I immediately responded to the work of Amy Jones (no relation!) when I went along to her exhibition at Chrissie Cotter Gallery in Camperdown.

Amy used fabric from my Vintage Kimono collection to construct beautiful artwork; when I saw it I knew that her work would look so fantastic in the Newtown store.

It is excellent timing to display her work as Spring is traditonally an important time in Japan to celebrate new beginnings, it's when the cherry blossom trees come into bloom for a fleeting week; the hanami season. The store is buzzing with new season energy and we are very excited about the new stock which is arriving every week!

I am so pleased to feature Amy's work as she is a Newtown based artist whose paintings and craft based works are influenced by the Japanese landscape. Jones has particularly responded to the deliberate manner of planting, and the sculptural nature of Japanese garden design, seeing an echo of the artistic process – selection and discernment of colour, composition and form.

Jones’ Installation “there are no birdies in my garden”, is a response to inner city life – attempting to recreate part of the whimsical beauty of a garden, whilst surrounded by a concrete jungle.

The sculptures are available to purchase for $19-45 in our Newtown store.

Jones currently teaches painting and drawing classes privately, and at the Hazelhurst Gallery in Gymea.

I began my label with the idea of using Vintage Kimono Silk in new clothing.
The beauty and craftsmanship of the silk is so precious that i wanted to bring it to a contemporary audience and
reconfigure it into new shapes.


 

D140 Traditional Silk Wrap Dress features Vintage Kimono Silk as obi and tie feature.


Recycling and upcycling is the process of converting a product which is no longer useful into a new product. It saves the original product from going to landfill and saves resources because the new product doesn't require new materials (or less materials) to be produced.

It also helps us to appreciate the value of garments and objects if we focus on what they might become. With some creativity and imagination, the concept of upcycling can be applied in so many ways in our throw-away culture. 
An element of interaction is required to upcycle; its difficult to automate this process.

At our studio, we take time to look at the vintage silk so that each individual peice is used to its full potential.
This is a lot of fun and it is truly exciting to see a piece of silk become a dress worn and loved again.

I've seen lots of examples lately of recycling and upcycling.....





Maison Martin Margiela F/W 10/11,
using vintage clutches and bags to create experimental jackets and pants (via trendstop)




 
Frankenstein Couch Cushions recycled leather scraps to make great big pillows by Patch from Hey Team







Surplus Food being used by FoodCycle to feed the community in London (found via trendhunter)