Shop Unique - Brands Feature - GraphyX

Graphyx - Brand Feature

1. Can you tell us a little more about the brand?

GraphyX Design Forum is on a mission to get art into the forefront of everybody’s everyday living. Art, like poetry, music or theatre... aren’t necessary for survival. But it’s what connects us all to each other as the human tribe. We are connected through the expression and appreciation of the arts. Without that connection - why both surviving at all? 

And the world is our canvas! We think art should be affordable. In liberating a piece of art from its frame in a gallery, and placing it on everyday useful items such as bags and t-shirts, it becomes accessible for consumers to own, and artists to produce.

We also think art should be sustainable. There’s little point in anything without a planet to live on... so all of our tshirts are 100% organic cotton, fair trade and manufactured using only wind and solar energy. 

We use vegetable oil based inks, rather than mineral oil based ones on our fabric and paper prints. 

We also use recycled paper for our paper products. We use only biodegradable packaging such as recycled paper and bio-plastics (where we have to). 

2.How do you make your products?

Our original illustrations are designed by our co-founder Raphy Mendoza. We are also in the process of taking on guest artists - our vision is that GraphyX becomes a real platform for independent artists to be able to show and sell their work. 

The designs are usually first made on paper, and later digitised for screen printing - that’s what gives it a clean yet hand-drawn style! 

Then we outsource the printing to a local printer based in Frome, and they’re printed on recycled paper or EarthPostive garments. 

Oranges and Limes Tote Bag

3.What inspires you?

Anything and everything. ‘Oranges and Limes’ was inspired by a nightmare, in which I was colour blind and everything was in sepia. I had to make mojitos for 1,000 people, but I couldn’t tell the difference between oranges and limes because I couldn’t see colour.

4.Where do you make the product and what does sustainability or making a quality British product mean to you?

See above. 

I didn’t actually set out to explicitly set up an ethical business. As an artist, I just wanted to get my work out there. But as soon as I started thinking about materials, it just didn’t make sense not to make everything as sustainable as possible. The process really woke me up to the responsibility I have not just as a consumer, but as a designer. 

As a designer, I get to choose how my things are made, and I have to think about where they end up. At that point, it was no longer a choice to be sustainable. It’s just human decency. 

Sharks Tote Bag

6. Favourite place to relax?

Beach! Plus beer. 

7. In the future what do you plan to make next?

We have a few designs in the pipeline incorporating some quotes from poets and people we like, that really resonates with our ethos and mission. 

And some new design by new guest artists! 

Cut Sheep T-Shirt

8. What do you think about sustainability and how does it impact your business?

See above. It makes production a little bit more expensive, and it takes a bit of personal investment to look for a supplier who really satisfies your criteria. But it’s what it is :). 

9. What do you like about collaborating with Madia & Matilda?

I really enjoy seeing what gets paired up with our products! And just knowing that there’s a big movement out there towards a more conscious and responsible way of doing business, and that were a part of it! 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Fashioned From Nature: My Day at the V&A

Beetles, Bustiers and Breaking Taboos

The exhibition is shedding a light on the cruel history of the Fashion Industry, and how it needs to change

The exhibition asks viewers to think about their clothes and their relationship to the world. Image: V&A

I went to see the Fashioned by Nature exhibition at the V&A yesterday. At the beginning of the exhibition were a couple of waistcoats with gorgeous embroidery showing flowers and monkeys. The jackets themselves were made of silk and another natural fibre and dated from the 1780-89. The detail and intricacy was unbelievable. The lines of thread were so carefully coordinated and planned, so painstakingly sewn into the fabric. Craftsmanship like that isn’t easy to come by these days, certainly not that kind. Imagining somebody wearing that waistcoat is difficult: it’s delicacy and beauty somehow render it impractical.

Men's waistcoat , 1780-89, showing Macaque monkeys. Image: The Guardian

In the next cabinet were some examples of lacework. These were extraordinarily delicate and detailed. Metres and metres of hand-sewn lace, coiled like a ribbon. I thought of the craftsperson, bent almost double, the night encroaching on them as they strained their eyes to see, the light of a single candle guiding the needle in and out of the fabric like a lighthouse signalling to a ship.

But that wasn’t the full picture. Beside the exhibits were notes explaining how the raw materials were sourced and processed. Here the full story came to light. Flax and cotton gathered and woven by slaves. Factories where women and children were taken advantage of and paid next to nothing. Workers exploited, garments made in bulk by vulnerable people, water sources polluted, air spoiled, indigenous populations abused or neglected, animals slaughtered and insects harvested, natural resources badly managed, creatures hunted almost to extinction for hats and corsets. It was eye-opening and appalling.

Slaves in a cotton field, c.1850. Image available under Creative Commons license

The thoughtlessness that has bloomed in fashion which grew out of the ever-growing need to express wealth and affluence in dress, and the desire to imitate nature, has often caused populations and habitats to decrease dramatically in size. The lack of respect for animals, fellow humans and ecology is staggering. The thing is though, it’s definitely got a lot to do with class. The amount of money it took to get hold of these materials, and in such large volume, must have been astronomical. Exotic beetles, wolves, raccoons, cotton, etc. had to be imported to the UK and must have cost a fortune. The people who eventually wore the clothes would’ve had little to no idea where it had come from, or the cost to the environment of their garment. The consumer was worlds away from the manufacturer.

Muslin dress decorated with beetle-wings, 1868-9. Image: V&A

These days you can easily find out where your garment was designed and made, but there are so many steps in between these two processes that your garment could have travelled half the world before being worn by you. And you would never know, just as you would never know how the materials your garment was made of were made or harvested, processed and worked into their final form. You wouldn’t know who had laboured over your garment, or who designed it.

