OFFSETTER PAMELA, UK | Interview with co-op, Isan silk weavers...

Pamela, Offsetter and passionate ethical advocate with particular interests in sustainability, photography, design and textiles, talks to Rosanne Trottier, CEO of Sawang Boran, a social enterprise supporting cottage weavers in north-eastern Thailand.

Sawang Boran and the Isan silk weavers – A social community business in Thailand

Rosanne is a traditional "knowledge anthropologist" turned business person.  She collaborates with weavers of the north-eastern Thailand region, OfIsan, in order to sustainably develop their hand woven products through cultivating artisanal knowledge and excellence, natural colours and fully organic processes.

Golden Isak Silk: The raw material for all Sawang Boran products.

©(2010)Sawangboran

Rosanne’s adventure with the community of Sawang Boran started when she was given a length of Isan silk, a gift of love and art made specially for her.  The story since, is one of a social business to revitalise and honour a deep artisanal culture, when modernity has already modified much of traditional life.

The village community Sawang Boran works for, is one of many silk-producing villages in the province of Khonkaen, source of some of the best silk in Thailand – if not in the world. The raw silk, typically yellow (see picture above), produces exceptionally soft, strong and shiny yarn best woven on hand-looms as it is not very amenable to mechanised processing. The designing, dyeing and weaving skills of Isan women make up one of the world’s valuable repositories of ikat creativity, in a remarkable, and complex, female culture.

Ladies & Gentleman, we bring you .... fish leather!!!

Fish Leather ... an amazing, ethical material on the fashion scene... and now in the Offset Warehouse Fabric shop.

© 2010

Fish leather including cod, salmon, ling and haberfish, have been transformed from disregarded waste to highly popular materials for products.  Salmon skin, for example, is used for the manufacturing of many fashion and interior products including cushions, clothing and shoes.  Fish skin is maluable, soft, aethetic and breathable, furthermore, it's extremely durable, which adds to its sustainable quality!  Their small size (in comparison to cowhides) makes them particularly perfect for smaller items like hand made shoes, gloves and purses.  

 

Fish leather is made from by-products of the commercial fish industry.  Because the fish are in abundant supply and we would only disregard the skins once consuming the meat, it's considered a very sustainable and ethical choice.  The leather is tanned by soaking the hide to remove the flesh before strengthening removal of odour.  Thanks to the scales, the tanning process is not designed to remove hair, and therefore does not need the polluting chemicals used in traditional tanning. 

 

We're extremely excited to be stocking fish leathers in the Offset Warehouse Fabric Shop, in a huge range of fantastic colours!

© 2010

Offset Warehouse sells ethical fabrics of all sorts in our Fabric Shop and Haberdashery.

You can also access ethical freelancers from all sorts of creative disciplines for free, by visiting Offset Warehouse's Ethical Directory, and fully realise your creative visions!

Don't forget to sign up at www.offsetwarehouse.com to be kept informed of our big launch!

DESIGNERS

Represent Offset Warehouse & teach design for a wonderful Indonesian initiative.

Meeting: 2nd SEPTEMBER

THE ORGANISATION: Helps adult & child victims of sexual exploitation gain training & employment through sewing.
...THE TASK: Offer design experience & help create marketable clothing.
WHEN: ASAP - The outfits will be in a London catwalk show 3rd Nov 2010!

Email: charlie@offsetwarehouse.com

ETHICAL TEACHERS/LECTURERS:

We're looking for individuals who would be interested in representing Offset Warehouse and giving lectures/seminars to UK Universities, covering ethical issues.
If you are interested, please email charlie@offsetwarehouse.com with a list of the topics you are able to cover or have previously co...vered, any previous experience, and your hourly fee (excluding travel expenses).

FASHION DESIGNERS:

- Looking for talented designer/maker to make up one ethical (womens) garment.
- Will be used on shoots, exhibitions and/or trade shows, and credited to you, Offset Warehouse & the fabric supplier.
- Ethical fabric supplied.
- email charlie@offsetwarehouse.com for more details.

Offsetter Clare, USA | Discovering 5 Ways To Get Sustainability in Education Buildings ...

Our Offsetter Clare, lives in Washington, USA and keeps us updated with snippets of her exciting stories and findings while she's there.  She recently attended a Master Class, held by Ed Mazria, which focused on the design of a fictional middle school, in effort to get architects thinking more sustainably ...

Ed Mazria
©(2010)MetropolisMag

It was really exciting to hear Ed Mazria would be holding a design class.  Known to American architects for his 2030 Challenge to clean up the environment through sustainable practices, I discovered he was going to join a select members of the DLR Group, an architect design firm, in Washington to help them design six fictional middle schools.

Introducing : Our Ethical Database's Latest Addition ... interiors made from old wine barrels!

As you know, the Ethical Database we've been developing will feature all sorts of resources and information you need to create ethical interiors and fashion. We're very pleased to preview our latest addition ... a manufacturer who has just introduced a range of flooring, countertops and furniture made from old wine barrels.

As the end-products have a higher-value with a longer, more useful life than the original, the development could be regarded as upcycling. Oak is desirable for both flooring as a beautiful and durable material, and wine producers, or vintners, due to the benefits it imparts to the wine. However, vintners don’t like to reuse the oak barrels, and therefore, after they are used once, they are often discarded.