Eco Fashion World

Our crush on DIY, crafting, buying handmade and customizing is still going strong. Is it the zeitgeist of the recession or an increasing awareness of where our things come from, hard to say… Last year, the New York Times reported: “On Sept. 29 2008, a day the stock market plunged sharply, Etsy, the leading Web marketplace for handmade goods, had record sales. In November and December, the site has continued to break records. Last month, artists sold $10.8 million of goods on Etsy, up from $4.2 million in November 2007.” NYT December 22nd 2008

Some of our favorite DIYers are self taught designers who are as committed to the cut of their garments as they are to cutting the amount of clothes that end up in the landfill. This past London Fashion Week, we caught up with just two such designers, Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager of Junky Styling, who have been upcycling for more than ten years!

To understand the importance of the phenomenon, Abigail Doan turns away from the sowing machine and to the Internet, where skills and techniques that used to be passed down from generation to generation are now accessible to all, as long as you know where to look…

For those of us who love the look and the added cachet of handmade but have definitely given up on injuring ourselves with sharp objects, our selection of favorite things is a first step in finding that special piece you’re looking for. And if you’re hungry for more, you can turn to our review of online crafting marketplace Etsy to learn fun ways to make this great tool work for you, custom Halloween costumes anyone?