Sweet Notions c/o Extra Space

3011 San Jacinto #424

Houston, TX   77004

We are currently in need of donations, so please, clean out those jewelry boxes of any unwanted accessories. And, while your at it, ask your friends and family to do the same.

Thanks! Jessica

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As an artist and small business owner in one of the United States’ hubs for sustainability, DIY fashion, and crafts, what is your overall outlook for the future of upcycled art and repurposed fashions?

I am an upcycled apparel designer, and I think there is a serious future for this type of design. It is clearly sustainable because it is affordable to produce and purchase, it lessens waste, and it creates one-of-a-kind garments that are very desirable. One of my tasks as a seamstress is to teach others about re-design, and enable them to get creative with materials that otherwise may never see the light of day again. Let's reclaim and repurpose!
 

What role can small business-owners and artisans play in the broader movement toward sustainable, non-toxic fashion? What role can they play in the social justice movement?

We, as a community, are making the decision to stabilize our economy by directly supporting its producers, which, in turn, has a multitude of positive effects on the environment and our immediate economic climate. By turning our economy inwards to small production, we are paying less for transported merchandise and lessening the primary consequences of imported material. We are also protecting our community from homogenization by ensuring that the community defines itself. In short, we are making a decisive measure to sustain the growth, impact, and quality made possible by our community. I see these values lending to social justice because they are proof that a community can represent itself, produce and protect its core values, and turn its production towards causes that enable forward thinking. Our work as a community of artisans has thus far been deeply founded in the act of working together and when this energy is applied, whatever the cause may be, it has sheer magnitude. 

Who or what are your current inspirations?

I am deeply inspired by Portland seamstresses. Groups such as the Stitch Collective are working together to share patterns, materials, resources, vending opportunities, contracting work, etc. Stitch Collective houses its meetings at Mag-Big, and they are so wonderful, informative, and above all, supportive. I have been so inspired by my fellow designers that my big project this year is a fashion show for local designers on Hawthorne, wherein we will be building a huge run-way down the historical alley of 33rd (with the mural of literary figures). Information about the fashion show can be found on our blog: http://hawthornefashionshow.wordpress.com/

Sweet Notions guest blogger Melissa Reeser is a poet and writer living in the Pacific Northwest. She works part-time at Saint David of Wales Episcopal Church, and is managing editor of  Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac

Here in Portland, people with a passion for fashion and social justice are coming together to build the first U.S. franchise of Sweet Notions—and finding there’s strength (and beauty) in numbers. Opportunities for collaboration, mutual inspiration, and collective empowerment abound here in Portland’s growing community of artisans and DIY entrepreneurs. 

In a city where the number of non-profits per capita is higher than anywhere else in the country, the art of repurposing takes on several layers of meaning. What is our purpose, what’s our role in the global movement for social and environmental change? How can we work together to create a broader, more functional and sustainable definition of fashion?

By way of introduction, here are some of the ways Portlanders are responding to the call for action.

Junk to Funk just celebrated its fifth anniversary: five years of addressing “America’s manic purchasing habits and throw-it-away mentality, in a fun, positive, and educational manner.” The Portland-based non-profit has done a phenomenal job of it, with school youth programs and summer camps, gallery installations, and community art events. But they don’t stop there. Bringing their bold style into the business and entertainment realms, they use art and creativity to put the question to mainstream culture: “What if the ultimate measure of coolness was how little you bought and how much you creatively reused?” A Junk to Funk creation was featured during the recent Miss America pageant, when Miss Oregon wore a 1950s-style bathing suit fashioned from used bicycle tires. (See profile in The Oregonian.)

Trillium Artisans seeks to actively empower artists working with recycled materials, using John McKnight’s principles of asset-based community development. Their Green Crafts project offers small business counseling, peer networking and technical assistance and training to low-income craftspeople. With a retail space featuring high quality, hand-crafted work made from a variety of repurposed and recycled materials, it’s truly a community treasure.

