I was reading www.thelaststitch.blogspot.com and Johanna mentioned a site www.luxirare.com which I went and had a look at. The stuff this girl makes is nothing short of amazing... really fantastic stuff and very innovative but it got me thinking something I have often thought of. When people value more expensive goods like clothes, bags, shoes etc and dismiss the cheaper chain store type stuff (more what I can afford) they forget that someone still makes it. Some poor person more than likely, who works for nearly nothing, to make available what we consider basic things ... the clothes we wear, the shoes we love etc... Unless people are buying real hand made items or top end goods, someone is probably getting exploited making this stuff.
I have never been comfortable with this and so steer clear of designer stuff (not that I can afford it but I wouldn't anyway), brand labels and merchandised kids stuff. I try to instil in my son what real value is and where stuff comes from, what some (most) people in the world have to go through to feed their families.
At least we sewists can know that we can make our own things and take pride even if it isn't designer standard we still made it!
And just so this isn't without a photo... this is in Nicosia, Cyprus. This dress I made, wow, 4 years ago now and I made it just before Christmas (Summer here). It is cotton from Spotlight and lovely to wear, it's made from a '70's pattern and is a halter. I always feel like a Christmas pressie dressed with the green ribbon but I still think it looks better than black or boring with red!
It's a funny angle.. my son took the photos on a few steps above me... see the background.. that's the local soccer field... yes absolutely, completely devoid of grass ... Cyprus is a very arid land and they have water restrictions like we have never seen. I lived there for 9 months in 1984. Still to this day, in the summer, each household, no matter how many people live in that household, only gets one approx 1000lt tank of water a week ... if it runs out, too bad!!
That is water restrictions.
Not that we have to worry now....
I have never been comfortable with this and so steer clear of designer stuff (not that I can afford it but I wouldn't anyway), brand labels and merchandised kids stuff. I try to instil in my son what real value is and where stuff comes from, what some (most) people in the world have to go through to feed their families.
At least we sewists can know that we can make our own things and take pride even if it isn't designer standard we still made it!
And just so this isn't without a photo... this is in Nicosia, Cyprus. This dress I made, wow, 4 years ago now and I made it just before Christmas (Summer here). It is cotton from Spotlight and lovely to wear, it's made from a '70's pattern and is a halter. I always feel like a Christmas pressie dressed with the green ribbon but I still think it looks better than black or boring with red!
It's a funny angle.. my son took the photos on a few steps above me... see the background.. that's the local soccer field... yes absolutely, completely devoid of grass ... Cyprus is a very arid land and they have water restrictions like we have never seen. I lived there for 9 months in 1984. Still to this day, in the summer, each household, no matter how many people live in that household, only gets one approx 1000lt tank of water a week ... if it runs out, too bad!!
That is water restrictions.
Not that we have to worry now....
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