A sense of community

Anne and I are meeting with Alex Hume from online store Ecofashionista today. We're very much looking forward to it. We've already met with Emily from Cylk and Yoganic and hope to meet another eco-designer Tiffany Treloar after the trade fair.

These coffee meetings are more of a networking thing - Anne and I don't know that many people in the world of green fashion - these people have been kind enough to spare some time to talk to us about their experience. It's given us greater knowledge as we take the plunge with our business and also a real sense of community.

I really do feel like we're part of a bigger group and it's been a great adventure finding out about like-minded people and organisations. Working out where you fit in the world is something most people want in life and the world of eco-fashion is where it is for us.

The beauty of dreams

I watched the final of Masterchef last night and cried when Adam Liaw was announced the winner - what a beautiful, humble and talented man. What a gamble he took leaving his job as a lawyer in Japan to compete in the show and what a bright future he now has ahead of him in the culinary world. Who would have thought?

It has been an inspirational and joyous journey watching the show over these cold winter months - something warm and human that has touched my heart and made me feel like a part of something much bigger. This is the stuff that dreams are made of!

Anne is meeting with our wonderful stockists this week and I have started approaching new stockists inviting them to visit us at Life Instyle. The trade show is the culmination of the past few months of our journey together as business partners. Someone famous once said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." This is our dream and I definitely believe we have a future in the world of fashion.

Paris, je t'aime

It's freezing here in Melbourne at the moment. I'm not a big fan of winter at all - I hate the cold. I'm also tired and grumpy - I realise I've been barking at my poor hubby and yelling at the kids. Not good.

Anne and I are meeting with our prospective new face and body today - the lovely Claire - as well as starting to seriously work out the details for our stand. The countdown is starting.

I've been reading a book Anne has lent me on the life of Christian Dior and it's dawned on me that most of my art and design influences are all French - Art Deco and Paul Poiret, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy who dressed my style icon Audrey Hepburn. Paris is the home of fashion and looking at some of Dior's beautiful creations and reading about his life has provided some inspiration in the cold depths of winter.

To market, to market

Just realised there's only three weeks to go before the Melbourne Life in Style Trade Fair. It's the first time Anne and I have ever exhibited at one of these so we're hoping to do well. We'd love at least 30 stockists of Green Eyed Monster to get us to a more comfortable place.

My past week has been out of control with family commitments - my hubby's school reunion, the kinder Trivia Night and interviewing potential nannies to replace the one we've just lost. I feel like I've only just managed to keep all the balls in the air. To top it off I was rostered on kinder duty today where I realised that my gorgeous 4 year old Thomas is probably going to benefit from another year of kinder rather than starting school next year.

As I've said before, it's not easy being a working mother. Anne's past few weeks have been just as crazy with a family visit to Perth, flying home the morning of her 40th birthday party to host the event that night plus spending time with her sister Shankari who's been in town from the US. Are we mad? Most definitely. Would we have it any other way? Not on your life.

The kindness of strangers

Anne and I are gearing up for the Life in Style trade fair - the fun part now is working out visual merchandising for our stand and what it will look like. The past few months have been a real journey for Anne and I getting to know each other and pulling in favours from friends and family along the way (you know who you are).

In addition to the people we know are the many that we didn't. Like us, small business people also trying to find their way in the world. Total strangers or acquaintances who heard our story and wanted to help - our fabulous graphic designer Mary and photographer Siobhan (both mumpreneurs)and our cross promotional partners Grace from Pure & Green Organics and Katie from Tease Tea. Thank you.

A big shout out too today for Natarsha Kershaw from Fashion Rebel (www.fashionrebel.com.au) for featuring us in her blog, shop and feature pages. She is a definite talent and we wish her every success in the world of fashion.

Walking the talk

Ok. While we are first and foremost a fashion brand, we also believe in sustainability. Sustainability is now considered the fourth pillar of design when it comes to creating new products.

Since I've come on board, I've drafted up an environmental/ethical policy for Green Eyed Monster including the concept of product stewardship ie looking after the products you make from start to finish. We encourage all our fans out there to recycle used GEM clothing via the Give Now community program and we've noticed another major retailer has just launched a similar program.

I subscribe online to both Ecouterre and Inhabitat newsletters in the US where eco-fashion and green design are big business. The feature story in this week's Ecouterre in an inspiring one. "This September, New York City will unveil one of the largest textile-recycling initiatives in the country. Its purpose: To make recycling unwanted threads as pain-free as pitching them in the garbage." Now that's what I call leading by example.

Mummy Dearest

It's not easy being a mother. This blog is supposed to be about fashion however there's no getting away from the fact that it's two working mothers with young kids who run Green Eyed Monster. Anne created the label after she had children because a) she loves fashion b) she wanted the flexibility to work around her lifestyle and c) like me, she's not cut out to be a full-time stay-at-home mum.

And for me tearing my hair out from boredom and frustration - staring out my kitchen window and seeking inspiration - our business has been my creative outlet and more. Something for me, something to put my heart and soul into and something that gives me a sense of identity outside of motherhood. I was joking to Anne the other day that I now feel like I have two partners (my hubby and her) and three children (Thomas, Will and Green Eyed Monster).

It has been a hard few weeks with two sick children however I think if I didn't have the business to think about as well, I would have gone insane. Instead of feeling constantly exhausted, I actually feel energised from having another sense of purpose and passion in my life. Don't get me wrong, being a mum is the single most important job I will ever do but it sure does help having another job I feel equally as passionate about.

Cancerians Rock!

It's my birthday tomorrow - I'm turning 39. It's also Anne's birthday next weekend and she's turning the big Four Oh! (Hope she doesn't mind me sharing this with the world). Weird but true - we are born exactly a year and a week apart which we discovered after going into business together.

I had a mini crisis the year I turned 29 - it was a very dark year with a lot of emotional turmoil on every front - personally, professionally and within my own family. But what I realised when I emerged from that year was a very clear idea of who I was, what was important to me and what I wanted out of life. I suddenly had a sense of urgency and the realisation that I had a finite amount of time in which to go after the things that mattered the most to me.

Cut to 39 and again, it's the year before a milestone year (ie 40) and while I have a similar sense of urgency and consciousness of time passing, it's not with the same angst. What I have realised this time around is that life is too short to not go after your dreams and that it is never too late. I don't want to look back on my life and have any regrets and even if I fail, I will know that I at least had a go and gave it my best shot. To my fellow Cancerians out there - Happy Birthday!

Fashion is for Every Body

I've been reading about the voluntary industry code of conduct on body image (what a mouthful!) in the media. Anne and I will definitely adopt the code whether it remains voluntary or not - it's something I feel really strongly about.

I once pulled a model from a showing when I was PR for David Jones. I had briefly seen her at the casting fully clothed but got a real shock when I saw her modelling - she was just skin and bones. I've also had people close to me suffer from eating disorders and witnessed first hand the struggle they've had to regain both their mental and physical health. Anorexia has one of the highest mortality rates of them all.

I'm proud to say our future 'face'(and body) of Green Eyed Monster is a healthy size 12 and in her late twenties. I've also been asked by bigger girls about extra large sizes so if the demand is there, Anne and I will also look into this moving forward.