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We had HUGE weekend these past few days with a couple of milestones- between participation at a large festival in MA (first public debut) and also the launching our site! So come read more about it HERE!

xoxo

Team Jute & Jackfruit

After spending the day at the fun-filled and action-packed NE Culture Fest, we here at Jute and Jackfruit pulled together a slide show of clips from the Fashionably Fair Runway Show.

Thanks to Indigenous, fair trade and organic clothing company (and featured brand for Jute & Jackfruit), we were able to participate in the event. Indigenous kindly donated several outfits of organic cotton and wool knits to the show. Thank you Indigenous!

A special thanks to Jonano as well, for donating an outfit without much notice. We were very happy to showcase both designers to the Boston market, along with Nahui Ollin designer handbags (made out of recycled candy wrappers) and Anna Built recycled earrings.

Importantly, all clothing donated to the show is now going to be auctioned off on the Second-World website. Proceeds go toward the many initiatives that are under way at this exciting non-profit organization. From supporting training and arts programs in Nepal, to self-help groups aming Tsunami affected victims, and a strong cultural preservation project in Peru, they are engaged in a lot of dedicated work in the realm of fair trade. See their website for more details.

As for the Fashion Show, Boston-based Samba Tremeterra (an 8+ member band) set a lively tone for the runway by playing a range of upbeat, percussion-intensive pieces. Unlike the runway shows in NY this week, the fashionably fair event was anything but sterile nor conventional.

The looks ranged from Nomad Hemp Wear to Indigenous (partnering with Jute and Jackfruit), to Princess Cornflower and Ecoskin– all bringing a fresh new, modern look to the fair trade and organic segments.

Take a look:
Fashionably Fair Runway Show 2008 (Flickr Slideshow)

More on Indigenous: A pioneer in the organic and socially conscious segment, Indigenous supports local women’s weaving groups in Latin America, and together create beautiful, organic sweaters and knits. Indigenous is also a longstanding member of the Fair Trade Federation and has been producing stylish, organic and fair trade clothing for more than a decade. Check out Indigenous featured in the show.

Jonano is known for innovative fabrics and design: simple, yet, sophisticated styles using their luxurious ecoKashmere bamboo and organic cotton blends. Jonano is also Fair Trade.

For more on the NE Culture Fest, stay tuned for our follow-one slide show with glittering samba dancers, hoola hoopera and fire dancers.

Above: Organic cotton and merino wool handwoven sweater, hand warmers and skirt by Indigenous.

Due to rain, the New England Culture Fest is postponed to tomorrow, Sunday September 7th. This is great news since showers nor rain are predicated for tomorrow. Thus it should be a more perfect day to spend outdoors early Fall, with dozens of amazing artists, non-profits, musicians and performers… all doing something unique and wonderful toward greater social and environmental consciousness.

We here at Jute and Jackfruit are extremely excited to participate in this one-of-a-kind event. Now in its Fifth year, the Festival is expected to attract large Boston-area crowds. More than 100 companies, artists and non-profits will exhibit at the Festival. Besides Jute and Jackfruit, other ethical designers participating in the Fashion show include Norden Arts, Emancipation Network, ecoSkin, and Nomad’s Hemp Wear.

As a showcase event for the Festival, the Fashionably Fair Runway show will take place at 9pm on the center stage. All clothing will then be auctioned off, with the proceeds going toward Fair Trade related causes. Jute and Jackfruit is proud to be a featured company as part of the show and to be donated some clothing on behalf of our tremendous partners Indigenous and Jonano.

A pioneer in the organic and socially conscious segment, Indigenous supports local women’s weaving groups in Latin America, and together create beautiful, organic sweaters and knits. Jonano is known for innovative fabrics and design: simple, yet, sophisticated styles using their luxurious ecoKashmere bamboo and organic cotton blends. Jonano is also Fair Trade.

Above: Indigenous women weavers in Peru handweaving the organic cotton and merino wool knits.

The Fashionably Fair event will be videotaped so stay tuned for footage on the show on the Second-World website as well as here on JJF blog.

Jute and Jackfruit will be a featured company participating in the premier ‘Fashionably Fair Fashion Show‘ as part of the NE Culture Fest. Event is to take place Saturday September 6 2008 from 2pm to 10pm in Lowell, MA.

