Changing it up a little

I started making and producing clothes because I wanted to dress my tiny kiddos in stylish but not trend driven, comfy, ethically produced clothes. Ones that could be passed down from my son to my daughter because kids tend to grow out of them faster than they can wear them out. I wanted maximum use of the clothes out of respect to the makers who made them and to tread as lightly on the earth as possible.

It’s been a wild ride, from making handfuls of pairs of shorts at a time to manufacturing collections in India and China. Reaching this point was what I thought I wanted. But sometime late last year, right as I achieved the goal I’d set for myself, things started to feel not right. I was putting the final touches on the winter range to send it off to production, even though the Summer 17 stock had only just arrived. I pushed aside the niggling feelings of doubt I was having, dismissing them as growing pains.

 

But those niggling feelings that started as tiny whispers are now booming drums that I can’t ignore. I don’t feel good about what I am doing. I don’t like the churn of constantly having to bring out new stock and collections for the sake of bringing out new stock and collections. I don’t like that things that are only a few months old are considered ‘old’ stock.

 

Most of all I don’t like the feeling that I’m turning Inkling into what I never wanted it to be – fast fashion. Clothes that are only expected to be fresh for a few months at best before being discounted to clear the way for even more stock.

So I’m going back to what feels good.

For the foreseeable future, maybe ever, there will be no more seasonal collections from Inkling.

That’s not to say there won’t be clothes from Inkling. There will, but it’ll be done in a way that feels good and let’s me stay true to what is important to me. They will no longer be collections that are filled out with pieces that I like, but don’t love, just for the sake of having a collection. 

You’ll probably have noticed that the Messy Bags have been playing a much bigger role over the last year or so too. Ethical production has always been a constant and so has treading lightly on the earth. They’re a reusable, environmentally responsible solution to dealing with all kinds of messes. A happy, bright, one of a kind solution at that.

Inkling is no longer just for kids, it’s for everyone. Inkling’s heart is right where it’s always been, making useful, practical, beautiful things that bring joy, and have purpose and longevity.

I’m so excited to share with you the very first step in Inkling’s kinda-the-same-but-slightly-different path: Grown Up JUMPERS!

They’ll be available from 7pm next Tuesday, 3rd of July.