The Bunnies Are Back!
Girl Power Networking Pop-up & T-shirt launch: 22/04/17
It’s been 3 years since I first launched my first from new in-house design for Thrift Generation (now ThriftVIP).
Saturday 22 April 2017 saw The Girl Power Networking Pop-up & T-shirt Launch come to fruition.
A networking pop-up event to support and champion other women and girls and to spread the girl power message. The event took place at one of the newly refurbished units, Minor Oak at Sneinton Market; a year on from Thrift Generation's debut showcase at Nottingham Fashion Week in 2016.
GIRL POWER! Rebecca Muress, Shani Citter Ayeni and Hayley Cooke aka Bunny Moonstone in their tees
For those of you who don’t know, this was an event put on by myself to launch my T-shirts, but also to give local entrepreneurs the chance to showcase their offerings in an inclusive and fun environment. This was made all the more attractive with ThriftVIP goodie bags (with thanks to Kiehls, Newby Teas, and Aloe Forever) who added to my notebook, pencil and magnet additions. There was a prize draw, with items kindly donated by some of the stall holders (and a free T-shirt up for grabs).
It was a social event, bringing girls and women together to celebrate each other, network and relax. With guest speakers and a music playlist courtesy of Fan Club Nottingham, it provided a space for girls and women bosses to get together and showcase their offerings, inviting members of the public to join in too.
The event involved local business women, talented artists, students, designer makers and small business start-ups; encouraging people to meet up to network, collaborate and pool resources.
Talks were given for free by Debbie Doodah, Sunita Passi, Toni Jarvis, Isi Dixon and Dee Miller, the venue owner. A fantastic balloon arch was bought in by Sharon Wray.
(I’ve moved away from using balloons now at ThriftVIP but I agree that re-using anything usually made for single use is a good thing).
The aim was to promote Thrift Generation's Bunny Girl Tees, whilst bringing attention to the subject of feminism, and the GIRL POWER movement.
The message of the T-shirts is to bring attention to our actions and not to judge on our bodies or faces alone, but on the actions and words we create and speak out for. These are bunnies with attitude and carry the ethos of women uniting, coming together. I’ve written in more detail about the concept of the tees and the story behind them in the next blog, entitled: ‘Beyond The Bunny - Reclaiming an Icon For Feminism.’
It's about celebrating the female form and the strength we gain when we support one another. Let's reverse unhelpful stereotypes by reclaiming them and as women, educate our girls to question negative responses to imagery and our bodies alone, without judgment - turning a negative into a positive.
Giant Flower Lei: to celebrate the unity of the event and for Earth Day, we made a tissue flower lei which was later donated to the carnival project at Sneinton Market (following its second debut at my mums 70th birthday party)!
"Our bodies don't define us and our identity is not how pretty our faces are but the words and actions we create and speak out for"
Shani and Heather from Model Students gave up their day to come and help out which I am extremely grateful for, and Hope made it with her dad to come and support the cause.
Ever since I met the girls and boys from this local model agency they’ve been nothing but amazing, with a strong work ethic and attention to detail. Shani welcomed guests in, working the the door tirelessly and did a sterling job, remaining calm and unflustered (the same could not be said for me, however)!
I’d also like to thank Rebecca Muress for her ongoing support during my creation of the T-shirts and for providing me with some of the images from the event. I also received a card of support from Emma Gardner who understood the concept and created a comissioned Hama bead bunny design for me, which you’ll see in the next blog.
I’m still wearing my tee, and the lovely Shani, Heather, Rebecca, Hope and Bunny Moonstone were all parading around in them on the day. I’ve given 14 away, so I’m now hoping to sell some too, while supporting SWARM as the primary benefactor, who will receive a percentage of the sale of each T-shirt. I’ve included more information about this collective, and other relevant charities you can also donate to, at the bottom of this page.
Maxine & Sarah of Platypus, and Toni Jarvis of Tiger Showcases. Look out for my blog about Toni and her amazing community work.
