Wedding Wednesday // Sustainable style - Invites and Decor

Evening lovelies, it's Wednesday again! Time for some Wedding style inspiration... We've been majorly busy pinning the last few days trying to find some fab ideas and style tips to keep your wedding eco friendly and sustainable!

With the 'Rustic Wedding' in such demand for this summer - there's no easier time than to keep your wedding sustainable. The rustic look is all about the recycling and the vintage quirkiness and of course some DIY (time to rope in those creative bridesmaids!)

With some good research - you can literally make EVERY part of your wedding ethical, from stationery to THE dress, decor to rings and all the lovely bits in between. Here's our favorite ethical Stationery and decor ideas for your day...

The Invitation...

These super cool plantable invites are available Forever Fiances and you can choose from a selection of plantable papers on which to have your invites printed. All are printed with natural soy inks onto 100% recycled paper embedded with wildflower seeds! Our favorite is this cute mason jar invite!

The Decor...

Burlap is a great fabric and fits in so nicely with the rustic wedding look. Burlap is woven from a mix of vegetable fibers, namely Jute. Jute only needs rainwater to grow and grows in a short period of time making it an easy renewable source. Jute can also be recycled and is 100% bio degradable!

You can use Burlap for a lot of things in your wedding, but we just LOVE these chair sashes!

We're also a bit of a sucker for odds and ends here at E&W. Bottles being our top favourite.

You can pick bottles up from a lot of places, charity shops, flea markets, car boots and once you have a collection - they look wonderful together (and are a lot cheaper than most decor items!)

Mix them up and plant with wild flowers to add some color to your day!

(Read more about this ethical styled shoot on Green Wedding Shoes)

For more Ethical Wedding inspiration visit our Pinterest board and we will post part 2 soon ♥

xoxo

Ethical Outfit Inspiration: Spring Edition

Howdy folks, Sarah here again! :)

Hands up if you're looking forward to spring? *waves hands wildly in the air* I know I'm probably not the only person who's ready to see the back of all this miserable weather we've been having - it's starting to get silly now, I'm half expecting to see an ark appear overnight...

With that in mind I've put together a couple of ethical spring fashion inspiration boards - as I stare out of the window at the relentless downpour - to try and bring a bit of sunshine back into our lives!

All of these items are ethically sourced, proving that you can be fashionable while still being kind to the environment :) Phew! First up, we've got the spring in the sun board...

watch | striped top | raincoat | mittens | floral trousers | shoes | bag | scarf 

How beautiful is that wooden watch, by the way? I'm totally in love. Spring to me means layers, comfortable (closed toe!) shoes and a bit of warmth that you can take off when the sun unexpectedly shows it face (plus a sturdy bag to carry everything in). I'm digging these floral trousers - enough to keep you warm without feeling too hot and sweaty (no jeans here, thank you).

But because I know the weather is very rarely perfect in the UK (and definitely hardly ever perfect in Wales!) I've also put together a spring in the rain board! :) Much as I'd like to believe it, I really don't think we've seen the last of the wet weather just yet...

dress | mittens | raincoat | bag | socks | wellies | tights | cardigan | bobble hat

Secretly this is my favourite of the two (you all know how I feel about yellow so that shouldn't be a surprise) - I mean, how adorable are those socks, right? 

If you're looking at this and thinking "a dress? In the rain?!" hear me out: what's worse to be wet and cold in - a pair of jeans that instantly adhere themselves to your legs or a pair of tights that you can whip off and replace quickly? (Just keep a spare pair in your bag and you're on you're way to instant cosiness should you get drenched).

Layers are great for the rain, too - so pull on your cardigan over the top and a nice waterproof raincoat to seal the deal. Now all you need is wellies and you can splash about in all the puddles with no fear of getting your sock wet - yay! :)

If you need more inspiration you can always check out the Hubbards Cupboard ethical fashion board on Pinterest! :)

Love

Sarah

Vegan Friendly Shoes: Our 5 Favourite Pairs!

Hello lovely people! It's Sarah here again, bringing you more ethical fashion ideas for you to mull over, hurrah! :)

Have you started trying to incorporate more ethically minded pieces into your wardrobe yet? I know I have - my Primark spending has gone way down and my Etsy spending has gone way up! :) I've been trying to shop smarter decisions when it comes to my purchases - better to spend a little more and get something great that will last, right? :)

There are, however, a few things that are harder to find ethical versions of, especially on the high street. I think some of the more difficult things to source are underwear, sportswear and shoes, so in honour of that I've put together a round up of my five favourite vegan friendly pairs of shoes - no more hunting! :)

First up we've got some wonderful shoes courtesy of Etsy. I love these gorgeous, black and white Oxford Creepers from the Goodbye Folk store. They're available in regular or vegan leather (obviously the vegan leather is the more ethical choice!). 

Etsy is a great place to hunt for ethical additions to your wardrobe so make sure you have a nosey over there if you're looking for something new! :)

The Melissa brand is probably most well known for their collaboration with Vivianne Westwood (everyone remembers those shiny hearts, right?). What you might not realise is that they're a vegan shoe brand in their own right. I particularly love these chunky, smooth look boots - perfect for stomping around in all the puddles we've got right now!

