What drew you to become a fashion designer?
We were given banners from the Cairns Regional Council after the Elton John concert and we were going to make (and still will make) handbags from them but we needed an industrial sewing machine which we did not have access to. So we thought why not make a dress. So we did.
Why was it important to you to offer a sustainable, responsible, Eco fashion line and how do you incorporate ideals such a Zero Waste into your work?
The Junk Weavers is all about recycling. Our motto Saving the Planet one Wrapper at a time shows we are committed to teaching women about recycling from their kitchens. Even one person can make a difference.
Where do your find inspiration for new work?
Our inspiration is saving single use plastics from ending up in landfill. We also enjoy teaching other women about recycling and who to make get upcycled things from garbage.
What materials do you work with – organic, reclaimed, etc.?
We recycle single use plastics such as chip packets, lolly wrappers, dog and cat food biscuit bags, coffee bags – these are our favourite. However many of the single use plastics from your pantry and fridge can be recycled. We are also now into the circular economy and received scrim and banners from the council to recycle as well.
What are the biggest challenges you face as an sustainable designer?
For the Junk Weavers it’s the time it takes to make our products. Collection of the plastics, washing, cutting, folding, sewing is very labour intensive.
How do you help customers understand the higher cost of sustainable garments when they are so inundated with sweat shop-produced cheap merchandise?
We don’t Customers think our products are cool and buy if they like them.
What can we look forward to seeing on the runway at Eco Fashion Week Australia 2018?
Our Elton John dress is one of a kind, unique, and his banners have never been converted to a dress as far as we can tell. This product will be a collector’s item.
How do you incorporate sustainable living in other areas of your life?
All the Junk Weavers are recyclers.
Anything else you would like readers to know?
We love to talk garbage, We are a small group of devoted women who love to upcycle single use plastics into unique items. Every handbag produced is unique, no two are the same. We mostly use recycled handles, recycled Bling all from second hand shops.
We have a Hip Hop song written about what we do – and our first verse is Weaving Garbage, That’s what we like to do. We can teach you so you can do it to. We have an active Facebook page and also a website which we have just updated.
We are committed to saving plastics from entering landfill and the ocean as we live in Far North Queensland. We would love to see women around the world turning garbage from their pantries into saleable items. We have lots of pictures and videos on our Facebook page.
Links
- Website - www.junkweavers.com
- Instagram - @junk_weavers
- Facebook - www.facebook.com/thejunkweaversinc/
- LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/torrens-michelle-017a8424/