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

Digby and Iona: Handmade Jewelry with a Whimsical Touch

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.

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

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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How I Wear Eco Fashion: Fashion Ecopreneur Greta Eagan

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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Eco Fashion Designer Titania Inglis: Future Perfect Wearability for Urbanistas

The first time I saw Titania Inglis’ designs was last Summer at an eco fashion party at the Brooklyn Textile Art Center. She had a few pieces on a rack for sale, and I snagged a deep-V backed grey almost-seersucker sleeveless blouse. It was made of the lightest organic cotton and when I wore it to The Greenshows paired with my boyfriend’s jeans, and wooden-soled heels, I felt totally grown up, but comfortably so. I caught Titania’s recent show at the new Guilded showroom and the newest collection was just as exciting as those first few pieces I saw on that rack in Brooklyn.

String Theory — Titania Inglis FW11 from titania inglis on Vimeo.

The video for Titania’s Autumn/Winter 2011 line which played at her show at Guilded.

Naturally I wanted to know more about Titiana – and where she gets her inspiration for her future-perfect designs. Turns out that cotton blouse I so love is made with one of her favorite fabrics – a Japanese Organic Cotton – to design with: “The fabrics have a crisp, clean look that complements the geometric lines of my clothing perfectly, and their quality is unrivaled. I’m looking forward to working with Brooklyn’s Textile Arts Center on the dyeing for my next collection: they’re starting to grow a garden of dye plants, so although the fabric is sourced from abroad, the colors will be hyper-local,” says Titania.

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Riverkeeper Benefits When You Shop Stewart and Brown’s Spring Collection!

Stewart+Brown is teaming up with Marie Claire’s Amanda Hearst & PAPER’s Luigi Tadini for Riverkeeper in honor of Earth Day!

From April 22-April 30th, 20% of sales will go to Riverkeeper from the Stewart+Brown e-commerce website.

“Clean drinking water is a basic human right and it’s a shame that for many it is considered a luxury. As a New Yorker, I realize how lucky I am to have access to drinkable water and it is almost entirely due to the efforts of Riverkeeper. Less than 50 years ago, there were 20 mile stretches of the Hudson considered “dead”. Today, it is one of the richest bodies of water on earth. I am so proud to work with an organization who’s immense success in litigating polluters has bettered my life as well as the lives of those around me. The battle continues, but Riverkeeper will never quit, and for that we are all forever indebted to them.” – Amanda Hearst

There are plenty of wonderful pieces, all made from sustainable fabrics and dyed with non-polluting dyes. See my favorite selections from the early Spring collection below:

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