Just over the hill in Beaverton, Shoe Revolt is doing amazing things to bring life essentials to sex-trafficking survivors. How? With that most essential wardrobe piece—the shoe. Like Sweet Notions, Shoe Revolt is a for-profit social enterprise seeking to empower women marginalized by the sex industry. Visit their online store to shop an impressive collection of donated shoes, and find out how to get involved. Survivor-designed shoes coming this spring. All proceeds benefit local and national shelters, survivor educational scholarships, and public advocacy.

Sweet Notions is delighted to be part of Swap Shop 2011.

'The Swap Shop 2011 is all about women joining together to Swap their unwanted clothes in a fun and musically filled environment. The Swap Shop is the only place that women can trade in their well looked after clothes for other chic items, as well as receive tips and goodies, take part in competitions, bid for new items and treat their taste buds to sweet desires! 

Sweet Notions will be selling their gorgeous jewellery and accessories PLUS we will be holding a 'Make a Lampshade' workshop.  They're simple to make and look fantastic so come and see us!

There are a variety of tickets available.  You'll need the 'Creative' ticket in order to take part in the lampshade workshop.

Date: May 14th
Time: 17:30 - 22:30
At: The Tabernacle, Powis Square, Notting Hill, W11 2AY
More info

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MAY 18th - Jill Reno Comes To Town

We are delighted to host Jill Reno for a few days.  Jill Reno is a jewellery designer from Texas but has produced items for celebs in New York and beyond.  Jill will be running two jewellery wokshops at the Marylebone Project and generally helping us out. 

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MAY 19th DAY - Jill Reno At The Marylebone Project

Sweet Notions will be holding two jewellery making workshops with the women at the Marylebone Project.  Inbetween we will be partaking in a little afternoon tea if you would like to join us. Yes, cake.

Date: 19th May
Time: TBC
At: 1-5 Cosway Street, NW1 5NR

MAY 19th EVENING - Collection Drive, Luna and Curious

We are holding a Collection Drive at Luna and Curious in Shoreditch.  Come along and bring all your cast-off jewellery and accessories - don't want it anymore? We do!

Date: May 19th
Time: TBC
At: 24-26 Calvert Avenue, E2 7JP

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MAY 20th/21st - Sweet Notions Pop-Up Shop At The Landmark

Sweet Notions Pop-Up Shop!  A chance to buy some gorgeous recycled, re-purposed jewellery and accessories - and have a lovely glass of something and a nice chat too.  

Highlights:
- Its the Landmark Hotel!
- On sale will be beautiful Jill Reno jewellery all the way from the US of A.
- Fashion show! (more details to follow)

Date: May 20th or 21st (TBC)
Time: TBC
At: 222 Marylebone Road, NW1 6JQ

{image_1}We will be setting up shop for the day in our beloved East London (where many of the Sweet Notions team reside) and selling our upcycled goodies, as well as hopefully having many an interesting chat.  Do pop along to see us.

When: 10am-9pm, 19th April.  A Tuesday.

Where: 3-5 Whitechapel Road, E1 1DU.  Here's a map to help.

Meanwhile Space works with landlords, landowners, developers and local authorities to relieve them temporarily of liabilities (insurance, rates, security etc.) associated with holding redundant shops, offices, cleared land etc. whilst an appropriate commercial solution is being sought. By working with local communities and other stakeholders, interim, or 'Meanwhile,' uses are deployed to reanimate the space and provide opportunities for community benefit and social enterprise.

It should be a great day for community benefit and social enterprise.  And Sweet Notions loves a bit of social enterprising, oh yes.

If there's one thing we know here, it's that it matters where things come from. The hand-crafted and repurposed accessories we sell at our boutique events are all donated and reused, breaking the cycle of the throwaway culture and supporting out design camps to boot! Every piece originates with a woman who has chosen to donate her old-boyfriend jewellery or last-season handbag instead of sending them to landfill or leaving them to collect dust at the back of her wardrobe. 

It's been a bit of a mission for us to get people to think about where their accessories come from. Whose hands put together that funky beaded bracelet? From what country did those shiny semi-precious stones originate? Because it matters how something was made and who made it. We want to be able to feel beautiful without having to exploit tailors and dressmakers and jewellers around the world. We want every worker to get a fair wage for what they make and to be valued for the pleasure they bring us. 

