Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Jewelry by Pippa Small: Impactful and Joyous (in More Ways than Just Aesthetically)

I’m loving London-based jeweler Pippa Small‘s oversized, colorful jewelry. After working under Tom Ford at Gucci and Phoebe Philo at Chloe, she has a fantastic design eye for what’s going to work with a dressed down frock, smart denims and a white tee, or even with a more polished jacket-and-skirt ensemble.

Smalls’ new online shop means that her designs are now easily available to anyone with an Internet connection, though her jewelry is available at all sorts of boutiques and is featured on net-a-porter too.

And the designer doesn’t just have an eye for style, she works with what is the world’s 1st registered Fairtrade gold mine in Bolivia, and partnered with Afghanistan-based charity Turtle Mountain, which is working to regenerate the country’s traditional arts. She also produced a collection with the Fairtrade company MADE based in Kibera, a slum area in Nairobi.

Read more about these various projects here.

“Pippa believes the art of jewellery making can enhance life and help alleviate poverty and protect precious traditions, helping to grow the confidence of crafts people around the world and reverse the tradition of exploitation associated with the gem industry over the centuries. Her jewellery is collected and coveted by many who appreciate the rough organic, hand made feel of the jewellery.”

Handmade Hair Accessories Trend: Matching Themed Pins

I have had long hair since I was a little girl; and on those days when it looks pretty flowing down my back, I am joyous. But those days are few and far between, and the rest of the time, I wear my hair in a bun or updo on top of my head. Whatever way I wear my hair, I love to keep pretty little hair clips or pins in there somewhere; there’s a lot of it and I need to control it a bit even when it’s down. Recently, I lost my last few fave accessories (they always disappear eventually, a fact you just have to accept) and so I thought Etsy might be a good place to find some uncheesy new ones. And I found several matching themed bobby pins, which I thought were really sweet.

(Above) iluxo has a number of handmade-from-veggie-tanned-leather hair pieces, like the matching octopus and bubbles (and there are a bird and feather, and a skull and flower, both of which I also love).

This sweet set is from prettyplsmpls, and is made from vintage materials.

Made from old books pages, these pins from Bits and barley are perfect for a writer or book lover.
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Video: Heritage Donegal Tweed from Molloy and Sons

Molloy & Sons: Heritage Tweed on Nowness.com.

This video is incredibly beautiful; I’ve been wanting to visit Ireland for years now, but this would most certainly be a wonderful reason to go – to check out authentic Donegal tweed. I would love a menswear-style vest with a satin lining and old horn buttons to wear over dresses and tights this winter.

Handmade, heritage fabrics are the way forward, as we look back.

Video via nowness.com, an absolutely gorgeous site.

Filmmakers Jamie Delaney and Keith Nally’s beautiful short, made in collaboration with heritage enthusiast and Acne Paper Editor Charlotte Rey, profile one of the last surviving weaving mills, Molloy & Sons. Based in the windswept County Donegal, Ireland, current father and son duo Sean and Kieran Molloy have a pedigree dating back over six generations and weave premium tweed from the famous Donegal yarn. “I think that with old crafts which are indigenous to areas like this, it’s really hard to divorce them from their landscape,” says Delaney. Over the course of three days’ filming, Delaney and Rey captured the family’s impressive artisanal skill and dedication to a dwindling industry. Amidst the bleak but beautiful scenery surrounding the mill, the textile masters explained how their authentic Donegal weaves were inspired by the muted tones and flecks of color in the local heather, bracken and wild flowers. “Tweed is part of the cultural DNA in a sense; it’s been there for generations and it’s a pillar of a fabric industry that is now disappearing,” says Rey. “What should really be shining through is the love and the passion of these people.”

Lina Rennell’s Personal Textile Creations Transform Clothes into Casual Wearable Art

Designer Lina Rennell combines beautiful, handprinted fabrics with ethical textiles, creating uniquely lovely clothes which find inspiration in everyday objects; her Fall/Winter collection takes off from a lampshade that the designer loves. Her Spring/Summer 2012 collection, shown here, called “Marble Ballet” delves into the “…imagery of visual mishaps of nature, the beauty of evolution and mutation reframed into engaging pirouettes,” says Lina.

“I primarily do screen printing, by hand with large screens done in San Francisco. The line is textile art driven, and I start my process in a very personal way, what I’m drawn to at the moment, or what I’m struggling with. That’s in the textiles themselves, and then once I have a body of fabrics and prints, I do the fashion thing,” says Lina.

The designer lives as green as she can, shopping at the local farmer’s market and working near home so there’s no commute. “The eco thing is just second nature to me. I grew up in health food stores and walking around all day in the hills with my animal friends. So organic clothing was just an obvious choice for me. I loved the quality of it first and foremost; how is it so much like the vintage textiles, with its well made integrity, and unique hand,” says Lina.

Lina prefers using older sewing techniques; calling her creations “light couture.” Enclosed seams, or French seams mean that her pieces often look as beautiful inside-out as they do right way forward.

“I’m inspired by color, and animals and contrasts. I love modern but I always have a eye on tribal, hand done craft. I grew up reading Vogue, though I was mostly a tomboy. My mother on the other hand was always in pumps with red lipstick, always decked out to the nines, and then there was me with my big bushy messy hair,” says Lina.

Lina Rennell is a family-run local business, and sewing and printing all takes place in California by other small businesses. Organic cotton and hemp silk blends are favorite fabrics and Lina says, “We also recycle lots of our fabric in small piece production and gifting to schools and other designers.”

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Coclico Boutique’s Two Day Holiday (25% Off) Sale

On Thursday, December 8th, and Friday, December 9th we’re inviting our New York customers to enjoy 25% off clothing and handbags from designers like Obakki, Rachel Comey, Iro, Something Else, Mociun, Podolls, Collina Strada, Malababa, and more.

Please join us for cocktails on Thursday, December 8th at 5pm and we’ll help you find the perfect gift or holiday party outfit. Plus we’ll have goodie bags for our first ten shoppers and a complimentary bottle of wine for customers with clothing/handbag purchases of $500 or more!

Coclico is located at 25 Mott St. in Nolita (Manhattan).