For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, I think the @slowfashionoctober instagram blurb says it best: A celebration of the small-batch, handmade, second-hand, well-loved, long-worn, known-origins wardrobe.

It’s a dialogue that we can all participate in, to any degree, in whatever way inspires us, and there are a set of themes to help you along. The themes are loose, as you can see from my totally random, not-exactly-fashion-related thoughts below ;)

Week one: Introductions

We are in an interesting spot for Slow Fashion October. We have just left our yuppie condo in the heart of downtown Toronto, for a quieter existence in Burlington. We have also left the heart of a greatly consumerist culture, where broken things are replaced, and shiney new things are beckoning from every corner. We were ready for more trees and less traffic.

We both come from cultures where things are repaired, reinforced, up cycled, made to last. We buy our eggs, preserves and meat directly from Ontario farmers. We left day jobs in media and construction to run a cottage industry out of our basement. We endeavour to keep the carbon footprint of our company small.  We love homey things, and believe in making things ourselves rather than hitting up Pottery Barn (though I confess to a deep love of IKEA, no one’s perfect!).

Because of this transition out of the Big Smoke, hectic working arrangements and being in the middle of consumerist culture, I feel like Slotober is a concept close to my heart right now :) We are not perfect; we love IKEA and junk food (though again, our goal is local farmers instead of the cruel and unsustainable process of massive cattle ranches!) and we do enjoy buying things that we try to make last.

I will try to be more mindful during our first month here in the new house, though it might be more about furniture than it is about fashion. Let’s see how it goes!

And now the most important part – dialogue! Let’s share our thoughts on the joy of handmade, the need for sustainability, a local market, whatever is on your mind!