News - Competition Time

We’ve teamed up with vegan brand Bourgeois Boheme shoes a London-based, Ex-Podiatrist Alicia is the founder and director who specialises in one of the most established vegan footwear brands out there. A brand that is independently minded, with an animal free ethos at the core; all BB shoes are Vegan Society trademarked and PETA approved from the finest eco-friendly Italian vegan leathers.

Founded in 2005 by ex-Podiatrist and long-term vegan, Alicia; with her foot care expertise with her vegan values and bring the luxury animal-free footwear to life, without compromising on quality or ethics.

We love their subtle yet impactful androgynous designs that fuse beautifully hand crafted and versatile shoes, produced in Portugal’s São João da Madeira, where Alicia herself handpicked artisans and factories.

Bourgeois Boheme timeless design suits our minimalist style so well, that we even collaborated with Bourgeois Boheme for Madia & Matilda latest season fashion showcasee, AW16 at St Martins in the Fields, Leicester Square.

We believe Bourgeois Boheme shoes are a brand to watch; with a vegan celebs fan base including Natalie Portman, Bryan Adams and Torrey DeVitto.

To find out more about the collaboration check out our Autumn Winter 16 Collection or see below for terms & conditions to enter our competition. 

Join in to Win

‪#‎GIVEAWAY‬

The competition gives you the chance to win Bourgeois Boheme shoes to give you the chance to ‪#‎WIN‬ a £40 gift certificate to use towards our (Madia & Matilda) timeless pieces as well as another £40 gift certificate to spend on your favourite vegan Bourgeois Boheme shoes.

To enter:
1. Like Bourgeois Boheme & Madia & Matilda
2. Tag your friends.
3. Share this post.

Competition ends on the 14th August 2016. One winner will be announced on the 15th August 2016. Good Luck! :)

Thoughts on value

Have you ever wondered why there is often such a big price difference between your average high street garment and a seemingly similar product from a sustainable brand?

People often say sustainable/eco fashion is too expensive, but is it? Or is fast fashion the costly one?

It depends how you measure it. Yes you can purchase a top for £15- £20 from a big high street brand, wear it a couple of times, throw it away, and as a consumer it hasn’t cost you much. However, it’s easy to forget that garment was made by a human being and the amount of labour and energy that goes into it staggering. For example, to turn a piece of cotton into a garment, first it must be planted, harvested, taken to a factory to be processed and spun into yarn. Then it’s taken to another factory, woven into cloth, sent to a dye mill, dyed and finished. Then it is sold to a manufacturer who must create an original design and pattern, test for fit and performance, cut and make the garment, ship and then market it, all before reaching the customer. People are involved for its whole journey, people who deserve a fair price for their labour. But unfortunately, to produce a garment with all of those processes involved and still sell it for a price we are willing to pay; someone along the line is missing out. 

The sad truth is what we class, as a reasonable, average price, is in fact, artificially low. These cheap prices shouldn’t be the norm; they are wrong, not the more ‘expensive’ eco brands. They are the ones causing costly damage to the earth and to the workers. For fashion to be sustainable it’s not meant to be fast, throw away and cheap. We’ve been trained to buy quantity over quality. Somewhere along the way we’ve lost sight of what is best for us and the environment.

This is where sustainable fashion comes in, as it tries to change perceptions of what is expensive and go back to valuing the right things. 

Sustainable fashion tends to be more expensive due to a number of factors:

Time – As a small brand it takes time to create new and original designs from scratch, develop a pattern and manufacture in a smaller environment.

Fair trade- It is cheaper to employ people abroad to make clothes, where minimum wages are a lot less than here in the UK. For example, an employer in China only has to pay their garment worker 60p an hour, whereas in the UK the minimum wage is £6.70. When buying from a sustainable clothing company that manufactures their clothes in the UK, you know the workers have been paid a fair wage for their labour.

Economies of sale- It’s cheaper to produce mass quantities of clothing if you are a large company. Small scale companies have to pay more to produce smaller quantities.

Quality – Finally, when buying from a sustainable brand, the garments have longer life spans and are well made.

To find out more about our thoughts on value, check out our youtube 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

e::  info@madiamatilda.co.uk       w::  www.madiamatilda.co.uk/

Shop Unique - Brand Feature - Keepwood

Madia & Matilda curated selection of brands, SHop UNique features brands who share our passion and ethos. We interviewed Keepwood natural eyewear

A bit more about the brand:

Keepwood Sustainable Eyewear started in 2013 with a desire to offer environmentally conscious products while supporting a very worthwhile cause. By offering high quality eyewear that is sustainable and natural, we can help replace the burden of waste that cheap plastic eyewear creates. For each pair of our eyewear sold, we fund "Trees for the Future" to plant 50 trees in one of their worldwide projects. We are based in Manitoba, Canada.

How is our eyewear made:

The wood and bamboo is machine-cut and then hand -sanded, finished, and assembled.

What they are made from? components? why did you chose this material: 

Most of our eyewear is made from bamboo and wood, and we also have some acetate eyeglass frames available. We chose bamboo as it is highly sustainable and renewable. It grows rapidly and under almost any condition, produces more oxygen than trees, and is durable, lightweight, and waterproof. Our woods are non-endangered and non-restricted. We love the acetate line because it is made from wood fibers and cotton, it's hypoallergenic, and very lightweight, strong, and flexible.

What inspires us: 
We are inspired by the projects of "Trees for the Future" and are so honoured to donate to them with proceeds of each of our sales. For every pair of eyewear we sell, they plant 50 trees. Their tree-planting has a direct impact on the earth and the lives of the people who need it most. The Forest Gardens they plant provide families in Africa with sustainable food sources, livestock feed, fuel wood, and up to a 500% increase in their annual income. 

