so here are some photos of my friend sam kindly modelling this jumpsuit thingy that im about to start making. would love to hear some feedback. notice that one of them has 'legs' while the other one is more of a aladdin 'dress'.

thanks sam

funky skirts

deep thoughts..

ive been thinking a bit about this whole ethical clothing thing. eventhough i initially started this project to make some money for different individuals and organisations i want to support....i feel as if ive become even more passionate about creating a place where women can work and feel valued, respected and more importantly...happy. the only way this is going to happen...and become something bigger...is for people back home to start buying the clothes we make.

i dont know much about sweatshops. just bits and pieces...but i know enough that i would love to aim at one day not wearing any clothes that are made that way. thats my own personal goal..but one i would love for others to take on board for themselves. so if thats the case...my part to play in this quest is to make the ethical clothes i make affordable. nothing worse than finding great quality clothes...only to look at the price tag and realise that i couldnt even afford a quarter of it.

sooo....with that in mind...im even more inspired to keep the prices low for the things that im selling. so not only are shoppers supporting a really good cause...but they can also walk away with a whole bunch of bargains.

just to give an idea of what its all about

and so it begins...

so its day two of production and things are coming along really smoothly. of course there are little hickups like not having the right colour thread at the market. neshica saved the day by finding some in the little hut a few doors down. who would have thought that they sell thread in amongst the chilies, ginger and salted fish?

the whole family are getting involved with steve hanging out fabric to dry...and Time really getting into the ironing. neshica is thrilled to be learning how to sew properly and has announced that she is buying her own sewing machine with her savings.

i finally got some photos on here...now that i know how to do it i can snap away as things develop. i just had to get some photos from the place where i buy my natural cotton from. the girls there make such beautiful fabric on these massive rickety old looms.

so far so good....everyone seems pretty happy to be part of this crazy adventure.

first few days

free range

its been great getting some feedback already about this crazy thing im doing.

quite a few of you have asked where you will be able to buy the clothes....well.....

it sort of depends on where you are...and how quickly things develop on this end. what i know for now is that i will be having two 'launches' as such in australia when i return for a month at the end of march. the prelaunch will be in geelong and the actual launch..in adelaide. i will give details once i have them.
as well as that im happy to mail smallish orders. once i have big amounts to sell i will send it via thailand since its a lot cheaper.

ive had a few people ask about larger sized clothes....something im well aware of...and yes...im definately catering to those of us who are more of the free range size.

let me know if you have any specific requests or ideas for clothing that you think would be popular.

off and running...

so here i am trying to figure out this blog thing. funny really. im so clueless when it comes to this stuff but im hoping that it wont be long before this is all second nature to me. im getting so many questions about 'here and there' that it will definately be easier if i can just point people in this direction.

the current status is this:

i have a room full of fun materials that i have found at the local markets as well as the phnom penh markets. everything has been washed and im now in the process of sorting. starting december 2 ive got two cambodian ladies coming to work here in our home. they will work three days a week from 8am to 5pm with an hours lunch break.

as soon as i have some clothes to show i will figure out how to post them on here for you all to check them out. at this stage the hoodies will be first since i have so much material for them in lots of fun colours.

ive also asked my friend hannah from 'Dorsu' to make 100 shirts. these shirts are made from material that is woven here in town with natural cotton and dyed with natural dyes. the buttons are made from mother of pearl...and honestly..they look fantastic. i call them 'char' tops thanks to my beautiful friend char frost who let me borrow her shirt and zoom into the market to have one made for me. at this stage the shirts will be made from either pink, gray or khaki natural cotton (soft cheese cloth).

one thing that im super excited about is that right now there is a beautiful little workshop in phnom penh that is run by local cambodians - they employ cambodian with disabilities (either from landmines or polio) - who are making these beautiful baby sleeping pouches for me. the pouches look so good but the best bit is that the people working there are so thrilled to have this project given to them since they are pretty low on funds.

so that is the smallest nutshell ever. but at least its something. i will definately try to post more over the next few days to make sure i stay up to date since things are developing so quickly.