Item:  S Imagined Top
Seller:  HeidiAndSeek

This shirt is so unique!  It’s called the “S Imagined Top” by seller HeidiAndSeek and costs $49.00.

I came thisclose to writing today’s featured item like a normal post… but then I thought I would do something a little different!  I interviewed Hayley Lau, of HeidiAndSeek, about her item above and her shop. Enjoy!

1.  Tell me a bit about yourself.  What could my readers learn about you that they can’t see on your Etsy profile?

“I’m really, really bored in malls. I don’t buy from chain stores if I can help it (definitely no clothes) because I can find things that are nicer and more unique from second-hand and handmade venues. Consuming new things has a negative impact on the environment and I don’t trust the ethics of most chain stores. Give me a thrift store or a second-hand market and I could spend all day looking at every little thing and figuring out what I could turn it into.”

2. You use second-hand cloth to create you shop items.  Any tips on finding great fabric when looking second-hand? Where do you look for the fabric? What is your “dream” fabric?

“I thrift-shop for second-hand materials where ever I can get them, and I am given unwanted clothing from friends and family to use. My dream fabric would have an amazingly gorgeous and unique pattern on it, in one of my favourite colours like turquoise or mustard.  I always look for quality fabrics – ones I’d want to wear myself – and I keep a particular eye out for natural fabrics like wool and cotton. I look for materials that I can cut up and use to embellish, as well as ones I can use as a base for my designs. My tip is to look deeply – I flip through each thing on a rack before going on to the next one. That, and to think outside the box.”

3. The “Bushfire Appeal” you take about on your Etsy shop’s page sounds very interesting.  What would you like my readers to know about it? How is the effort doing?

“Earlier this month, in my home state of Victoria, Australia, a series of bushfires ravaged through homes and land. 209 people have been found dead so far, over 500 have been injured, and 7,500 people have been left homeless because their homes were destroyed or damaged. Some fires were due to arson – I cannot even conceive of who could have done something like this. The heat wave was also a factor (likely a result of human-induced global warming). Fortunately, no one I know has been affected, but it’s a terrible tragedy. Australians and people all over the world have banded together to support the victims, which has really been uplifting. Australian sellers on Etsy opened a shop where handmade items are donated and sold, with the profits going to the Bushfire Appeal. So far they have raised over $13,000, which is amazing in such a short amount of time. You can visit the shop and pick up something nice to help the cause here: ozbushfireappeal.etsy.com”

4. Your profile talks about ethics in the fashion industry. What disappoints you the most? What do you think is a solution? What is your hope for the industry?

“What disappoints me the most is that big businesses make it so easy to distance ourselves from the damage we do by supporting them. They only show us the shiny new end product, and then they shove it in our faces with advertising every chance they get. They don’t show us video of the mistreated and underpaid sweatshop worker who made the shoe or dress, the diseased cotton farmer ill from pesticide poisoning, or statistics on the amount of environmental damage each new product does. It’s up to us.  My hope is that consumers take the responsibility on board to dig deeper into the layers of production processes and make ethical consumer choices where they can. I encourage you to think about what you buy – whether it’s necessary at all, or at least how it was made and whether there’s more cost-effective or longer-lasting products available that aren’t so exploitative. Usually, there are.”

Thanks HeidiAndSeek – Love the items!

- Jackie