“Roaring Peacock” Repurposing BunnFunn Style
Did you ever visit your Grandma’s house when you were younger and thought to yourself, I would never wear that sweater. It’s so outdated. How about that long scarf with the odd animal print and sequins that was lying on the chaise? One look and you thought, what is that thing, a Peacock? Sometimes I wonder just how many of our grandmas’ storage bins get dumped into the trash before anyone decides to look through them. There is buried treasure in them thar hills and we need to be mindful of what we are throwing away. Not only are we discarding away pieces of our loved one’s life history, we are unwittingly (and maybe, sometimes, even disrespectfully) throwing away pieces of their character and personality, their art, their books, their accomplishments, proof that they were here! And to make it even worse, every piece of trash that contains textiles as well as other non-biodegradable items that get dumped in landfills across the nation, is piling up and taking long periods of time to disintegrate. Some polyester, rayons and other chemically produced textiles really put a hurting on the planet’s environment.
Silk, although it is a natural product, the methods of its mass production include inhumane treatment of silk worms. We here at BunnFunn are zero waste oriented. From saving and sharing scraps of textiles with community artisans, schools for crafts projects, other designers for project specific items from remnants (all cost effective as well as recycle friendly), to refraining from using skins, furs, and pollutant types of textiles in the future. I have textile inventory from years gone by that I would not purchase now, knowing what I know. However what I have I will find good use for as opposed to just chucking it out and again, adding to the landfills. It would behoove us ALL to start thinking about how to repurpose non-biodegradable items and not toss them into a pile of rubble, or into our seas. Technology is advancing and developing resources that are giving rise to textiles such as microfiber, soy cashmere, bamboo, coconut fiber, even corn. Hemp has been one of the leading environment friendly products for a long time now and is a great sustainable source.
We still have our reliable tried and true organic fibers such as linen, which is flax seed and also doesn’t use much water to grow I am much more careful in anything new I purchase to create with. BunnFunn is more conscience of what really matters as opposed to creating dazzling competitive art by any means necessary to compete in this fashion world. Repurpose is the way to help the fashion industry lesson its carbon footprint and that imprint is huge. In my own little way, I hope to help and share what I know with you. I’ve learned a lot from other “green designers” and I hope to do them proud. The BunnFunn Collection, a private custom clothing and crafts boutique that uses fashion to teach cultural history, has ideas too. Maybe we can share our tips for repurposing with you. From a dowdy odd scarf that grandma left behind we created a reproduction of a roaring twenties dress that is the perfect example of “What to Do with Grandma’s Ole Stuff”. Now what to do with all those doilies she crotched. That’s a whole ‘nother story!
- “Roaring Peacock” Repurposing BunnFunn Style - 10/21/2015