Redress Marketplace to Feature 35+ Sustainable & Eco Designers

Over the last four years, Redress has had the honor to work with nearly 60 fantastic designers of fashion, jewelry, handbags, homegoods and more. Our favorite part in work with these designers is giving them an opportunity to engage with new potential clients, suppliers, manufacturers, and each other. Many of our designers have gone on to collaborate on multiple collections featured both at the Redress Eco Fashion Show and other shows in the Triangle such as FashionSpark and Triangle Fashion Week. As we mention throughout the website, we provide designers with a platform to showcase their innovations and products both on and off the runway. 

This year, as Redress celebrates its 5th anniversary, we look forward to hosting our biggest Redress Marketplace yet! Part of our weekend-long Redress Eco Fashion & Textiles conference, the Marketplace takes place on Sunday March 24th from 10am - 3pm at Raleigh Marriott City Center. The best part is that it's free and open to the public! Our goal is to feature as many top quality producers from across the United States who implement sustainable and eco-friendly practices in their designs and productions. Vendors at the Redress Marketplace will have products ranging from upcycled material, reconstructed designs, products made from all natural material, hand-dyed, hand-made and more. 

For those who are interested in participating in the Marketplace, please complete the following application before January 31st.  Vendors are provided with a 10' x 10' space with access to electricty if needed. While we do ask that vendors provide their own setup material, we are able to provide tables and chairs to those who will be traveling a long distance to the event. Additionally, vendors are welcome to share their booth with anyone else they believe would compliment their products (this information can also be found on the application). Acceptance to the Marketplace is a first-come, first-served basis determined by the quality of the products.

In addition to all the great marketing our vendors will receive before, during and after the event, vendors will also have an opportunity to attend the conference at an exceptionally low price. Scheduled throughout the weekend are keynotes from nationally-known presenters: Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, which discusses the consequences of our growing fast-fashion habits; David Peck, CEO of CrOp by David Peck, who will be highlighting the role of domestic manufacturing; and Beth Doane, founder of RainTees, Author, and Owner of Andira Consulting, whose passion and success have inspired audiences around the world. 

The educational sessions and workshops will also offer presentations from exceptional eco-champions such as Tara St James, Owner and Creative Director at Study NY and Fashion Director for The Uniform Project; Susie Breur, Founder of Co-Lab54 and author of Blue is the New Black; Greta Eagan, Stylist, Sustainability Expert, and Founder of FASHIONmeGREEN. Sustainability leaders Eric Henry, President of TS Designs; Ryan Hurley, Owner of Vert & Vogue, and Aly Khalifa, Founder of LYF Shoes, will be adding their local expertise to the event.

We look forward to a fantastic weekend and a great Marketplace that will showcase and unite Made-in-the-USA sustainable and eco designers across the country! The Redress team is here to support the efforts of established and emerging designers, and if there's anything we can do to help, just ask! If you have additional questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@redressraleigh.com. 

Saxapahaw Holiday Market, December 8 - 9, 2012 at Haw River Ballroom

Saxapahaw Holiday Market

The Haw River Ballroom, 1711 Sax-Beth Church Road, Saxapahaw NC 27340

Saturday, Dec 8th from 9am to 9pm & Sunday, December 9th 12-5

Like the Holiday Markets of old - visit with local vendors in a beautiful Holiday setting. Peruse locally produced and handcrafted wares including paintings, jewelry and pottery, antiques, gift baskets, art, woodworking and more. Get all of your holiday shopping done while supporting local artisans! The two day Market will include free performances by local musicians and Saxapahaw will be holding a Christmas Parade Saturday, Dec 8th at 3pm! Come grab an Eggnog Latte and wander the Holiday Market at the Haw River Ballroom or explore Saxapahaw at large including Saxapahaw's renowned eateries the Saxaphaw General Store, The Eddy Pub and Cup 22 Coffehouse.  The Saxapahaw Artists will be running a continual Holiday Gift Market at their location next to the post office as well - beautiful art and gifts! 

Expect to find Locally Made Gifts, Artisan Holiday Baskets, Antiques, Art, Goodies, Delicacies, Stocking Stuffers, Crafts for Kids, Hot Cider, Eggnog Lattes! Wander the Historic Village, Walk Down By the Riverside, Listen to Great Live Music and Get Your Shopping Done! Create Your Own Saxapahaw Gift Basket! 

