7 TIPS TO ETHICAL STYLE HEAVEN

I have been working on something with you in mind. I am sure you will agree that it's great to look good but good to know that you are helping the environment and the people in our world too!

We hope that our "7 TIPS TO ETHICAL STYLE HEAVEN" will help you think about your wardrobe and in what way you can help us fight against waste, pollution and unfair working conditions amongst other things. We hope we motivate you to make a positive change and contribution whilst still expressing your individuality and gorgeousness! We would love to hear how you get on, if you are inspired by our tips to buy some new ethical goodies or if you discover some gorgeous eco-friendly things.

You can always let us know via Twitter or FaceBook and also check out our gorgeous handcrafted jewellery from the wonderful ladies at Kazuri, Kenya.

Thanks for reading this and supporting us, we really appreciate it.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS YOUR 7 TIPS TO ETHICAL STYLE HEAVEN

Much love,

Pam

Behind the scenes!

Well, what a great 2012 we had at Con-fused Arts, thanks to YOU but we are aiming for an even better 2013! In 2012, we decided to work with a new supplier called Kazuri and I wanted to start 2013 by telling you a bit more about this supplier/project, the special group of ladies that handcraft the luxury ceramic jewellery and the jewellery itself!



Founded by the late Lady Susan Wood,  Kazuri is still located where she first created employment for struggling single mothers in 1975, in her back garden. The workshop is in Karen, named after Karen Blixen of "Out of Africa" fame. Karen is a beautiful area just a few miles outside Nairobi. In 1988, Kazuri became a factory and expanded hugely employing 120 people. Currently, there are over 340 local women, mostly single mothers, employed at Kazuri, handcrafting our beautiful ceramic jewellery. The Kazuri workshop now has a clinic which provides free medical care for the employees.

Kazuri jewellery is aptly named as it means "small and beautiful" in Swahili. Every bead which makes up a necklace, bracelet or earrings is shaped by hand by one of the 340 local women employed by Kazuri. The beads are then kiln fired once, glazed and fired again before being strung.

If you have already bought a piece of Kazuri jewellery, you can be assured that it is completely unique, with many pieces taking on the quirks and trademarks of the people who shape the beads, paint them or string them, giving them soul as well as beauty. We love providing you with different ranges of Kazuri jewellery, different designs and different colours. We also enjoy picking new pieces to compliment the season. Simply visit our Facebook page or our website  to see what we have in stock and to get your own piece of Kenya!

London Fashion Weekend Update

London Fashion Weekend update....

Eco specialists were gearing up at London Fashion Weekend to discuss the 'relevance of sustainable fashion in our current climate' with a Vodaphone lounge panel including fashion writer and presenter Angela Scanlon, Filipo De Castro (From Somewhere) and Jocelyn Wipple (Element 23). The eco event got me thinking about sustainable fashion and brands that have revolved their lines and campaigns around it, with People Tree firstly popping into my head.


Eco and fair trade fashion has become a trend within its own right and now there are hundreds of brilliant boutiques and brands that are offering great pieces including clothing and accessories. One of those, a local to me, is Con-fused Arts.

Con-fused arts, an on line fair-trade jewellery and accessories boutique, offers some great bold statement pieces in addition some really quirky cute items. I did a bit of browsing on the brand's website and came across these earrings, see the pic above, but check out the website to find loads of other bits and bobs....Con-fused Arts.


J

http://julielinks.blogspot.co.uk/

KIND + DYNAMIC WITH ETHICS = KIN'ETHICS

Welcome all! I hope you have had a nice (don't know about sunny) summer with some time off. With the coming of a new season, comes our BRAND NEW newsletter, you will hear from our new guest bloggers, hear about upcoming events, discounts and much more.

Have you ever dreamt of doing something special, something inspired but not sure who to join up with? Have you ever wanted to buy an absolutely gorgeous unique gift with a meaning behind it but not sure where to look?  Kin'ethics may be just the place for you!

KIND+ DYNAMIC WITH ETHICS =KIN'ETHICS

Our exciting vision is to have an online hangout  where businesses can introduce themselves and their fab products, even their aspirations and dreams. Where people can network with like-minded people and where you can browse eco-retailers whose ethos agrees with their yours.

You can let us know if you are looking for a particular gift or even if you need ideas for gifts. To make it even easier for you, we will be producing a categorised directory of all our retailers for you to browse through. I am soooo looking forward for this to be in full swing!

Just head over to Kin'ethics at www.facebook.com/Kinethicspage NOW!  I am sure your eyes will be opened at the number of great retailers who are giving back to their communities :)

Wishing you a great month ahead. I will leave you with this quote from Mother Theresa

 

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let noone ever come to you without leaving happier"

 

Love, Pam

x

Love at first random glance!

Recently, browsing through the net, I stumbled upon a necklace - a beautiful map of Africa in striking red acrylic with a heart carved out of the map. To say it struck a chord is an understatement! (You see, from a very young age I have had a strong love of Africa, from the rich colours and fabric to the music and people but the love is deeper than that!)  Anyway, I closed the page as it wasn't what I set out to look for and simply forgot about it...

I forgot about it for a day but then it kept coming back into my thoughts, A LOT.  I WANTED IT and as my birthday has just passed I thought it was the perfect reason to buy it! Trying to find it again proved difficult as I couldn't remember what site it was from, the designer or business. I finally found it with the help of Claire from The Girls Mean Business who prompted my memory. THANK YOU!

My most wanted object was created by Stevie K, a wonderful talented designer living in Chicago. She runs her business, tru.che, having quit her day job to pursue her "daydream" of making jewellery. She offers an array of gorgeous designs including a fab range of "country map" necklaces - CLICK HERE .  Everything means different things to different people but MY map of Africa necklace means so much to me, MUCH more than JUST a necklace!

Following my passion for Africa, Con-fused Arts stock a range of Fairtrade jewellery from Africa, to check these out, you can go to either my FaceBook page or website. 

Shout out for H&M!

Well, this is a bit of a shout out for a company I see grow and grow in their ethical and environmental awareness. I am excited for their future! As it is Climate Week, H&M are advertising that if you donate a large bag of clothes for recycling from 12th to 18th March, they will give you a £5 off voucher to use in H&M before 30th April this year.  Well, that's exactly what I did today and was welcomed by friendly members of staff who gave me my £5 off voucher.


As I am really loving H&M at the minute, the voucher didn't last long in my handbag and I couldn't resist buying this Katherine Hamnett 100% organic T-shirt in support of the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) oh and some hair clips (to help me emotionally cope with my "in-between" length fringe:). If you want to find out more about H&M's philosophy on sustainability and other world issues click here  !

Let's save the future and have a fab weekend!

Pam