Did you know that Doc Martens had a whole range of vegan shoes? These hot pink lovelies are only £50 (a complete bargain for a pair of Doc Martens). According to the website the standard of construction is every bit as high for their vegan collection as their regular shoes, which is good to know! :)

There's something about these Beyond Skin block heels that makes me feel sassy just looking at them. I love the height, I love the print, I love the gold - I love it all! :) They might be a touch on the expensive side, so these might be more of an investment piece to go with the rest of your wardrobe, but totally worth it I think! :)

I am unashamedly in love with these cheery yellow vegan flats from Beyond Skin. Sigh. Look at them - how happy would your feet be walking around in those beauties all day long? One of my favourite colours is yellow so that's probably helping, but I still think these shoes are flat out gorgeous. Time to get saving! :)

Would you wear any of these? Are there any other places I should be checking out for pieces to add to my ever growing ethical wardrobe? :) Let me know in the comments!

Love

Sarah

Take The Seamless Pledge!

We've talked a lot about ethical clothing here on the Ears and Whiskers blog, and today Sarah is back with a new challenge for 2014...

I used to love to shop, but lately I've been feeling a pang of guilt every time I walk into Primark or window shop in Topshop. Ever thought that you'd love to spend less time in H&M and more time reworking vintage pieces or amazing finds from the charity shop but aren't sure where to start?

Perhaps you're starting to feel like if you can't guarantee the ethics of shop you'd rather not shop there? Or maybe you're just fed up with seeing people wearing the same clothes as you! (I know I am, always very embarrasing to spot someone else in the room wearing your favourite dress, right?)

If any of the above applies to you and you're looking for a change then why not try The Seamless Pledge!

The Seamless Pledge is all about encouraging people not to buy mass manufactured clothing, and to go out and either make your own or buy something second hand. Hubbard's Cupboard is all about vintage and one of a kind pieces, so I think it fits in with the pledge pretty well! :)

We spoke to Elena Cresci, the girl behind the Seamless Pledge to get an idea of why she started the project :)

How long have you been sewing?

I have been sewing since 2009 I think? I got started in my second year of university (I hand-sewed a wonky skirt), but it wasn't until the Summer I got started with proper patterns and the like. Then, I moved to Germany for a bit, got myself a second-hand sewing machine and tried to improve as much as I could.

What inspired you to create the Seamless Pledge? 

The blog itself actually started as a project for my postgraduate journalism course at university! I was already blogging about sewing at that point, but I kind of wanted to take it to the next level. When I first started sewing, there was a pledge called Wardrobe Refashion, but the woman who had started wasn't able to carry it on. I interviewed Zoe Edwards, another sewing blogger, and we were talking about how it was a shame there wasn't anything like that anymore... enter the Seamless Pledge!

After Zoe shared it, I got loads of people saying they were up for it, it was so surreal. I didn't quite expect it to hit the nerve it did. I think there are a lot of people thinking about the ethical and environmental implications of fashion these days.

How long have you been doing it now? 

I didn't buy any new clothes at all for at least a year, if not more, from October 2011. I'll hold my hands up, I have bought the odd thing since the "official" pledge came to an end in 2012, but I can honestly count on one hand the amount of new clothes I bought in 2013. And one was a Christmas jumper, which I figured was OK because I cannot knit so save my live AND it had a Home Alone reference... Whay!

What are the rules of the Seamless pledge?

The rules

• No buying new clothes for the duration of your pledge. New mean any new mass-manufactured clothes.
• You can buy second-hand manufactured clothes – so be prepared to get to know your local charity shops awfully well.
• Vintage clothing is a-ok!
• Anything you’ve made by hand is definitely allowed. Get your sewing machines and your knitting needles out, because handmade is definitely in!

What are you sewing goals for 2014? 

I had this whole 12-month challenge set out where I was going to pick one sewing project a month to concentrate on. Annoyingly, it's already come to pieces because a) I haven't had a sewing machine for about a month and b) my first challenge of sewing sequins turned out to be THE MOST TIME-CONSUMING THING EVERRR. Right now I'm drafting "the pain of sequins" post in my head - it's been traumatic. But I'm still going to squirrel away at that challenge because it's more about stretching my sewing abilities than meeting some arbitrary sewing target.

I have a 'Can't Jar' so I'm basically picking things out of that and going from there. I sewed my first pair of trousers recently, which was immense. Next on the list will be things like a bag, a coat... next month, I'd like to draft my own dress pattern. That'll be fun

What tips can you give to people who want to move away from mass market fashion? 

Charity shops are your friend. Seriously. They are the best places. And go to the ones in rich neighbourhoods - when I lived in Guildford, there were constantly designer clothes in the local charity shops. You'd be amazed what people chuck away. Also, you may think you can't sew, but it can be pretty easy to whip up a quick pencil skirt. It's having a big resurgence at the moment, so there are plenty of sewing classes around. That said, there is a plethora of material online from various sewing bloggers who are far better at this sewing lark than I am.