“What an amazing event. Fed and watered and with lots of inspiring goodies. I love your inspirational community building and accepting approach to female entrpreneurhsip”
Michelle Oldale
Monica’s Caribbean Kitchen & Fran of Oozee Boozee Bakes were giving away generous samples of their delicious sweet & savoury delights, and August Moon Tea were on hand with some refreshing Chinese tea. Glasses were also being topped up by my mum, Sue who was multi-tasking with the flower lei contributions too. It seemed to keep everyone happy.
Emma Jane of Re: Done, Maxine and Sarah of Platypus, Henna by Gul of Beautology and Sunita Passi with her Tri-Dosha products, all made the event varied and had interesting and unique offerings.
Everyone who got involved really embraced the event and we had a great turn out. It was a roaring success!
Looking back, it seems like all of these amazing women and girls are coming along in leaps and bounds. There’s no stopping us all!
It’s so great to get feedback like this. It meant that all the hard work and organisation, not to mention the personal funds that I’d put into this; (space hire, goodie bags, prosecco and free food) all paid off. The people who were involved made it a great success. Thank you, it’s great to know it was appreciated by all.
Many thanks to those who made donations for the goodie bag and prize draw too….
I’m so grateful to Kayla of Fan Club Nottingham for making a special 2-CD compilation for this event. I still enjoy listening to it now.
I’m thankful also to Embrace and Equation - Reel Equality Film Club for allowing me to show their short trailers, adding impetus to the theme of the event (see below).
Things have moved on slightly since 2015 when this video was added by Equation and I really hope the Embrace campaign has been seen by many. There was another video I played too, which was about two women coming together after an online relationship grew until they finally met up. This was a real tear jerker! If I find it I’ll add it later as it’s really worth seeing, and shows how valuable social media can also be.
I’d also like to thank 69Degrees Magazine and Leftlion Magazine for attending the event and writing about us, and to Lauren Lynch and the Creative Quarter for helping to promote our event and for providing a stage platform to use on the day. Read Alexe Keene's write up here and another article written by 69Degrees Magazine here
So, finally, the bunny tees have arrived at ThriftVIP!
Our bunny inspired tees are quite happy to be fashionably late for Spring.
Why?
Because they have attitude!
They hold a powerful message: to look beyond the body and not to judge on visual representation alone: we are not just a pretty face or a body.
The choker trend works really well with our tees as the design is a scoop neck, so plenty of room for adorning the décolletage. Take a look at Emma Sweetpea’s instagram page for her amazing collection of custom chokers. They also look great with a polo neck in a contrasting colour if you prefer your décolletage hidden.
Available in S, M, & XL (the L sizes have gone). If they sell well, I’d like to take pre-orders for specific sizes including XS, and possibly offer a new design too. Made from an organic cotton and Modal mix, ethically sourced, and using a local screen print company. You can read more about the design and process here.
Image credits: Benedict Cooper, Gabriella Zuliani & Steve Edwards
Thank you to Rebecca Muress for providing me with this quote at just the right time, when I was having serious doubts about my design & concept
Feminism in fashion is something I feel strongly about and the graphics above are taken from Fashion Revolution Week 2020. It’s important at ThriftVIP that whenever I make anything from new, such as this first in-house design for Thrift Generation (VIP), that it is from an ethical and environmental standpoint.
The T-shirts use modal which is C02 neutral.
I used Stanley and Stella because they are part of the Fair Wear Foundation with a fair wear status ranking = GOOD.
Each T-shirt comes with a beautiful fuscia rosette accessory which can be used to adorn bags and clothes, or to wear on the T-shirt, to spread the girl power message. They represent the rosettes the Playboy bunnies wore at the hip with their names on.
Swing tags come with empowering positive messages, and the envelope is sealed with a selection of original Playboy bunnies then and now, all success stories.
‘KNOW THYSELF’ is the main message here.
As Socrates said: “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.”
To also know and understand others too is the key to compassion and empathy.
All forms of divination require self-awareness, knowledge & acceptance.
