This week brought two more days of my Climate Literacy Bootcamp at BCU, which saw us heading down to Digbeth to meet the lovely team at Grand Union, followed by a very sunny Sunday spent walking around Kenilworth – and the first outdoor ice cream of the season!
I can’t believe I’m over three quarters of the way through my Climate Literacy Bootcamp, it’s gone far too quick. I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s sessions, full of inspiring projects at Grand Union and a tactile textile session with Olivia of Do Not Go Gentle, where we got to touch and learn about new-gen renewable materials.
Then, on Sunday, Ben and I made the most of the sunshine by getting the bus to Kenilworth, having lunch at Fossato Lounge, and going for a stroll around Kenilworth Castle. We had our first outdoor ice cream of the season as we made our way round, as it was a sunny 17°c.
WHAT’S INSPIRED ME THIS WEEK
As a fashion designer, and general creative type, I am constantly seeking inspiration wherever I am, and these posts are a way to document what has ignited something within me this past week. Whether its artwork I’ve seen online, photography that moved me, or a collection of colour in nature that kick-started a creative idea in my head, I’ll be sharing four ideas that have brought me joy in the past seven days.
R. READING
I’m still making my way through Babel by R F Kuang and I’m loving it so far. I didn’t have much time for reading for pleasure this week, so I’m not as far through it as I expected to be, but I’m definitely enjoying it, and I love R F Kuang’s style of adding in additional, context-based information in the footnotes, it’s not a writing style I’ve come across before.
I’m also still reading Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth, for all of the reasons that I detailed in last week’s post. As someone who doesn’t have an education in economics I have been astounded by some of the information in the book, and I can’t wait to delve deeper into the concept of doughnut economics, and begin applying it to my work.
E. EDUCATING
This week I read an academic paper that absolutely floored me. The paper, by Dr Talia Hussain, claimed that circular fashion giants, such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey & Co. have got their calculations wrong, making circular fashion an unviable route to take moving forward.
In response to that I wrote an article on People over Product’s Substack, explaining what this might mean for the future of sustainable fashion.
P. PLAYING
Last week I went to see Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy with one of my oldest friends Rebecca, to celebrate her birthday.
We went to our local cinema, which has recently had a rebrand and now boasts velvet sofas, cup holders, and cushions, and treated ourselves to a cinema night.
As someone who was raised on the original Bridget Jones films – and who has penchant for Hugh Grant – I was particularly looking forward to seeing it.
The film far surpassed my expectations, and I was left absolutely sobbing in the cinema. It truly was such a beautiful depiction of grief and love; what a film.
O. OBSESSING OVER
As a part of our course at BCU this week we visited Grand Union in Digbeth to explore their sustainable gardening projects, in conjuction with various homeless hostels across the city.
You couldn’t help but smile when you saw the effect that their projects had on the people involved.
You can learn more about their projects here.
R. RECOMMENDING
As part of our learning session on Saturday we played a couple of really fun learning-based games. The first, a carbon-focused game created by The Financial Times, challenges you to reach net zero by 2050. Jakub, my classmate, and I had so much fun trying to reach the climate target.
We then played another carbon game, How Bad Are Bananas?, which challenged you to rank different actions by how much carbon they emit. It was surprisingly hard!
T. TREATING MYSELF TO
As I mentioned in previous posts I recently treated myself to a new laptop, which obviously meant I’ve had to get a new laptop case as well.
I opted for one from WOUF, as they are made from 100% recycled materials. I went for the Rita laptop sleeve, adorned with pretty pink bows, and I absolutely love it.
Love Chloe x
