Tag: ethics

Feeling Pretty Nostalgic

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Image © Pretty Nostalgic

I’d already decided that my theme for this year was going to be “focus”. Last year it was all about “action!”, and although that went pretty well, it culminated in three major deadlines in a short space of time, a difficult recovery from that, and perhaps a certain amount of acting without really thinking first.

Lately I’d been looking at various magazines, thinking about the best place to take out a print advert for my hats. I can only afford one piece of advertising at the moment, so it’s very important that I get it right! The top contenders were Vintage Life and Rock & Roll Bride, until I suddenly remembered Pretty Nostalgic.

I thought I hadn’t seen a copy in the newsagent’s for a while, and it turns out that’s because the magazine is now a subscription-only Compendium, with very varied articles and no advertising. However, they do have a Business Directory which is also based on an annual subscription. This gives you an entry in the Directory (in print and online), several copies of the printed Compendium to sell or give away, and the opportunity to get involved by writing feature articles or otherwise contributing to the magazine itself.

I think what really struck me was this:

“Pretty Nostalgic is about hands-on living, heartfelt giving and mindful consumption.

We are committed to supporting independent British makers, small independent shops and businesses and those who supply handmade, vintage, antique or upcycled goods and services. We want to put our hard-earned cash into the hands of those who deserve it!”

That definitely sounds like something I’d really enjoy being part of! I’m trying very hard to move away from mass production, as both a producer and a consumer, and this seems like a good step in the right direction.

The best thing about Pretty Nostalgic’s approach is that it really is a community. More than just placing an advert in a magazine and walking away with your fingers crossed, it’s an opportunity to interact with folks who have similar values. I have to confess that it’s not a community I’m actually part of yet. (And Pretty Nostalgic are in no way involved in this post, I’m just really excited about their manifesto!)

Reading the Compendium, and thinking about how I want to advertise Eternal Magpie has caused me to take a few steps back to have a good old think about what I really want to do, and what I want my business to represent. As a result I actually won’t be signing myself up for a business membership quite yet, but I have just subscribed to the Compendium as a personal member, so I look forward to reading the latest issue!

A Couple of Thoughts

I’m with Amelia. Don’t be misled by her statement that personal adornment should be of secondary importance – it in no way means that we shouldn’t strive to look and feel beautiful in what we choose to wear. But for me, at least, it’s time to be comfortable. No more synthetic fibres, constricting waistbands or crippling shoes. I want, and need, my clothing to allow me to be healthy, comfortable and useful. My tiny revolution starts here.

Obvious, when you think about it, but something that’s sadly overlooked. We’re so divorced from the understanding of how our clothes are made that the cost of the cloth itself in human terms is barely even considered. We go shopping not because of need, but to make ourselves feel better. A different kind of need, but one that we’re so often looking to fulfill in all the wrong ways.

I’ve been looking at blogs such as No Pants 2011, The Uniform Project, the Brown Dress Project and Wardrobe Refashion, but they were all fixed-term projects that have now come to an end. I’ll be writing more about what I actually want to do in terms of changing my own approach to the way I shop and dress, once I’ve thought it through in more practical terms. But I definitely want to make changes that I can stick to in the long run, in terms of what I choose to buy and what I decide to make.

I don’t want to be boring or preachy or holier-than-thou about any of this, and I certainly don’t want to go around wearing ugly clothes simply because they’re comfortable. (You will NEVER catch me in fleecy boots and tracksuit bottoms!) But I can definitely work on not buying things to cheer myself up, and I can try to design and make some pretty-but-comfortable clothes from recycled or more sustainable fabrics. That seems like a good place to start.