"I was first inspired by weaving on my very first visit to Humla when I was 16 and reconnecting with my family. I saw my mom and grandma outside my house weaving beautiful long panels out of goat and sheep wool to be sewn into rugs. (I actually insisted on keeping a piece from that very panel she was weaving and still have it hanging in my house). This image of my mom weaving stayed in my mind for years and I always wanted to do something with it because it was unlike anything I had ever seen."
Once the samples are perfect and the design is finalised, the pattern is cut onto cardboard sheets and stored for future orders. Each size and each individual section (arm lengths, torso area, etc) are cut on their own piece of cardboard, as when the fabric is being cut it makes it easier to use it all and avoid off-cut waste. Pattern making is a highly skilled position; if the pattern is incorrect, none of the steps below matter very much afterward.
When an order has been placed the pattern cutter takes the cardboard pattern and aligns it onto the fabric to be used. Chalk (or pen on white fabric) is then used to outline each section and size onto the fabric. The fabric itself is placed in thick piles - each colour to be used will be cut at the same time.
The majority of our makers are the tailors who stitch our clothing together. This is of utmost importance to us, as when a garment is stitched correctly it lasts many, many years (one of the foundations of slow fashion). We are lucky to work with such amazing skilled men and women to create our superior quality clothing.
This step is performed once the stitching of the items has been completed. These lovely ladies check that the sizes are correct by measuring against the pattern, ensure all stitching is within the fabric seams, cut away any loose cotton threads and check that the fabric is blemish free.
This is the final step where the clothing is just about ready; tags are attached and the garments are placed in their style, size and colour group ready for packing and shipping.
We visited our screen printers once again this trip ... this process never fails to fascinate and impress me! Our amazing printing team have absolute precision timing and HUGE skill. You really must see it to understand how fast they go, and with zero error no less.
We just finished our latest Summer shoot on a farm resort here in Jervis Bay, and oh wasn't it an amazing two days! When we initially visited the venue we couldn't believe that we hadn't been there before (being that The Woods Farm is almost literally around the corner from our house). It's a treasure trove of beautiful shoot locations, stunning accommodation and not just animals, but at the moment baby animals ... goats in particular.
Random (camel) fact: Camel calves are born without humps and need to gain weight before acquiring them as humps on a camel store fat, not water. This fat storage keeps them cool and can also be used as a calorie fix when needed.
Oh, and did I mention they are just so damn cute?!
So!
We had a fantabulous lunch on day 1! An amazing grazing table supplied by Jervis Bay Grazing appeared just when we needed it and, oh my ... swoon!
We then finished up with dessert from the in-house ice cream bicyclette. With our very own ice cream man!
Once lunch was done it was back to work, and this time we were heading to the goat enclosure. The females had had their babies a few weeks before, and guests were only just allowed in with them. If you have never seen a baby goat, please ready yourself ... I think we all left that enclosure with an unhealthy desire to adopt one or two!
Although I think Tia was contemplating how far she could get on foot while no one was watching ...
The mama goats got some love too ... once they stopped trying to eat our clothing, water bottles and the photographers camera that is.
Random (goat) fact: Goats have a sophisticated warning system to notify other goats of (perceived) danger. They … wait for it … sneeze to warn each other of danger, whether real or imagined.
We stopped for a couple of quick shots at the children's caravan play area, and came across these two getting out of the midday heat ... one quite happily sat there and posed for us!
Next stop: the chicken coop! These mother cluckers didn't want anything to do with us and were herding toward the rooster so we thought we'd better get out of there ... just in case. Anyone else actually been chased by a rooster?!
(My grandfather used to keep chickens and I got chased right out of there once! Yes, a long time ago now but I remember).
Random (chicken) facts: Chickens outnumber humans 4:1! They can remember up to 100 faces (both chicken and human) as well, so let's keep that in mind people ... in case, you know viva la poultry rèvolution!
The last shot of the weekend had been causing some concern for Tia and Maely since I first mentioned it was something I'd like to do at the start of the shoot.
Keep in mind that even though the sun was out in all it's splendour, it was still technically Winter and late in the day at that. They both braved the chill though and we got the shot done!
We had an absolute blast at our 'Animal Farm' photo shoot! Fears were overcome, new experiences were had and love affairs between the whole team and baby goats were forged. Not sure how we'll top that, but I'm sure we will!
Until next time,
Mel Xx
]]>Video credit Chris Marquardt
Over the past 12 years we have been on a mission to source natural dyes within Nepal and have had some success, although on a small scale. Consequently we use both natural dyes and low impact dyes in our clothing production.
The low impact dyes in our Surya clothing are azo free. The azo chemical in dyes has been found to contain toxic compounds ranging from chlorine bleach to known carcinogens. (They're also in some foods, they are quite a big concern.)
