Next weekend I will be at the 'Klerenzooi' market. In the hall for Entrepreneurs with a mission, because yes! I have a mission. Reclaiming fabrics; making new things from textiles
that have been used before, cutting good pieces from broken clothes and giving them a second life in a different form, making earrings from the smallest cutting scraps from my studio, and so on.
Reclaiming fabrics, using them again, making the world a little more beautiful. On the one hand, make it more attractive with all those wonderful new items that I create, and on the other hand, more beautiful because by using raw materials that already exist, these fabrics do not end up in that gigantic waste mountain of clothing. Win-win. And my mission...
And now I have been invited to make visitors at the 'Kleerenzooi' market aware of the necessity of reusing materials. Why is it so important to reuse raw materials that already exist?
I secretly think that if you haven't noticed yet, you might have been living under a rock. TV programs, store campaigns, fashion shows on the textile mountain in the Atacama desert, schools that devote entire lesson programs to it, how could you have missed it? No offense intended. I haven't followed the news for a long time, simply because I prefer to focus on my circle. There is so much going on that it almost makes you depressed if you follow it all. This is also why I don't try to make people aware of the surplus of clothes and fabric. Now and then, I share a fact about fashion oversupply, but I mainly focus on positive messages.
'Klerenzooi', that is. At this market, I am going to talk to visitors. Show them what you can do with your leftover clothes or curtains. Make a big sweater from small ones, because over the years you have become too big to fit them. Or a pair of trousers from brightly colored flower curtains, because the curtain trend has become more natural lately and the fashion trend is at the top of the color palette. Wonderfully simple actually. Well, I understand that others do not have the patience, the time, or even the creativity for it. But then again they can easily buy a wardrobe from makers like me.
For the market, I made fruit bags from net curtains. Super handy, fold it up small and put it in your inside pocket. And if you come across a greengrocer or market stall on your way, you can unfold it and fill it with your purchases. Of course, you can use the bag for other goods you want to transport, but I like the concept of a fruit bag. It is enjoyable and cozy, and no-waste, to bring your vegetables or fruit from A to B. If you wonder whether that bag is strong enough with all that fine lace, the answer is yes! I put a 6 kilo weight in it and everything remained intact.
So I am a bit less active in bringing bad clothing waste news. Because aren't we all a bit tired of bad news? This does not mean I do not want to make others more aware. We can do without newly produced fabrics and clothing. I think it is fun and important to promote upcycle colleagues via my social media, for example. Because we are all pioneers in our field. We put a lot of time and energy into it, hours that are not always paid for. "It comes with the job". This is part of being an entrepreneur with a mission.
I worked two full days making the six fruit bags. I will give them away without asking for anything in return. Or, well, maybe something; think about how a simple net curtain that is discarded can make your daily walk to the greengrocer's a lot more cheerful. Otherwise, it would have disappeared into the rubbish bin. Net curtains are made of plastic and take years to break down.
I hope I will make people happy with the bag at the 'Klerenzooi' market. To see a smile and a glimmer of awareness on their faces.
That's what I do it for. That's my reward for the two days of work.
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