What does making a quality product mean to you:

We are very stringent with our quality control and make sure that each piece meets British and North American standards. As mentioned, we are conscious of using sustainable and plant-based materials with the hope that by providing a quality product that will last over time, we can decrease the burden of waste that cheap plastic eyewear creates.

What occasion can you wear your eyewear:

Our eyewear can be worn everywhere! We strive to offer enough styles that everyone can find something that suits them. Of course our sunglasses are best worn on the beach, but since they all include polarized lenses they are great for sports and activities that require improved visibility- such as surfing, snowboarding, boating, and driving.

Favourite place to relax:

Our favorite place to relax is of course the beach, enjoying the sun. We are hoping to make it to Bali this winter and get some inspiration there for new styles we could offer in the future!

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

e::  info@madiamatilda.co.uk       w::  www.madiamatilda.co.uk/

Shop Unique - Brand Feature - Preux

Madia & Matilda curated selection of brands, SHop UNique features brands who share our passion and ethos. We interviewed Jil Saluck founder & designer of Preux

Madia & Matilda interviewed Jil Saluck on her luxury

  USA crafted bags. Find out more below.

Can you tell me a little more about the brand:
Preux handbags are designed by Jill Raymond Saluck using custom dyed and printed leathers, and are hand manufactured in NYC an Minnesota.  Without the need for excess embellishments or logos, the brand represents refined and personal style. The leather tones are up to the minute but go beyond the trends. The versatility of the collections offer a plethora of different pairing options, whether you are dressing for a night on the town or for a day at the office. Luxury leather combined with modern, minimalist structure makes Preux handbags a timeless addition to any 

wardrobe.


How you make your bags:

The leather is custom printed in Italy, then shipped to the U.S. where the bags are hand manufactured at a leather handbag factory from my samples.

What they are made from? components? why did you chose this material:

The bags are made from printed and foiled Italian leathers that I chose for their unique look and durability.  All hardware is hidden in the interior of each bag to give it a minimalist streamlined look.

What inspires you:

I'm inspired by interesting textures and subtle mixtures of color.  I like to start designing a handbag by exploring different patterns and textures, then choosing colors.

Where do you make the your bags:

My handbags are all made in one of two factories- one in Brooklyn, NY and one in Minneapolis, MN.  I work very closely with the artisans to ensure that each product meets my specifications, and if there is an issues we make changes until we get it right.

Where you would wear your bags too:

Preux handbags can be worn virtually anywhere.  There is a style for any outing imaginable; the Gala clutch for elegant or formal affairs, the Girls Nite shoulder pouch for casual evenings out, the Pavement Pounder crossbody for busy days of multitasking, and the Lunch Meeting tote for every day, or even as a beach or pool bag.

Favourite place to relax:

My favorite place to relax is the beach- I always bring my tote because it keeps my phone safe from sand and water!

In the future what styles do you plan to make next?

In the future I plan to add a backpack style to the mix.

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

e::  info@madiamatilda.co.uk       w::  www.madiamatilda.co.uk/

Shop Unique - Brand Feature - C.Nicol

Madia & Matilda curated selection of brands, SHop UNique features brands who share our passion and ethos. We interviewed Cathleen Nicol founder & designer of C.Nicol

                                 Madia & Matilda interviewed Cathleen Nicol on her luxury
                                            sustainable bags. Find out more below.



 Can you tell me a little more about the brand? 

C.Nicol is a contemporary, luxury British accessories brand led by Scotland-born founder and designer, Cathleen Nicol.

C.Nicol bags offer clean clean, functional shapes and use colour and textured materials to bring something unique to the finished look of each bag. Most of the components used are sourced from the UK and every bag is cut and sewn in London.

2015 is C.Nicol’s first year in business and we now have stockists in the UK and Middle East. In 2016 we will have a presence in the Far East too.

How do you make your bags?

It starts with a sketch, then a paper prototype and then we fine-tune the pattern pieces. A leather sample is produced and when we are happy with it, we go into full production at the factory in London.

 What are the bags made from? Components? Why did you choose this material?

The first collection of bags was made from British leather and Scottish salmon skin. I often wondered what happened to all the skins from the salmon used for the food industry in Scotland and after some time, I found a supplier that sourced their skins for dyeing from Scottish and Irish organic salmon farms.

 The second collection was made from British leather and some French goatskin and I source most of my metal fittings from a shop in London. The goatskin has a beautiful iridescent finish and texture. The British leather has a lovely grain and is firm but pliable which is what I was really looking for.

The leather tanneries where we source our skins all have pretty robust environmental practices and policies. A large amount of water is used in the tanning process and so using companies that we environmentally conscious in their day to day practice in terms of economical water usage and limitation to damage on the environment was important.

The lining for each collection is designed by a different British artist or illustrator and is printed in London on a silky monroe satin fabric.

What inspires you? 

I find inspiration in everything. Inspiration for the theme of my collections comes mostly from different aspects of nature. In terms of design and functionality of my bags, inspiration comes from watching how women hold and carry their bags – I love people watching!

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

Every C.Nicol bags are made in a small factory in Hackney, London. For me, producing in the UK means quality, reliability and support for the economy of my home country. It also enables a level of communication throughout the production period that I may not be able to achieve if I partnered with a factory overseas.

Where you would you wear your bags to?

I wear my bags shopping at the weekend, to work meetings and also to go out with my girlfriends at night. I feel the collection has a variety of styles and colours that suit most occasions.

Favourite place to relax?

At home with my children at the weekend.

In the future what styles do you plan to make next?

We have a large tote bag and another style of clutch bag in the plans for summer 2016.

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

e::  info@madiamatilda.co.uk       w::  www.madiamatilda.co.uk/