Although still legal in Australia, we made the decision very early on to go above and beyond what was simply required of us. We are advocates in minimizing harm to both the planet and our bodies wherever we can, and decided to use only dyes which had this azo chemical removed.
Our low impact dyes also have a higher absorption rate into our cotton fabric (greater than 70% which is fantastic), so that means far less chemical and grey water runoff into the local environment.
We use natural dyes such as tumeric, onion skin, madder root and indigo in some smaller collections within our larger collections. The colour range using natural dyes is limited and the colours themselves are more muted, however the benefit (and beauty!) they provide far outweighs this small inconvenience.
Natural dying is a small area of expertise within Nepal, and without exception the artisan dyers are all women working in their own businesses and employing other women from their local community. It is often performed in rural areas where the materials can be collected and gathered in abundance, and provides positive impact for rural economies.
Browse our range of naturally dyed clothing and accessories.
We, like you think our planet is worth protecting and are always looking for new ways to reduce our footprint and cut back on waste, especially plastics. For us here at Surya, the majority of our plastic usage previously came from sending our online orders to you, by using the only available option at the time - Australia Post plastic satchels. Used once and then tossed in the bin. After conducting a wastage audit on our business at the start of 2019 though we found a MUCH better option.
The team at The Better Packaging Co designed and created a satchel that is not just recyclable, but also compostable. Made from corn starch and other plant based waste materials, their postage bags are revolutionising plastic usage in the eCommerce sector.
If you were lucky enough to be part of a survey we conducted early 2019, you will have been one voice who contributed to this shake up. I say tentatively though that we may not have listened to you ... read on.
In question one I asked people about their preferred packaging with online orders in general. I admit I was a little surprised.
I asked this question believing that I knew what everybody would say, but I was wrong. Over 50% of our people said that they still wanted their piece to be wrapped in paper, inside the satchel. I was not sure what to do.
When I personally receive online orders, it always stings at the amount of 'stuff' I have to dig through just to get to my item and ultimately have to throw away. Beauty products (that I can't buy locally) placed in a (way) too large box, wrapped in paper padded with plastic air bubble 'balloons'. The exact same for stationary items such as postcards and business cards.
Or clothing wrapped in tissue paper placed inside a cloth bag. If I used tissue paper I would keep it of course (and do), but we wrap all gifts with newspaper now and I almost resent having to keep and use this paper that's only purpose it is look and feel good for the recipient - almost like unwrapping a present that you bought yourself. The cloth bags are always (way) too small to be used in any practical sense and they end up lingering around my home until I end up giving them away too.
I have horrible flashes of shame for contributing to this shocking wastage when I open my parcels sometimes, and then decide to not order from the company again.
I don't want that for my people.
So I ignored the results from that particular question, and went ahead and did what I thought was best - to pack our orders 'naked' with no wrapping whatsoever. When your piece arrives it's just your ordered item inside a bag that you can drop into your home compost bin.
While I hope that's OK, over 70% of people surveyed said that were "very happy with the no waste, minimal packaging" that they received from us in question 2. I'll call that a win, and definitely OK.
I did get some fantastic responses from the 'other' section as well. Here are a few of my favourites, if any of these were you - then mwah.
We believe our planet is worth protecting and will be always looking for new ways to minimise our business and (of course) personal waste. Next time you receive a parcel from us, please shoot us a line and let us know what you think - good or bad we always appreciate feedback.
Until next time,
Mel Xx
]]>Woodford Folk Festival 2017/18 from Woodford Folk Festival on Vimeo.
If we don't see you there, then
Until next time,
Mel Xx
Image Credits
Surya Australia (that's us)!
The dream of a warm, auspicious space in which to finally set up our 'permanent market stall' has come to fruition with the signing of a lease on a cute little shop in Milton, NSW (near Ulladulla). Having had the idea for around 3 years now, we tossed and turned with different locations and premises, but it never felt right and for one reason or another it just never happened. Until it did!
We started with a blank canvas - literally a square, empty room with a sink! It was such a creative exercise when we sat down to plan our new space out - we could do anything at all! We started by enclosing the back section for storage, and building a fitting room (above).
We had decided to make all our shelves, racks and tables to save some rapidly evaporating funds, and found some old fence posts and pallets that needed attention. After pulling them apart, sawing, sanding and then putting them back together, the result was even more amazing than we first thought. Below is the top of the table in the centre of the room holding all our children's felt products.
Next thing was all hands on deck, when the installation began.
It took around 2 weeks to finish all the hard work, and then the fun began - setting up all our gorgeous products! I'd like to say it was a smooth process and all 'fit' together perfectly, but it's not the case. It took a few nights of rearranging and invention to get it how we wanted it to look.
We're still not done yet - just a few small things to do and then it's back into the hard market and festival life (as well as the shop).
Loving it completely at the moment, can't wait for the long, busy Summer to make it all worthwhile!
Until next time,
Mel X
]]>