now referred to as 'slicing'. You can do courses in this which tells me that there is a demand for it, which is positive because perhaps this means that people are shifting their mindsets away from the pressure of modern day demands and instead focusing on ways to live healthier, happier lifestyles where creative flare flourishes.
Make do and mend.
Between 1926 - 1945 the government introduced a war-time campaign called 'Make do and mend' which encouraged people to repair, reuse and re-imagine their waste. In times of war we didn't have access to new items, and we certainly weren't reliant on cheap and fast fashion as we are nowadays. We made do with what we had and what we had we shared.
We darned socks, we reused glass bottles, we transformed old curtains into aprons, we used old net drapes to make wedding dresses, and people even unpicked old jumpers to reuse the wool!
This model might not be easiest to follow in our modern-fast paced world, especially when we are constantly being offered the latest fashions at inordinately low prices, but it can perhaps inspire us to think differently about the way in which we live our lives and encourage us to become more mindful of our purchases and consumption.
Life is busy and many of us have so little time to spare that I can't imagine that they'll be many people darning their socks or unraveling their favourite sweater any time soon (although I do indeed darn socks because they are handmade woollen ones and repairing them seems only natural) but for me it is simply about making some time. Perhaps this is easy for me as I enjoy the process of upcycling and consider it a therapy, or even part of my self-care routine because I am doing something practical and creative (which ticks many boxes) but also because I know what I'm doing is good for the planet.
This same love of reuse and upcycling built the foundation for our skincare and soaps. Our decision to build a brand that focussed on sustainability and circularity comes from a deep rooted belief that we shouldn’t take more than what we need from our planet, and that we should honour what we take by using it in its entirety. Upcycled oils were a natural choice for us and we hope you love them in our products as much as we do.
Wombling free…..