Materials are important. Where does the stone in that sexy pendant come from? Did the manufacturing process harm the environment? Did the chemicals used harm the people making it?

These questions are none more important than with fine jewellery. Gemstones and precious metals can take huge amounts of energy to mine, and the mining process often uses poisonous substances such as arsenic, which harm both workers and the environment. No Dirty Gold tell of the huge cost of big mining for gold and precious metals: the production of one gold wedding band can take 20 tons of (often toxic) mine waste. The regular use of arsenic, cyanide and mercury in precious metal mining pollutes water sources, kills wildlife and can seriously damage the health of people living close to industrial mines.

The high social and environmental cost of metals and gems is one reason why we love vintage pieces and heirloom gems so much. The greenest piece of jewellery is a reused piece, and vintage style is always chic. Here at Sweet Notions we love to take the old jewellery you no longer need or want and make it sparkle again for someone else to enjoy. Where we can't do that, we partner with people who share our values, which is why we love Melinda & Lee at St. Pierre's Jewelers in Alaska who have helped us recycle gold and who sells the most amazing heirloom diamonds, for those who need to know exactly where their bit of bling was bagged from!

It’s a semi-vicious cycle: I take my unwanted fashions to two trade-in clothing shops in Portland. The fashionista at the counter scrutinizes my pilly sweaters, scuffed heels, the top I bought here last week which (in the true light of day) turned out to be all wrong for me. They offer me a percentage for trade-in, and I’m back in the stacks, looking for the next piece of fabric to fill the skirt-shaped hole in my heart.

I have two questions: Am I the only one who does this? What am I really looking for?

The first question’s easy. If I was the only one, these shops would be out of business. The trade-in line is perpetually long, snaking back through the jammed racks. Young men in skinny jeans shift overstuffed grocery bags from one fashionable hip to the other. Young women in thick glasses text friends, and toe their own bags forward as the line moves along.

On the one hand, it’s both brilliant business plan and eco-positive solution to the material glut resulting from our collective appetite for fast fashion. The trade-in shops are essentially monetized, mediated community closets. Here is where the broke and the beautiful come to trade dissatisfaction for something both borrowed and new.

On the other hand, it’s a business model which profits from a kind of addiction. How much of a solution is it when it fuels an unexamined need for the next look, the next “it” thing? (A need which, in turn, fuels the larger forces which underpay, overharvest, and outsource.) To the extent that these trading posts cater to fashion dictates—“Sorry, we’re only taking pencil skirts and Pendletons right now”—they encourage a frenzied disposal of the old and feed the desire for the new.

Which leads me to the second question.

What am I really looking for, when I’m craving something new? Is it a glimpse of myself as a different person, with a different set of interests and problems? A ticket to a new and improved version of the same self? Surely I don’t believe this is the last time I’ll strip my closet and pack a grocery bag with the things I’m tired of or never wore. Surely there will be a day when I’ve got everything I need, and believe it.

I remember a family friend—a teacher and mentor who died several years ago—who found a way to appease or make peace with his own impulse to consume.

Every so often, he went down to the local wholesale warehouse. Wheeling a cart through the wide doors, he breathed in the smell of newness, absorbed the excited energy in the air. He went up and down the aisles, examining and sampling things, filling the cart. And then, when he was ready, he retraced his steps and put everything back on the shelves again. He returned the cart, and walked out empty-handed, free, contented.

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Photograph: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images.
Source: The Guardian, October 30, 2010

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Who'd have thought that recycled, re-purposed and pre-loved accessories could look so stylish?  Well we did obviously, but so did our very own stylist Hyunwoo and she helped us prove it.  She thoughtfully selected a collection of pieces from our eclectic range and directed a style shoot with photographer: Beinta á Torkilsheyggi, hair & makeup artist: Kayoko Kishi and model: Lucía Leal Olivas. 

These fabulous photos will be used on the site over the next few months but we wanted to tell their story here.  Sweet Notions flourishes from gifts of time and talent generously given by individuals and in this case Hyunwoo Soh is our hero.  A student from the London College of Fashion, Hyunwoo, has helped us raise our game in terms of the quality and style we want our collection to exude.   She and her team worked to our tight timescales of completing before our latest show.  Hyunwoo has challenged me to think more about how we merchandise at shows and displaying a collection can be much more attractive than simply items by colour.  So look out world, Hyunwoo Soh has style and she's not afraid to use it!