The Who Made My Clothes campaign is taking off! Image: The Joinery

It calls for transparency in the fashion industry, to abandon the whims of the consumer by reducing the influence of fast fashion, and for more compassion for the environment. It also demands research into the manufacturing of materials alternative to those made from oil (polyester, nylon etc.). There are so many ways to make clothing sustainably if you do the legwork and don’t cut corners. Prolific designers such as Stella McCartney have already declared war on non-sustainable fashion. Speaking to Vogue, she said: "If you’re lucky enough to have a business on this planet, you have to approach it in this [sustainable] way." The Stella McCartney website has more details of where the brand stands on issues such as the environment, nature and people. 

One of Stella McCartney's latest collections was shot on a landfill site. Image: Stella McCartney

It really doesn’t need to be difficult, and the more people do it, the less it will cost in the end. I really hope people are woken up out of this crazy dream where the clothes they buy don’t have a huge, hidden cost to the planet and its population. Because nobody in their right mind would realise how detrimental conventional fashion practices are to the planet, and then carry on as before. Nobody.

Emma Watson wears a dress made from recycled plastic bottles, by Calvin Klein. Image: Teen Vogue

Fashioned From Nature is now showing at the Victoria and Albert until 27th January 2019

Text: Ophelia, admin assistant at Madia & Matilda 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Kiera Court - In questions

Kiera Court

Meet Kiera Court, Singer Songwriter & self-professed dog lover, as she tells us about her collaboration with Madia & Matilda

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

I'm a musician and songwriter based in London. In my spare time I like to wear nice suits, drink coffee and am actually have the cool capacity to cut my own fringe. With scissors. I could probably even cut it with pliers if they were to hand. I also really like dogs, but who doesn't?

Kiera is wearing the  Amelia - Dress

How long have you been Singing  for? 

I've been singing for a while - I don't have an exact date, but all I know is that I love it. I just love sounds.

Kiera's Dog Alfred wears Slate Dog lead from our Shop Unique Selection

Is there anything specific that inspired your Madia & Matilda photoshoot?

Mainly my dog. He's my rock and very photogenic - I wouldn't be surprised if he got scouted for Premier Pooch Models (does this exist?) or something. Madia & Matilda feels kind of homely - solid and sustainable like a friend you can always rely on and true to its roots. I didn't want to go too over the top with the shoot and portray the sense of honesty I feel Madia & Matilda conveys in the photos. 

Which is your favourite Madia & Matilda piece of our Summer 18 collection? 

I love the Henny cotton skirt. It's so light and breezy. I could gallop around London in that, hoping on and off the tube without have to groan at the tight constraint of jeans, or unbuttoning of a trouser. It's very classy and would look great in the day with a crisp shirt, blouse or in the evening with a cami top.

Beauty secrets... 

My hair is so big because it is FULL of secrets. 

Seriously though, I don't I have any specific routine as such at the moment. All I do is make sure I'm clean and well hydrated (like a plant). I try to drink a lot of water. A decent amount of sleep is essential too. I think the key to looking beautiful though is feeling it - a warm energy transforms a face and radiates around you. Everyone's perception of beauty is different and remembering that will get you far.

I don't wear a lot of make-up, and when I do, it varies from either dark eyes or bold lips. One or the other. Like boobs or bum.

 Kiera wears Jenna Cropped Trouser

If you can take us to your hometown for a day, where will you take us to? 

I was born in Chelmsford, Essex. If I were to take you there, we would most certainly not go out at night unless it were to the Bassment (get it) bar for some blues, jazz and just genuine good music. Hylands House would potentially be on the cards. That's where I walk my dog sometimes, and my dog comes first. We'd have to hit up A canteen in town though as they do gorgeous brunches. 

Follow you at... 

You can follow me at @kieracourtt on Instagram and Twitter 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kieracourtt 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/kieracourtt 

Like me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/kieracourtmusic

Watch me on Youtube: www.youtube.com/kieracourt

Read me on Medium: www.medium.com/@kieracourtt 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Care of Cotton

Join Us - 5 Years In The Making

Five Years in The Making - Madia & Matilda

Celebrating 5 Years of Madia & Matilda!

Isn't it incredible to look back and realise just how far you've come? As a business, we have accomplished a great deal through these years of development, including working or collaborating with many influential local businesses and an education team who are shaping the future of fashion and presenting in Empire Casino, St Martin's in the Fields and London Fashion Week. We feel ultimately #blessed for the fantastic opportunities we have had on our journey so far!

Below is a small selection of pictures from over the years. 

Our peerless pioneer Shalize Nicholas (above; ain't she gorgeous!) started Madia & Matilda with the goal of making a difference in fashion: contributing positively to a less wasteful world. We are grateful to have grown as much as we have over this past year!

Our ShopUnique section is made up of carefully selected likeminded businesses who craft their products using sustainable materials or upcycling wherever possible. The concept behind ShopUnique strictly adheres to our principles, and those of other small businesses which regard sustainability and ethics as important solutions to the widespread problem of excessive consumerism in the fashion industry. We make handcrafted and locally produced items the stars of our show.

We really look forward to what is to come and hope that you will be with us all the way!

A big thank you to all who have followed and supported us over the years! As it's our

5th birthday this month we thought we'd show our appreciation to you, our beautiful customers, by adding free Worldwide delivery for the rest of the month! 

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Youtube

#madiamatilda 

@Madia & Matilda 

                   
                                      

Sincerely Madia & Matilda