Trash is still a rather rough n ready thing, but I have continued to refine different parts of it.
The shoes are alot more tidy than they were, although it is still an ongoing process of refinement as i reject many options and find new ones. The very nature of the beast has meant it has had to be like this! I have tried so many different materials and haven't always successfully predicted how they would perform: Since Trash begun I have trialled a helluva lot of pairs on my own feet, but since I only have two I have often taken my best guess and sent them out into the world on customers feet! . . . . . This has caused me considerable angst and wondering about some of their fates; sometimes, I have found out this through returns of shoes that didnt live up to my aim of making shoes from 'Waste' that last longer than shoes made from new materials. But these have been fixed and sent back, and have been an invaluable part of my learning! In fact those who have done this have been alot more helpful to me than those who have not been happy and insteasd thrwon them into the back of their cupboards in disdain! . . . So if there is anyone out there not happy with their Trash Footwear, please let me know!
Check the current range here!
Also, I have worked more on the Trash brand and it's story.
-Here is the storyboard I made in may 2012 that includes info about the problems of normal shoemaking and manufacturing in general, ways I aim to chancge this, aswell as info about the process and end products.
-Also, after beginning by having heaps of business cards etc printed out rather un-ethically and for next to nothing by an online company that I really don't know how they survive; considering the constant flow of rock-bottom sales; I am now trying to make this material more in line with the recycled and DIY ethic of Trash.
- Step one of this was getting a seried of postcards printed whose major idea was to start to work against the horrible prevalence of single purpose/single use products in this world! This was designed by an awesome artist my brother flatted with in Glasgow called Magda Boreysza (An early draft of this image adorns the wall of my blog) in exchange for a couple pairs of shoes! It's aim was to be multi-use: Postcard, promotion and artwork all in one, whose ideal life would be to be sent as a postcard and act as promo for Trash along the way, then nce it reaches its destination it is placed on the wall for an extended period; to look pretty and continue to promote Magda and Trash's work. Although, this was still printed through the aforementioned cut-price company, it is the start of a direction we would like to go with any materials: Thinking of maximising the number and length of useage of anything created and then ulimately also considering its afterlife! (as you may have noticed, this is also a somewhat more awesome version of my earlier attmepts at a butler... so he did kinda sorta come to something ;-P )
- The next step was to create better business cards and product tags: So we used a clever idea discovered by my partner in crime Melissa McMahon, of a big-ass stamp! This means any old scrap lying around can become a business card! . . . . even old business cards! (which we are using until they are all gone - we also got a stamp made with an 'ingredients list' to tick off to show what each pair is made of ). The next step will be to find some natural inks to use and then we will have the perfect low-tech, recycled and compostable bizo cards!
I have also continued to do a few markets this year; and I am seeing that this is an awesome avenue for gaining instant feedback, aswell as for promoting your causes face-to-face. Every market I have alot of really inspiring talks and always make many connections for potential future ideas. One major market I did was the Hamilton Womans Lifestyle Expo in May: Although initially I felt that this wasn't my natural clientelle I decided to use it as a chance to really push to tidy up my display as well as guage response in what I was expecting to be a very middle of the road audience. Although, the sales turned out to be not so amazing; it was awesome for promotion as this is the home patch (so to speak) for Soul Shoes and (potentially) Trash Footwear! It was amazing to talk to everybody and discover how many people know of Soul Shoes.
The highlight of the week was also the competition we posted for a pair of shoes in exchange for ideas of materials to potentially use for making Trash Footwear: The list was very interesting and showed that a hell of a lot of people had thought of such issues.. In fact many people offered ideas for materials from their industry, with the winner suggesting using punctured sports balls as she was a PE teacher! . . . Imagine that! A pair of jandals made from a rugby ball, or some high tops made from an old basketball! :-D
No comments:
Post a Comment