Check out our boutique page for information on how to purchase any of the items you see here (and more fab photos).

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What drew me into Sweet Notions right away was their aspiration towards social change one pearl strand at a time. What better way to do so, right? 

When I was a child, I knew all too well what it was like to live up to the capitalistic standards of society, and the damaging effects of “fast fashion.” There were certain things that even as children we were programmed to do or not do, and if you try to challenge the norm you will pay for it. This was the very lesson I learned at 8 years old in an elementary school in South Central Los Angeles, whose demographics are described by Wikipedia as “almost synonymous with urban decay and street crime.” Our neighborhood was poor and we knew it. So this is my story…

It was a day like any other when I saw that in the classroom trash someone had thrown a diary. It had a pink cover with a deer drinking water in the forest, and to me it seemed like the most beautiful piece of art I had ever seen. It was probably purchased at the local store by the Laundromat for about 99 cents, but I knew that my mother would not buy something like that for me because if it’s not a necessity then I can forget it. And you just don’t want to challenge my mother when it came to money. Plus I knew we didn’t have much of it, so it just didn’t feel right to ask. 

But here was the perfect opportunity. Someone didn’t want the diary so I picked it from the trash. There was only paper thrown in the classroom can so it looked perfectly clean upon inspection. Then I put it in my backpack and took it. Once I got home I put my craft skills to the test. How do I fix this diary? The cover was stable and inside all it lacked was paper. I didn’t have the paper to match the diary but I did have my father’s old notebooks. He kept them for me because he said I could learn English by reading his old school work, which I did, but now I needed the extra blank paper so I knew he wouldn’t mind me taking it. I cut the paper and glued it in place. I was so proud of myself for making sure the edges were perfectly straight.

The next day I took it to school and another girl in my class asked me where I got the diary. I said someone threw it in the trash so I took it home. Later that day, several boys and girls approached me, and then called me “trash digger” among other things. One of the girls told me that was her diary and I had stolen it. I don’t remember the sequence of events after that but I do remember giving the girl “her” diary back. And even though I don’t remember exactly what happened I do remember how I felt: lonely, angry and, most importantly, I felt complete shame. I was shunned by my classmates. Every look they gave me was of complete disgust. And why? Because I had taken something from the trash, because that’s not how one is supposed to acquire things, because the norm is to ask your parents to give you something. Deep down I knew they were wrong. I had not done anything to be ashamed about, but still I couldn’t shake my shame. 

Sweet Notions has reinforced my 8-year-old self that I was not wrong. That it is ok to “upcycle” things if someone else does not need or want it. So ask yourself, “How can I help Sweet Notion’s motto to rethink, restore and reclaim?” If you have any old diaries and/or pearl strands around, then maybe that’s a start. 

As well as pop-up Boutique Stores, Sweet Notions is changing the world through Design Camps.  Small groups of women, often rescued from trafficking, transforming broken or non-selling accessories into unique and gorgeous items.

Early on in the development stages of the Design Camps I joined a group of incredible women who sat and listened to co-founders Jessica and Shannon talk about their passion, vision and dreams for where Sweet Notions was going.  And I also had the opportunity to admire button covers.

I didn't even know button covers existed although, now I think of it, I imagine Joan Collins had her fair share of them during Dynasty!  Many broken accessories sprawled across an apartment floor in London alongside accessories deemed unsellable! And we looked at them and made things from them.  

Those early beginnings of turning something broken into something wearable has now become a strong arm to the Sweet Notions brand.

Design Camps give disadvantaged woman an opportunity to re-claim themselves.  Design Camps teach women creative skills to transform broken accessories into earrings and other items.  These are then sold through the pop-up Boutique Stores after each woman has taken something she has made for herself.  

Inspiring these women to believe in a positive future is just one of the benefits of the Design Camps.  Another benefit is that at any one time, a pop-up Boutique Store will have 100% unique accessories for sale because they have been lovingly handmade by someone who cares.  Cares about the job in hand and cares about changing the world.

