Every time I click on the link for this shop, I am pleasantly surprised by the colorful array of hats, bags, and obis the adorable Sparky Jones, aka Jemima, makes. Her items are all eco-friendly, made using upcycled fabric. She even has an organic option.
Jemima is originally from Australia, but moved to Canada when she was in her 20s, which is when she started sewing. She couldn't work and had very little money. She was dissatisfied with the selection of hats out there, and started designing one that could cover her "unruly hair".
In the design process, Jemima started asking questions such as:
"Why do we need all this imported fabric when there is already so much cool stuff actually out there?"
"Why don't we use grandma's techniques anymore?"
"Why as consumers, do we need to always take the cheapest, fastest option even tho it probably won't last, adds to globalization and probably supported some unethical offshore sweatshop?"*
Therefore, the Sparky Jones brand is committed to reusing resources, recycling what she has, reducing impact, and refusing to be disposable*. In a world full of instant gratification, where corporations purposefully manufacture products as cheap as possible, a shop that is committed to sustainability, like Sparky Jones, is refreshing. You can tell she honestly cares about creating a quality product, and isn't in business just for the almighty dollar.
(Sparky Jones on Etsy)
Jemima believes in reducing her footprint, and takes action toward sustainability by:
sourcing most goods locally,
using and reusing fabric scraps, so that only one tiny bag of waste is actually thrown out each month,
using all upcycled materials, organic fabrics, and limiting the use of modern interfacing,
using sustainable local printers,
and
when weather permits, riding her bike to the post office to ship packages.*
If you're interested in reading more about Jemima and Sparky Jones, visit her Featured Seller interview on Etsy's blog, here, or check out her Etsy shop, here. She also writes her own blog and has a website.
*All italicized text has been taken from Sparky Jones' profile on Etsy.*
In the design process, Jemima started asking questions such as:
"Why do we need all this imported fabric when there is already so much cool stuff actually out there?"
"Why don't we use grandma's techniques anymore?"
"Why as consumers, do we need to always take the cheapest, fastest option even tho it probably won't last, adds to globalization and probably supported some unethical offshore sweatshop?"*
Therefore, the Sparky Jones brand is committed to reusing resources, recycling what she has, reducing impact, and refusing to be disposable*. In a world full of instant gratification, where corporations purposefully manufacture products as cheap as possible, a shop that is committed to sustainability, like Sparky Jones, is refreshing. You can tell she honestly cares about creating a quality product, and isn't in business just for the almighty dollar.
Jemima believes in reducing her footprint, and takes action toward sustainability by:
sourcing most goods locally,
using and reusing fabric scraps, so that only one tiny bag of waste is actually thrown out each month,
using all upcycled materials, organic fabrics, and limiting the use of modern interfacing,
using sustainable local printers,
and
when weather permits, riding her bike to the post office to ship packages.*
If you're interested in reading more about Jemima and Sparky Jones, visit her Featured Seller interview on Etsy's blog, here, or check out her Etsy shop, here. She also writes her own blog and has a website.
*All italicized text has been taken from Sparky Jones' profile on Etsy.*
2 comments:
Cute hats! And I love old/recycled fabric so much I can't stand it. :D
If I actually wore hats I'd totally buy one of her's. I'm saving up for a bag, though. I'll get a lot more use out of it! :)
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