Rising to resilience

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Disruption arising from the pandemic reminds us of the need to live thoughtfully in tune with nature, as Jane Milburn reports.

Jane Milburn wears self-made upcycled silk dress. Photo by Robin McConchie at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens.

Sewing arose as a survival skill during the COVID-19 pandemic when global supply chains fractured and locally-made cloth face masks became valuable personal protection equipment. Even New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made her own face covering to help stop the spread of the coronavirus when masks became mandatory on public transport during the Auckland breakout.

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Posted in: consumption issues, leadership, slow clothing, slow fashion \ Tagged: , , , ,

On the Textile Beat Dec 2020

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It has been hard to find words for this year, this time. Grateful to be living in Australia. Thankful for health, family and home. Inspired by a Permaculture Design Course. Disappointed my Churchill Fellowship was deferred until international travel becomes possible. Excited to be starting a new book yet easily distracted by gardening, cups of tea and visitors. Mostly grateful. Hoping things are OK at your end. I’ve put together a December enews, which you can read here now or if you would like to subscribe there is an avenue for that on the right-hand side of this website.

Posted in: leadership, slow clothing

Wear the difference

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When we follow a predictable path, we walk in another’s shadow. Only when we explore our own creativity and embrace the unusual can something original emerge. Jane Milburn reports

What is unusual? The dictionary says it is something remarkable or interesting because it is different from or better than others. Synonyms include extraordinary, singular, particular, marked, outstanding, notable, distinctive, striking, unique, unparalleled, mind-blowing and superior.

Jane Milburn, left, and Elizabeth Kingston, right, wear their own style. Photos by Patria Jannides and Evelina.

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Posted in: Fashion Revolution, leadership, slow clothing, slow fashion \ Tagged: , , , , ,

Influencing behaviour change

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Fashion is responsible for up to 10 percent of carbon emissions and about  70 percent of the clothes in our wardrobes are not worn. These are some of the reasons to choose ways of dressing that are more circular and regenerative.

Changing our behaviour is the biggest thing we can do to reduce our energy and resource consumption. Great to see reloving options expanding, with UNTAGGED Sustainable Fashion Exchange a new option for keeping wardrobes fresh whilst being kinder to our wallets, each other, and the planet.

They’ve been sharing quotes through their Instagram platform, including words from Cate Blanchett, Jane Goodall, Emma Watson, Livia Firth, Vivienne Westwood, Carry Somers, Elizabeth Cline,  Celine Semaan, and Jane Milburn (that’s me).

Posted in: consumption issues, Fashion Revolution, leadership, reuse, slow clothing, slow fashion \ Tagged: , , ,

Making is a super power: Linnae Hamilton

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You will never regret acquiring practical skills says Linnae Hamilton. Working on your self-reliance is a great thing to be doing at this time of uncertainty, as well as taking care of yourself, simplifying your life and possessions.

After a wide-ranging career including as a film maker and graphic artist, Linnae brought all her skills together to set up the non-profit Remade in Brooklyn in an old carriage house in New York in the United States. She based it on the model of Remade in Edinburgh and outfitted the carriage house with big tables and secondhand sewing machines to teach people to sew at free weekly workshops called Mend it Monday, which expanded to Fix it Friday as well as a Wednesday session. “I wanted to teach people how to sew, because sewing is a great life skill to have. I love making things and once it gets under your skin, you can’t not do it. It’s a super power.”

But as coronavirus turned everyone’s lives upside down, Linnae had to make the sad decision to close the doors on carriage house and has moved upstate New York to a healthy area where she can work remotely. She is now working to serve the community by developing an online community as a resource for people interested in repair.

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Posted in: slow clothing, slow fashion, Virtual Churchill \ Tagged:

Wabi sabi time has arrived

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Rethinking the way we live, work and play is happening as we adapt to the uncertainty and profound changes coming down the line with coronavirus. We can calm ourselves by focusing energy on living with creativity, simplicity and integrity, rather than worrying about distant unknowable possibilities.

Wabi sabi is a gentle approach to life embedded within Japanese culture that has its roots in Zen philosophy. As I (Jane Milburn) read more about wabi sabi during lockdown, it struck me as a way of living in tune with nature rather than seeking to control, manage and exploit it.

Jane Milburn wearing garments made from natural fibres coloured by leaves and bark. Photo by Patria Jannides.

At a time when we need to be adaptive and resourceful, wabi sabi is a salve that enables us to find beauty in what is around us, in all its imperfection and impermanence.

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The Maker Within

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There is a maker inside us all. People often speak of the soothing and satisfying nature of making for relaxation, reward or reinvention. In earlier times, working with our hands was how we explored and became connected to the world. Then with industrialization and the feminist movement, many of us shifted away from making and towards higher-status thinking careers.  Working with our hands was often associated with home-based domestic work – and we didn’t want to be trapped there.

The COVID-19 lockdown gave pause, for some not on the frontline, to explore making and creating with our hands – gardening, cooking, baking, sewing, knitting and mending clothes.  We are ready for more conversation about slower living, adaptation and resourcefulness – using our hands, head and heart to create change.

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Supporting local food systems

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The coronavirus pandemic was a wake-up call about many things we take for granted in life, including where our food comes from.  As the lockdown began in late March, uncertainty took hold and people began hoarding and scrambling for whatever food stocks they could find.

The National Farmers Federation was moved to reassure people that Australia produces enough food to feed 75 million people, more than three times our population, and that 89 percent of the food Australians eat is Aussie-grown.

With many global supply chains fractured through the pandemic, local production and manufacturing is arising to be more strongly grounded and appreciated in regional communities.

Earlier this year on February 15, Pine Rivers Heritage Museum had hosted a conversation to highlight how we can support local farmers in the Moreton Bay region which is home to a plethora of agricultural industries including berries, pineapple, avocado, macadamia nut, other specialty crop businesses as well as livestock production. (There’s a follow-up session planned for September 12, so put that in your diary if you are in the region.)

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Join us for a Slow Fashion Season

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Are you up for a Slow Fashion Season? To make conscious wardrobe choices for three months from June 21 to September 21 this year? It might mean buying nothing for three months; or swapping, upcycling or sewing your stash; buying second-hand and vintage; or supporting sustainable, local, small fashion labels if you find you really need something new.

Slow Fashion Season, a global challenge out of The Netherlands, which aims to have 25,000 people participate and together save the equivalent of up to 750 million litres of water and 2.5 million kgs of CO2 emissions through positive choices. We’d love you to sign up and be part of this collective action.

I personally committed to making conscious choices in my wardrobe forever after noticing fashion excess and setting up Textile Beat in 2013 to have conversations about textile waste. My personal actions for the next three months will be upcycling what I already own.

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Arising from Disruption

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As the world faces profound change and travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, everyone’s life, work and study has been disrupted, and we are sheltering in place unless required on the frontline.

This means only a handful of the 2019 Churchill Fellows have been able to complete their overseas investigations and the Churchill Trust has extended their timeframe by an additional 12 months.

Churchill Trust CEO Adam Davey said that as the COVID-19 pandemic started to unfold, the focus was on ensuring the safety of Churchill Fellows who were already travelling and providing a quick response for those who had not yet travelled.

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