I support Sweet Notions wholeheartedly.  I am proud to co-own the web design family that designed the www.sweetnotions.org website and I am thrilled to be on this journey with the Sweet Notions team.  

I urge you to consider giving one month's worth of Starbucks spend to Sweet Notions at their current Sponduly.com quest which is specifically for the Design Camps.  

Or maybe you might choose to hold back the money you were going to spend on a new outfit this weekend and instead give it to Sweet Notions.  You know, you can make a previously worn outfit look totally different with a few well-placed accessories!!

Follow Sweet Notions on twitter:  @sweetnotions1
Follow me on twitter:  @beamoogaloo

Tell your friends about this amazing Social Enterprise and look at how you can raise funds, or spare funds, to bring about transformation.

At any Sweet Notions pop-up Boutique Store you have a wonderful challenge whenever your eyes fall upon upon a beautiful, beautifully donated accessory.  And that challenge is to name your price. 

Now Sweet Notions are not set up to give women and men a free-for-all on their products.  Instead they educate their customers with the story behind a piece of jewellery, the current market value for particular materials such as leather, gold etc.  And they give a framework of price around which the customer has an amazing opportunity to make an informed and free choice about what to pay.

I had the honour of helping out, as a volunteer, at the Sweet Notions launch party.  Some people found this idea of confronting the true value of an accessory so challenging that they couldn't bring themselves to buy it.  Instead they walked away empty-handed. 

At first I thought this was a bad thing - Sweet Notions exists to drive sales and profit to plough back into social projects and causes.  But, as co-founder Shannon Hopkins pointed out, each customer that walks out empty-handed because the idea of naming their own price is too challenging has just taken a stand against the fast-fashion industry. 

And here is the significant step they've taken... They've proved to themselves that they are not a slave to their consumer desire.  And they now know a little bit more about what goes into a fashion industry whose style changes every couple of weeks.

Follow Sweet Notions on twitter:  @sweetnotions1
 

Tell your friends about this amazing Social Enterprise and look at how you can raise funds, or spare funds, to bring about transformation.  You can fund them on  Sponduly.com by giving just £5.

1. WOW - that is an amazing idea.  Simply stunning and stunningly simple - why didn't I think of it?!
2. I am so glad someone is doing something about this issue - I wish I had the energy and drive to make a difference.
3. Can I get involved?!

When I first heard about Sweet Notions I thought all three of those.  And I am so pleased to say that I have been able to get involved at many steps along the way and I love everything that Sweet Notions stands for.  

I love that they are tackling the fast-fashion industry from a unique angle and also that they are tackling the issues surrounding human trafficking from a unique angle.

There are eco-clothing designers and retailers out there who are doing great things but they still use the normal routes to sale as every high street store.  

Then there is Sweet Notions.  Who needs a shop?  Let's create pop-up Boutique Stores.  We can make them uniquely different every time, we can take them anywhere and we don't have to pay rent for the privilege.

I'd love you to consider giving a little bit of your money to Sweet Notions.  They have embraced a new initiative called Sponduly.com to fund this great concept.

Follow Sweet Notions on twitter:  @sweetnotions1

Follow me on twitter:  @beamoogaloo

Tell your friends about this amazing Social Enterprise and look at how you can raise funds, or spare funds, to bring about transformation.

***PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE - 16TH FEBRUARY NOT 17TH FEBRUARY (as originally said)***

We are very excited to announce our next Sweet Notions event at the B.Hive, Covent Garden.  We've enjoyed holding our boutiques in some amazing venues and this month is no different.  New to London, B.Hive aims to offer a 'feminine space to network and share stories', all within beautifully designed surroundings.  We think Sweet Notions and B.Hive fit perfectly.

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On the night Sweet Notions will be offering beauty products, vintage silver, stylish shoes and gorgeous accessories for purchase.  All the money raised goes back into the Sweet Notions project, assisting vulnerable women in London to learn new skills and build confidence.  

We look forward to seeing you there.

16th February, 6.30-9.30pm
B.Hive
26-27 Southampton Street, WC2E 7RS

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