By Now You Know....

We posted our list of designers we've accepted to Redress Raleigh 2012. The 2012 location, at the Contemporary Art Museum, is spacious and fits a lot of potential fashionistas and their supporters!

We're also getting sponsors for our lead-up events - the clothing swap on Jan 29 at Kings Barcade, the event at Tir Na Nog on Feb 4th, the Funk/Soul party at the Southland Ballroom on Feb 17, and the Mar 24 benefit at Kings Barcade. Some of the sponsors include the Carolina Music Awards, The Real Real, and Simply D Photography, and we love them. If you want a sponsorship package, please email us, we'd love to talk to you.

Have thoughts? Hit us up at info@redressraleigh.com.

What a Great Way to Finish the Weekend

It's been a very busy weekend so far at Redress Raleigh. We've met a lot of designers (who are all great, btw), and are very excited about announcing some new details tomorrow. Maybe even a designer list....

So, what's the best way to finish out a long weekend of talking to people who believe in eco fashion as much as we do? Finding out that Livia Firth, wife of Colin Firth and the Creative Director at Eco-Age, has launched her search for the next Green Carpet Challenge winner. Bottom line, the winner has their creations worn on the world's most famous red carpets, including movie premieres, awards shows, and fashion weeks.

We love that green fashion is here to stay!

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.

Design by LEFTOVERS

Here at Redress Raleigh we're always keeping our eyes open for new and innovative projects that focus on upcycling discarded textile goods - though we often emphasize eco-fashion, we are excited to introduce you to some new eco-furniture!

"Pre-loved and can be re-loved" according to Linda and Jona Netsman, founders and designers of the emerging furniture company, Design by LEFTOVERS, which has been receiving increased attention for the beautiful works of art the two designers create. Located in Stockholm, Sweden Linda and Jona reupholster furniture with pre-loved fabrics so the furniture and the fabric may be re-loved by new owners. Linda and Jona believe "that the old, discarded and forgoton can be reborn; everything has a story to tell" and therefore they take pride in re-loving items that have been given away. Currently Design by LEFTOVERS works with professional interior decorators, architects, and designers. They are even expanding their line for hotels, restaurants, and retail spaces. We are looking forward to their upcoming 2012 collection which debutes in February at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. 

Below are just a couple of pictures from their initial collection: 

Charlotte 2Vera

Interview with Ellen Fragola of The Downtown Raleigh Alliance

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance is responsible for many of the city's most popular events such as Restaurant Week and First Friday. Events like these encourage economic activity for local businesses, designers, and artists. Redress Raleigh thanks Ellen Fragola for taking the time to speak to us and giving our readers a glimpse of what goes on behind-the-scenes at the DRA. 

Redress Raleigh: Where does the Downtown Raleigh Alliance's operating budget come from? In other words, how does it make its money? 

Ellen Fragola: Our primary source of funding comes through the downtown business improvement district—a 110 radius in which the business owners pay an assessment fee to support our five key services.  Additionally, we receive funding through government contracts/grants and sponsorships that we raise for our events while membership makes up approximately 5% of our income. The purpose of our organization, is to augment, not replace city services. We provide five primary services. The most visible is the Clean and Safe Ambassadors.  This service is where we allocate the largest portion of our budget. Ambassadors assist in everything from providing pedestrian escorts to jump starting cars to graffiti removal to trash pickup. Having a clean and safe downtown is fundamental to a thriving center city.  For this reason, we see the ambassador service as a vital investment.  Other services include marketing and events, economic development, public space management, and membership and advocacy. 

RR: Volunteers are an integral part of any event marketing campaign. What outreach strategies does the DRA use to reach out to volunteers? 

EF: We have program managers that oversee each of our events so the outreach strategies may vary. We primarily need volunteers for Winterfest and Home Tour.  For Winterfest we have had success working with the schools because many students have an obligation to fulfill service hours for school credit.  For the Home Tour, the program manager works with a residential committee and a city liaison to help with volunteer recruitment. We also utilize our member distribution list and consumer distribution list for outreach. 

RR: How do you come up with ideas for new events? Is consumer demand a factor? 

EF: Our organization has to respond to various groups such as downtown businesses, property owners, residents, and employees. We always have those stakeholders in mind when developing events.  Restaurant Week, First Friday, and Shop Downtown are examples of merchant driven programs, whereas the Farmer’s Market caters to our downtown employees and the Home Tour appeals to residents.

RR: How often are fashion events a part of First Friday?  

EF: Fashion is not key in the messaging of First Friday, but what makes First Friday special is it provides an outlet for artists to showcase art in all its forms from visual to performing to multimedia.  Fashion is integrated to the extent by which the participants choose to showcase it.  As an example, Stitch is a locally owned boutique which is known for the craftsmanship of bag designer Holly Aiken, but she also exhibits art on First Fridays. Morning Times curates rotating art exhibits on their second floor but also programs a craft market which often features hand-screened tee shirts and handmade jewelry. It is the dynamic mix of art and activities that make First Friday appealing to people of all ages and interests.