One of the first of its kind, the fashion show will feature a handful of designers that support fair trade practices and many of whom who also embrace eco-friendly production and sourcing. Jute and Jackfruit has the honor of being the only local Boston eco-apparel company to participate in the show. Our lead partner in the event is Indigenous, who themselves are longstanding members of the Fair Trade Federation.

Indigenous has been supporting local women’s weaving groups in Latin America for more than a decade and together, with their artisans, create some of the finest handwoven organic sweaters and knits available today. Indigenous are truly pioneers in the premier eco-focused and socially conscious apparel segment.

All of Indigenous garments are hand-knit or hand-loomed with premium certified organic yarns and fiber blends to ensure ultimate wearer comfort, beautiful styles and longlasting quality. The clothing makes you feel good inside and out and look absolutely fabulous.

We here at Jute & Jackfruit are totally excited to be showcasing Indigenous at this event and to be participating in this one-of-a kind festival! We will be paring the outfits with some of our handmade Guatemalan jewelry and stylish Nahui Ollin recycled candywrapper bags.

Please come check us out if you are in the Boston area. Event details are below. Show will start at 9pm in downtown historic Lowell.

EVENT: New England Culture Fest

Location: Enterprise Bank Parking Lot, Across From 172 Middle Street, Lowell, MA 01852  Arts District, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Time: Fashion Show 9pm (total festival 2pm – 10pm)

Date: Saturday September 6, 2008

Thanks to Second-World, and Valerie Parker especially, for doing an amazing job and putting this festival together and building the momentum and support for Fair Trade practices. We are so excited to become a part of this movement as we launch Jute & Jackfruit.

Kristal Li wearing orange recylced tin earrings.

Jewelry designer and sculptor Anna Johansson is passionate about recycling. She’s made a living from reclaiming items otherwise destined for the landfills.

“I have an intense desire to use material I find around me to create with,” Johansson shares on the AnnaBuilt website. Looking at her unique designs, it’s easy to see that Johansson has truly made treasure from what would have been someone else’s trash.

Johansson also creates sculpture and stained glass works, which are available on her website. She is a classically trained visual artist and spent nine years at Daniel Maher Stained Glass in Boston, working as an apprentice then graduating to restorer and designer. This is where Johansson began crafting her distinctive sculptures, stained glass and jewelry. The AnnaBuilt artist now resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Jute and Jackfruit is pleased to offer a collection of AnnaBuilt’s earrings, and the handcrafted designs really do transcend what they once were. It’s hard to tell that each pair is made out of recycled cans and tins; many styles appear to be hand painted. But any labels or decorations are merely coincidental—the reclaimed cans and tins were found that way, the designs already enameled onto their surfaces.

Finding pretty patterns and shapes is all about the luck of the draw. Some of the cans and tins Johansson uses are recycled from the trash, while others come from thrift and grocery stores. Each pair of earrings is unique, but not all are one of a kind. Depending on how much Johansson has of a particular tin, several pieces of a certain style may be available while others are limited.

The earring collection available at Jute and Jackfruit features one-of-a-kind pairs. Choose from single circle earrings, double and triple circle drop earrings, double lure earrings and concentric circles.

Julia Rae wearing gold and black recycled aluminum concentric circles above.

Shana wearing red and black plaid recycled aluminum earrings.

Another fantastic feature of these earrings is that they are extremely light. They will never pull your holes down or make them larger. Also all posts are made out of stainless steel or sterling silver – so they will never bother your ears.

Insight Sweater Dress, Kelly Lane

Kelly Lane puts a strong emphasis on sustainability with everything she does. Using organic and sustainable fabrics such as organic cotton, soy, hemp, and bamboo, Kelly Lane skillfully creates artful dresses that bring style, color and sophistication to the eco-fashion wardrobe. Coming this fall, Jute & Jackfruit’s selection of Kelly Lane dresses are all of the above, resulting in some of the most unique, stunning pieces of the season.

Smart coloring is one of Kelly’s greatest strengths. Using only low-impact dyes, Kelly maintains low environmental impact, while at the same time creating some of the most brilliant color palettes in the organic space to date.

Felicia featuring “Simple Stated” by Kelly Lane is a green lovers dream. Made from certified organic cotton, bamboo, and soy, it brings out anyone’s best features. This solid forest green dress with a black belt has a simple elegance that could not be improved with any pattern or design. It is soft on your skin and made of light breezy material perfect for any fall day.

