news
Visit regularly to find out what's happening with our business, or for another perspective on green and sustainable living and life in general follow Alison on Twitter.
Visit regularly to find out what's happening with our business, or for another perspective on green and sustainable living and life in general follow Alison on Twitter.
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Eco Eco mentioned in new publication
We're absolutely delighted to feature in the new book from Janey Lee Grace, "Look Great Naturally... without ditching the lipstick".
Janey is a well-known advocate of the natural, healthy and green lifestyle and we're really flattered that she should decide to list us in her new publication.
To celebrate the launch of the book Janey is offering a fabulous goody bag to the first 100 people who buy her book on Amazon and send her the confirmation receipt. Even if you aren't one of the the lucky winners you will receive free downloads from Janey's podcast series "Summer Health" and a track from her latest album, along with being entered into a prize draw to win a yoga retreat in Turkey worth £1200!
Further information on the book and how to enter
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BBC Derby Interview online
Alison was recently interviewed for the BBC Derby website; here's the link (including a photo of her looking slightly dishevelled!):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/derby/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8672000/8672500.stm
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April 2010
Sustainable Fashion and Textiles - a change for the better
Last week Alison attended a workshop and talk on sustainable fashion and textiles run by Future Factory at Nottingham Trent University.
Future Factory is a new project aimed at helping SMEs in the East Midlands to develop more sustainable processes, shifting away from environmentally damaging materials and manufacturing. This event, the first they are running, used the knowledge and skills of Rebecca Earley who encouraged participants to think beyond fast fashion and instead to look at upcycling old garments and textiles to create new and exciting products.
Here at Eco Eco we are hoping to start our own small-scale manufacturing in the near future, concentrating on wearable, comfortable and flattering clothes that customers will return to again and again. We are hoping to collaborate with Future Factory to explore ways we can embrace sustainable, and British, production. Exciting times.
Our Woolly Project moves forward
Charity fundraising for Wirksworth Rotary Club
We're taking part in the fabulousplaces.co.uk Indulgence Evening at Blackbrook House on Thurs 4th March, raising money for the Wirksworth Rotary Club Aquabox Scheme which is currently sending resources over to Haiti (full info here: http://www.aquabox.org/intro.asp). We shall be taking along a selection of our ethical and eco-friendly homewares and gifts, so if you don't get the chance to visit us up in North Derbyshire do try and get along to say hello at this great event.
Tickets are £5 each & include a glass of wine, locally made cupcake and a goody bag (goody bag supported by Teapigs and Dorset Cereals & will contain lots of special offers for local ‘fabulous’ shops).
Thursday 4th March
Blackbrook House, nr Belper, Derbyshire
The event begins at 7pm.
PROCEEDS DONATED TO THE AQUABOX SCHEME
Tickets are limited and must be purchased prior to the event from www.fabulousplaces.co.uk/derbyshire.
There will be lots of fabulous shopping opportunities (perfect for mothers day), demonstrations, fundraising raffle and wine and cheese tasting. Visit the fabulousplaces.co.uk Derbyshire blog for full details and exhibitor list (http://blog.fabulousplaces.co.uk/).
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Local wool at last!
Last year we joined forces with local farmers, Hope and Angus Morris, who have a flock of Derbyshire Gritstone sheep (one of the oldest British hill breeds) here in the Peak District. We got down and dirty with them, sorting the fleeces to send for processing and we now have our own Gritstone aran weight wool yarn, which will be available on the website and in our shop shortly. Some of the wool has been spun specially for weaving and we have commissioned Farfield Mill, in Cumbria, a vibrant arts and heritage centre, to weave some throws for us. More news soon.
EcoEco design collaboration featured on Scoutie Girl
Our collaboration with designer Lucie Summers has been featured on the lovely Scoutie Girl and Modish blogs. Take a look at the Scoutie Girl Collabo feature for a Q&A with Alison and follow the link at the top of the page to read Lucie's side of the equation. Thanks to Jan and Jena for the interest and hard work.
Sheffield Green Fair
We shall be attending the annual Sheffield Green Fair tomorrow, Saturday 27th June. Do come along and say hello.
Recycled wrap now here!
Last week we took delivery of our wonderful new gift wrap featuring a design by UK artist Lucie Summers. It's printed on recycled/FSC paper, using vegetable based inks by a printers powered by renewable energy. Oh and it's double sided!
See the wrap here, or read the blog entry
Recycled Gift Wrap Coming Soon!
30th May 2009. We're excited! The first Eco Eco product is nearly here. We've commissioned the amazing designer Lucie Summers to create a special wrapping paper design for us. It will be double sided (so you can choose which colour you want - less rolls lying around), on a really good weight paper that is recycled/FSC. It's printed in vegetable based inks by a company powered by sustainable energy. We've seen the proof and can't wait to see the finished wrap. Go and take a look at the proof we were sent by visiting this page on Alison's blog.
We're hoping to work with Lucie again soon; we're talking about getting some of her designs printed on organic, fairtrade cotton which we can sell by the metre and also make into clothes. We're also musing about wallpaper.
Profile Fashion Show
Last Thursday, 16th April, we took part in a charity fashion show organised by Profile magazine which is distributed in the Sheffield/North Derbyshire region. The proceeds went to the Macmillan Trust and about 60 people came along to the lunch and show. We took two models, Jan and Grace (aged 7), with two outfits each. Hopefully we'll have some photos from the event to share here later. Thanks to them both for their hard work on the day.
For a slightly longer report on the event please have a look at Alison's blog.
EQM Award Ceremony
A month or so ago we attended an evening ceremony organised by the Peak District National Park to receive our Environmental Quality Mark award. The EQM is given to companies and businesses based in the Peak District who can demonstrate good environmental practices. Obviously we're delighted to receive the award and we aim to increase our range of locally made products in line with the guidelines.
The Clothes Shop Moves...
15.02.09 We're working hard to get our new premises ready so that our clothes shop here in Hope can move around the corner to a wonderful old building. The flooring is being fitted next week so the clothes shop will be closed from Sunday 22nd February until Tuesday 3rd March, when hopefully we'll be ready and settled into our new home. If you visit during this period the home shop will still be open, so if you want to have a look at clothes please do ask as we can probably take you round if things are not too disrupted. We're intending to have an open evening for customers when everything's settled down so if you'd like to join us please register for our mailing list by following the link at the top of the page. For further info visit our blog.
Photo Shoot at Losehill House Hotel
A huge thank you to the owners and staff at the Losehill House Hotel, here in Hope, who allowed us to use their glamorous hotel for our photo shoot. We had a free run of the building and gardens which have the most amazing views of the Peak District landscape. Shots of our bathrobes and towelling range were taken next to the indoor pool, and we also photographed garments in one of the bedrooms and around the public areas of the hotel. After a hard morning's work we ate an amazing lunch in the beautiful light conservatory where you can dine against a panoramic backdrop of green hills. The rest of the day was spent madly changing our model, Isianne (thanks Issy and Laura for helping out!) from one outfit to the other. It was tiring but fun and strangely relaxing given the setting. We didn't have time to enjoy the spa but perhaps we'll take an extra hour or so next time to pamper ourselves after a strenuous day.
Thanks again, Paul and Kathryn.