I took inspiration from tarot cards, in particular:
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Tarot by Jane Lyle - Tarot and The Major Arcana
I took words from the following tarot cards as they embodied all that I was attempting to encapsulate in my design:
JUSTICE - STRENGTH - EMPRESS - LOVERS - TEMPERANCE. I’m fascinated by the human psyche and the subject of psychology so I enjoyed taking this research to another level. As my design is quite symbolic, it made sense to carry out this type of research through history. I’ll share a few of my takeaways here on each of the words I’ve used on the swing tags. These takeaways differ slightly from the descriptions on the swing tags…
JUSTICE - Accepting responsibility for your actions and moving on. Balanced scales represent opposing arguments of equal measure. Defining the choices you make or have made in the past, present and future. Change and decision.
STRENGTH - Through knowledge. The conscious mind fuses with our instinctive animal natures. Facing fears together. Courage and certainty, Triumph over hatred, joining forces through love.
EMPRESS - Fertile mother and goddess, linked with the full moon at the height of the monthly cycle. Sensuality. Growth and birth. Powerful female forces. Strong and caring. Lives life to the full.
LOVERS - Two females symbolising active and passive. Union. Enlightenment. The body is not seen as an obstacle, but a temple of the spirit. Love and physical union. Resolving inner conflicts with yourself and your body. Male and female characteristics are well balanced.
TEMPERANCE - Yin and yang, balance and harmony. Numbered 14th XIV, the number of energy, sexuality and revolution according to an old numerology text. Temperance is associated with Sagittarius, representing the blending of animal and human nature, combined.
As with my bunny girl design, she sits out of context of the normally sexualised bunny, empowered by the text with a new meaning. The juxtaposition of this and the ying and yang element in black and white, represented in a symbolic way, represents that which is more powerful than as it stands alone; of that which lies beneath the body, and outwards strength.
This kind of strength comes from a generous and loving heart, as the hearts that appear on the design, and women and girls facing each other, joining forces through love. Triumph over hatred, miserly attitudes and mean-spirited enemies. Generous and fair minded, and filed with faith, power and optimism, and a firm resolve. Will power. Fight your corner.
Above: The I.D cards I originally wanted to make had a photograph of each original bunny girl, then and now, along with the text. However, due to obvious copyright restrictions, I remade my own using an image which I changed, to make my success story cards, based on the original ID cards. Below is the Gloria Steinem mock up of how I’d first envisioned the cards, then I added the women as they were as bunny girls next to them now. If I make up any more of these cards for the T-shirts in future, I’ll be using an image of one the ThriftVIP models instead.
To purchase your very own bunny tee and support a worthwhile cause, then click below….
DONATIONS
I contacted several other charities with regards to making donations and have found that the SWARM collective is the most appropriate organisation at this time. This is not a registered charity, however you can learn more about this inspiring and motivational collective via their website.
‘SWARM is a sex worker led collective based in the UK. The project was founded in 2009 (under our former name Sex Worker Open University) to advocate for the rights of everyone who sells sexual services. Our goal is to build a diverse and inclusive community of sex workers who work together to improve our working conditions and resist violence.’
‘We call on all feminist groups and organisations to listen to sex worker-led organisations and open their doors to us so that we can work together towards the eradication of gender violence.’
Read more about what SWARM stands for here
‘Currently all donations via our website are going to our hardship fund which makes direct payments to sex workers in financial crisis due to the current COVID 19 pandemic. If you wish to make an individual donation, please click here’
I’m also including charities I’ve contacted but who are flat out at the moment trying to support women with multiple disadvantages at this time. If you wish to make a donation or find out more about these charities, please follow the links:
POW
A few of you may have seen Tanya- Louise out and about in her bunny tee over the last 3 years and it’s great that the message is being embraced and the T-shirt enjoyed. Take a look at her lifestyle blog to see what she’s been up to lately as she’s always at some launch or another and a regular at some great food festivals. I’m sure that when this pandemic is stabilised she’s looking forward to getting back out there.
I’ll be reimplementing Tanya’s blog from the phase one site too, so look out for it. It’s part of my GRLPWRWMNPWR Series of blogs.
Black & White - Steve Edwards Photography
Thank you, Rebecca for supporting my concept throughout
Thank you note to all involved shortly after the event….Now available here at ThriftVIP!
and please remember…