Julia Rea featuring “Pomegranate Infusion” by Kelly Lane has both a beautiful mix of all natural hues of red and green and a soft mix of natural fabrics. The elegant geometric design on this piece could bring a little brilliance to any autumn day. It is made from a blend of Soy, certified organic Cotton and Hemp. This piece will leave your skin happy, make you feel great and help keep the earth green!

Kelly Lane’s “Field Flower Dress” featured above, has a great fall look and the materials are made to keep you warm. The use of a blend of certified organic Soy and Cotton fabrics are soft on your skin and allow you feel comfortable while looking sophisticated, elegant, and beautiful. This dress is appropriate for any occasion.

“Insight Sweater Dress” (featured top) by Kelly Lane is both sophisticated and fun. Again proving her love for sustainability, Kelly Lane uses Soy and certified organic Cotton for this piece. It is perfect for cold autumn days with some recycled-cotton sweater fleece mixed in. The fabric is soft, the design is brilliant, what’s not to love?

Well, we’ve had our third photo shoot already and that comes to more than a handful of photos, but we’ll only use a small percentage of those (as is always the case). Above: Kristal wearing Indigenous organic cotton Studio Cardigan in shimmer with Indigenous organic cotton Cowl in Cocoa.

Kristal Li and Julia Rea wearing Indigenous organic cotton Cowl necks.

Jonano, Peligrosa were the featured designs coupled with some Nahui Ollin recycled candy wrapper bags and handmade Guatemalan jewelry.

Julia Rea wearing Indigenous organic cotton hand-woven Wasabi Studio Cardigan with Nahui Ollin Black Ritual bag. Bottom: Jonano bamboo-organic cotton capri pants and drape skirt.

Re-applying lipstick.

Shana wearing recylced metal earrings by Anna Built and Red Angel dress by Jonano, bamboo organic cotton blend.

Shana wearring red Angel dress and capri leggings by Jonano. Made from Eco-Kashmere, an organic cotton and bamboo blend. Carrying the Black ER Bag by Nahui Ollin.

Jute & Jackfruit had its first photo shoot this week. We are excited to be offering a collection of eco-conscious clothing by Jonano, Peligrosa and Feral Childe. We pulled together all three designers in this week’s shoot coupled with our Nahui Ollin handbags and handmade beaded jewelry from Guatemala. Here is a glimpse of the items showcased:

Julia Rea wearing Jonano eco-Kashmere capri pants, wrap skirt and wrap top, holding Nahui Ollin Black ER. Handmade Guatemalan necklace.

Julia Rea wearing Feral Childe eco-Sullivan Tee, Peligrosa organic boiled wool panel skirt with hot pink silk lining and Guatemalan 16-strand beaded necklace.

Julia Rea wearing Feral Childe eco-Sullivan Tee, Peligrosa organic boiled wool panel skirt with hot pink silk lining and Guatemalan 16-strand beaded necklace.

Jonano offers some of the most comfortable, stylish, multi-function clothes out there and Jute & Jackfruit is very excited to feature a handpicked selection of the collection this fall.

Soft, sustainable and stylish, the fabrics are impeccable and also environmentally conscious. Made from  a combination of bamboo, organic cotton and hemp, Jonano combines these ecological fabrics with some of the most modern, comfortable looks, you will not want to take these clothes off—ever.

Fit for weekend, work or play, the tops, dresses, skirts and bottoms can all be mixed and matched for an endless supply of fun.

Jute & Jackfruit is in the midst of photographing the collection and will post a sneak preview of the items as soon as available. Stay tuned!
Photo source above: Jonano

Jute & Jackfruit received our first collection of hand-crafted Guatemalan jewelry made by indigenous women and inspired by Mayan art and culture. To capture a few of the pieces, we went on a mini photo shoot this weekend.

Since Mother Nature is at the heart and soul of Jute & Jackfruit, what other better place to photograph than outdoors?

Luckily the thunder and rainstorms held out long enough for us to take a few photos, and we found some exquisite sculptures and ponds in the Cambridge/Arlington, MA area to juxtapose the brightly colored jewelry.

The pictures here showcase just few of the necklaces and bracelets that JJF will offer in the fall. Stay tuned for earrings, more necklaces and purses to come shortly.

Check out our Facebook Page for the full album. Enjoy!