NYC · Eco-Chick

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Aquaknots! Feral Childe’s Spring/Summer 2012 Collection is Aswim with Exotic Coral and Aquatic Horses

Shoal Shift in Flowerstripe Print, Silk Crepe

Feral Childe continues to be one of my favorite eco fashion lines (and fashion lines in general!), so I am especially excited to share part of their Spring/Summer 2012 collection with you all on Eco Chick.

Not only are their colors and patterns always interesting and always different, but they are immensely wearable and very well-made. I have been wearing the two blouses and two dresses I have from FC for years now – literally! Take a look at their site to see all the pieces from S/S 2012 and also a close-up at their hand-drawn and always-unique patterns.

Besides being designed and sewn in NYC, Feral Childe’s designers use eco friendly textiles, which include supersoft organic cottons, silks, Cupro, Italian metallic cotton and hempcel.

Shark Tank Dress in Seaworld Print (mauve)

Rabbits Tee in Organic Cotton Stripe with Silk Crepe Anemone Shorts in Flowerstripe Print

Silk Crepe Cousteau Jacquet in Flowerstripe Print

2012, aquadots, collection, feral childe, hemp, New York City, NYC, organic cotton, spring/summer, sustainable

Why We Love NYC’s Think Coffee

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by Starre Vartan · 03/05/12

Recently, I conducted an intern search, and since Eco Chick is one of the many companies that works virtually, that means I had to find a place to meet with all the fantastic applicants. As I spend quite a bit of time in the Union Square area of NYC, I have long been stopping by the Think Coffee near the park, but this past autumn, on a run back from the gorgeous-in-every-season Hudson River Park, I noticed a new Think was setting up shop at 8th avenue between 13th and 14th streets.

The interior of the 14th&8th Think Coffee store – with plenty of room in the back room for relaxing and enjoying your java.

This store is much more chill than the always-busy Broadway location, and soon after they opened, I became a regular. Not just because I have a bit of a coffee addiction, but because the space is open and new (but with a bit of an old-school coffeehouse vibe), and Think is serious about its ethical bona fides, which include the following:

-Sourcing direct from farmers. No middleman means no greenwashing, as coffee farms are visited by (the lucky!) Think employees during travels to Brazil, Columbia and Costa Rica. Why all this trouble?

Coffee is grown across the globe, and, in our opinion, no single coffee purchasing or certification system can be expected to work equally well everywhere. Whether it is a small family farm in Nicaragua or a Brazilian plantation or a cooperative in southern Ethiopia, each has its own economic, social and political climate. That’s why we go to origin, to see first hand where our coffee comes from, to bring you as much transparency as we can. No other coffee retailer we know of checks up on the claims of its roasters, importers or certifying authorities the way we do.

To read more, check out the rest of the post on our sister site, Eco Chick Escapes, all about travel and style.

Fair Trade, farmers, health, java, New York City, NYC, think coffee, travel

Digby and Iona: Handmade Jewelry with a Whimsical Touch

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by Starre Vartan · 11/21/11

Aaron Ruff, the designer behind Digby & Iona, in his Brooklyn studio.

It’s rare that I obsess over jewelry; I am lucky enough to have inherited all my grandma’s and great-grandma’s necklaces, rings, hatpins, brooches and bracelets, pieces from 1880-1980, and rarely find anything that’s as interesting or beautiful as what I already have. I’m darn picky, in other words, and only respond to jewelry that’s really interesting or different. When I stumbled up on Digby & Iona, I audibly exclaimed; here was a collection of interesting, humorous, intelligent pieces that compliment each other or stand on their own. And was I excited to hear that it’s made here in NYC from recycled metals? You know it.

Designer Aaron Ruff’s latest collection, Me and My Arrow, is made up of and is inspired by “…the classic Harry Nilsson album The Point, Me & My Arrow retells the fable about Oblio, the only round-headed boy in Pointed Village, where everyone and everything had to have a point.” I got a chance to ask Aaron a few questions about his new line and his design process, and he was generous enough to provide the answers herein.