What has been the most helpful resource in learning how to sew new things? 

See above - definitely the sewing blogosphere. You'll be hard pressed to find a kinder and more open community of people online. They are a constant source of inspiration and motivation. Some of my faves are Gertie's New Blog For Better Sewing, Tilly and the Buttons and Zoe (interviewed above). Karen of Did You Make That also has a blog on the Guardian fashion network because she is brilliaaaant. 

What kind of sewing seemed daunting when you started that you now feel you've mastered?

TROUSERS! I definitely haven't mastered them, but I'm going to brag about having made a pair forever and ever. Buttons are also becoming less daunting. What I've found is I can fudge things quite a lot so long as I remember that no one has to see how messy my stuff is on the inside...

-

Thanks Elena! :) Do you think you could give up buying new clothes for a month? Six months? ...*gulp* a year?

If the answer is a big fat YES! then here's how to join in:

 

It’s super simple to join up. Just comment on the site with your name, your blog (if you have one) and how long you’re signing up for. Once you’ve done that, you can also add the button to your blog using this code:

[a href="http://seamlessblog.wordpress.com/the-pledge/" target="_blank">[img src="http://seamlessblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/button.png" alt="The Seamless Pledge" /][/a] (replace the [ ] with < >)

Replace brackets with < > and stick it in a textbox widget on your blog and/or post the following to your social network of choice:

"I (insert your name here) am taking the #seamlesspledge until (length of time here). http://bit.ly/tktV04"

& that's it! Do let us know if you sign up, and if you have a blog then leave the link in the comments, I love to read them! :)

Love

Sarah 

Wedding Wednesday // Dressed in Blue

Ever thought about having your wedding in Blue?

Pantone (the global authority on color) has surveyed the global Fashion weeks to bring the most important color trends of the season... This Spring/Summer it has brought 2 beautiful shades of blue! Perfect for all you quirky brides to be, get in your 'something blue' on your wedding dress!

We're a huge fan of unique dresses at E&W and are in fact already in the making of our first blue silk Wedding dress for a very wonderful bride. As we cant show any progress on this one (its all hush hush!) we thought we'd put together our little montage of the most beautiful blue gowns we could think of!

Some old and some new, but you'll have your something blue on full show!

Image credits: 1.Dior S/S 11  2.Marchesa Resort 2014  3.Monique Lhuillier Pre Fall 2012  4.Claire Pettibone 2012 

5.Ellie Saab Haute Couture S/S 14  6.Yolan Cris Evening wear 2013

Check out Pantone's full color report here

Let us know what you think of a colored wedding dress! Would you wear one down the isle?

♥

UK Handmade

Hola lovely readers! Sarah here again, bringing you some more handmade and ethical finds from around the web! :)

This week I found something super awesome - ever heard of UK Handmade? It's a new discovery to me but a very welcome one so I thought I'd share it with you all in case you hadn't discovered it yet either! :)

It's actually been running since 2008 so I'm not sure how I missed it (am I the last one on the boat?!) but that just means there's lots of lovely back issues to make my way through so I'm definitely not complaining.

They describe themselves as 

"a design-led online magazine committed to showcasing and promoting the best creative talent the UK has to offer."

Which sounds pretty great, right? They have a directory of bricks and mortar handmade shops across the UK (Hubbards Cupboard should totally be listed in there, right?)  as well as a directory of online shops, a magazine and a forum for creatives to discuss all things handmade (it currently has over 5000 members, which is crazy and awesome at the same time). They also have tips on running a business, as well as inspiration posts, reviews and showcases. Fab!

It's so nice to see people being proud of their work and proactive about pushing back against the commercial tide. There are so many options these days when it comes to buying hand made, quality, one of a kind goods - it's really wonderful to see!

You can read the latest issue of the magazine below, although I'd definitely recommend visiting the site to have a good nose around, there's a lot to discover! :)

Let me know if you check it out! :)

Love

Sarah

// New Year

It's that time of year again when everyone is busy thinking about how different the upcoming year is going to be, what their going to do differently, what to keep the same and what to make a little bit better. 

I've never been very big on new years resolutions but this year I feel very differently. I feel that 2014 is going to be a big year for me and my little business, with the wedding collection coming up, a new special fancy website being designed, my work being showcased by Camarthen Youth Theatre in their production of Evita, 2 couture dresses booked in that I am SUPER excited to make and bookings already filling up for the year I can't see how it won't be a big year! 

Unfortunately, however, Iv'e always been a bit naff with time management (apparently most creative people can relate ;)) so in 2014, it is my mission to overcome this! With so much going on, it's easy to lose track of things and especially easy to forget to do things for myself. It's time I learnt to manage a good work/play relationship!

So far (in anticipation) I have 2 x diaries, 3 x wall planners, I have actually figured out how to USE my Samsung Tablet and sync my calender with my phone... organizing to be organised.

Does anyone else have resolutions this year? Does anyone manage to keep them?! I'd LOVE some advice on how all you busy creatives stay organised!

xoxo

♥