Participating Vendors and Artisans include: Saxapahaw Artists Roxy Farms Antiques, Benjamin Vineyards, Blessed Earth Farm, River Landing Inn, Haw River Canoe and Kayak Company, Lawrence Peterson Photography, Saxapahaw General Store & Cozi Farm,  HawBridge School Art and Gifts, Out of the Fire Clay Sculpture, Steve Durland Artist, Leigh Brown Artist, Rose Rosely Artist, Alison Erca Artist, Cat Manolis' Hot Sauce, Bee Natural Honey, Sandy’s Antique Barn, Mary Longhill Handspun Yarn, Sissipahaw Leather Company, Germaine and Isadora Galjour, Horty and Sandy Jacobs Photography and Scarves, Hannah Shumaker Soap, and more! 

Boylan Heights ArtWalk, Sunday December 2

Redress Raleigh along with Walk[YourCity] and CompostNow will be part of this weekend's Boylan Heights ArtWalk. Consider this a 'soft launch' of our new work space / headquarters. You'll be able to tour our facility, ask us questions and learn more about or mission! 

Also, Artwalk is a great way to start the holiday season and  is always a popular event. Over a hundred artists and craftspeople will sell a wide range of glasswork, metalwork, woodwork, textiles and clothing, ceramics, drawings, photography, and painting from the neighborhood’s porches, yards, and sidewalks. Spend the day and check out what our local art scene has to offer. Admission is free. Food will be available throughout the day, including burritos (vegetarian and meat), pulled pork, wraps, and more.

For more information, visit: http://artwalk.boylanheights.org/Boylan_Heights_ArtWalk_2012.html

Hand-to-Hand Holiday Market, Saturday December 2, 2012

From Hand to Hand Market Orginizers: "The Hand to Hand Market features hip, handcrafted goods, underground art and vintage finds from some of the best regional and outer space artists, designers, crafters, and collectors the South East has to offer. The next Hand to Hand Market is our ever popular Holiday Market and will take place on Sunday, December 2nd, in the Regency Room at the Elm Street Center, 203 South Elm Street, Downtown Greensboro, NC from 12-6pm.

This one day, indoor designer holiday craft market is sure to have something for everyone: fine art, apparel, vintage goods, jewelry, accessories, housewares, paper goods, music and more.

Don't miss this great opportunity to get one of a kind handmade items for all those special people on your shopping list!!" 

Who Do You Dress For?

Most of us dress for an activity - work, play or socialize. And most of our daily dressing decisions revolve around clothing that fits our daily activities, and hopefully makes us feel good, too. But beyond that, do you really think about your clothes? After all, the clothes have met the basic requirements, right?

Marketing groups devote a lot of time to identifying trends and purchase behaviors and they have found that there are some clothing purchases that focus on buying local, buying American, or staying loyal to a brand, and there is an ever-growing population of purchasers who are purchasing based on personal belief. For some, that personal belief has to do with violations of labor laws, others whether you should wear fur/no fur/is faux fur really faux fur, and for a growing group, it has to do with environmentally friendly manufacturing practices.

So while you may be dressing to make yourself happy, and in a way that fits your beliefs and lifestyle, it is maybe not the correct question. Maybe the question is how you shop. Do you look for clothing that fits your purchasing preferences in the nearest local mall? Odds are that shopping at the mall will get you some great looking clothes, maybe even on sale, and are likely made in a country that doesn’t emphasize environmentally friendly clothing manufacturing. The other side of that coin is that driving to multiple local boutiques may use just as much gas and petroleum as it took to make the clothes in some other country.

So now what? Meet the internet. Shopping on the internet is very easy, and with today’s more liberal return policies, even though it’s not the most convenient shopping, it’s still good. Unless instant gratification or the process of shopping is one of your criteria, then maybe not so much. The biggest benefit about shopping on the internet is that if you’re a fairly patient shopper or great with Google, you can find clothing that meets your criteria without going anywhere, and if you want to share with your friends, there's always FaceBook, Twitter and Google+. So if you want to buy a sweater made from seaweed and milk, you can have it delivered to your door.  And if it doesn’t fit you can send it back. We here at Redress Raleigh like the idea of environmentally friendly shopping, obviously, and love people that dress to make themselves happy, in a way that fits their lifestyle.

We’d like to ask that in 2012, you think about how you shop, as well as who you dress for.