The bluejay arrow necklace

Starre Vartan: Where do you find your inspiration? I’m loving the arrows collection, how did you come up with the idea to use real bird feathers?

Aaron Digby: I’ve mainly worked with silver and brass for the last few collections and really wanted to use color. The feathers were a great natural material with a huge range of colors and textures I could work from. Almost all my designs are rooted in my childhood. Anything that interested me as a kid seems to bubble up to the surface in my designs, I was a little obsessed with Indian craft techniques. The bow and arrows are just miniature version on the ones I made when I was 8.

The Inspector Clouseau necklace.

SV: What are your sustainable/ethical practices, and why do they matter to you?

AD: I work with one of the few metal casters in New York who casts recycled sterling silver. The materials I work with are a limited resource – there’s only so much of any given precious metal on the earth, especially silver and gold and the vast majority of it has already been mined.

The 14-point stag ring.

SV: If you could make any piece of jewelry, price and resources being no object, what would it be?

AD: If we could add an unlimited timeline as well that would be the icing on the cake! I’ve always dreamt of making some little clockwork masterpiece that was not only beautiful and intricate but also fully functional.

The Stump ring.

SV: Can you give us a hint about what your next collections will be influenced by?

AD: I have a few collections I’m developing at the moment but haven’t decided what will be released for Spring 2012. So far it’s down to one based off of implements of measurement or the War of 1812.

A pendant-type bow necklace.

It’s a worth a look through all six collections on the site; the woods-and-sea background of native Mainer Aarron Ruff comes through variously and in different iterations but is always present.

Animals, Brooklyn, digby & iona, Jewelry, necklace, NYC, recycled metals, ring

NYC’s Little Cupcake Bakery: Eco Friendly Cupcakes with a Humanitarian Twist for FEED Japan

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by Haley · 06/02/11

Cupcakes!

The Little Cupcake Bakery, located both on Prince Street in Manhattan’s SoHo and on Third Avenue in Brooklyn, has opened a “shop in shop” to benefit Japan. Recently I visited with Starre Vartan, Eco Chick’s editor, to try some cupcakes (delicious!) and support the bakery and it’s projects.

Take a cup of coffee like Eco Chick editor, Starre Vartan, while munching on some delicious cupcakes at the Little Cupcake Bakery.

An horrific earthquake hit Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011, reaching 8.9 on the Richter scale. It resulted in one of the largest tsunamis to date, both ruining and taking lives and wrecking homes. The FEED Japan bag was created to raise funds and bring support to the relief in Japan at such a crucial time.

The frosting must go on at The Little Cupcake Bakery.

But what does this all have to do with cupcakes, which seem totally removed from such a tragedy? Simply, it’s that the sweetest things in life should both be enjoyed, and do some good too.
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eco friendly, Food, japan, NYC

How I Wear Eco Fashion: Fashion Ecopreneur Greta Eagan

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by Starre Vartan · 05/16/11

Greta thinks her ensemble above is “The perfect weekend outfit”.

Recently Greta Eagan, who is an eco fashion expert (more on that below), had an event to attend, and in putting her outfit together, realized that every part of it was sustainable, down to her nail polish! (That happens once you’ve been into eco fashion for a bit – a great look comes together and you realize it’s all green.) She deemed the above not only comfortable, but it made her feel confident, even though it’s not crazy dressy. “The art of casual dressing, really is just that… an art! It is a delicate balance between designed pieces and comfortable fabrics,” Greta says.

She filled us in on how it all came together: “While attending the Wing Tip It launch party in the Meatpacking last week, I found a tee in Vince that is made of 50% modal (beech wood pulp, a sustainable fiber). I love the cut and knew it would go perfectly with my Stewart + Brown organic cotton cargo pants. Finally, I slipped on my favorite Allison Wedges from Cri de Coeur and viola- an eco-fabulous outfit for the weekend!

A close-up of the Cri de Coeur platforms.
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