Proudly part of the circular economy
Hello, my name is Lani and I live and work in Melbourne, Australia. This creative business is my fourth or fifth career, but its the one where I feel like I've FINALLY found where I'm supposed to be, and I'm doing what I'm meant to be doing.
Notanotherhat is the word that's come to represent all the creative things I do: reclaiming, recycling, re-making, upcycling, hand dyeing, visible mending, and making handcrafted items. It started back in 2014 as a hat making obsession (hence the name) but over time has taken on new directions and a life of its own. Notanotherhat now represents a commitment to reusing, remaking and mending and is a proud contributor to the circular economy.
It all became clear after I made a conscious commitment to recycling and upcycling. For years I had been concerned about our ‘disposable’ world, the politics of consumption and its effect on the planet. So taking the step to really do something about that has been an energising move for me. I no longer use NEW materials in my work. I take something pre-loved or discarded (primarily second-hand items of clothing) and reclaim the raw materials. This is slow fashion at its best – promoting the mend and make do movement. It's so simple! I cant understand why everyone isn't doing it. I’m not creating ‘more’ stuff, just repurposing it and giving it a whole new life – so satisfying!
Every friend with something to pass on, and indeed every thrift shop, is an opportunity to find beautiful raw materials for reclaiming. Understandably, quality is paramount. There is no use putting in the considerable time it takes to reclaim and remake something unless it is already a quality item. I’m all about natural fibres – wool, cashmere, alpaca, angora, silk and cotton. I particularly try to source soft, luxury fibres that we all want to work with, mend with, and have in our lives.
I am completely in love with colour and texture. You probably got a sense of this from looking at what I make. I’m a proud colour addict. Repurposed yarn is such an exciting raw material. I feel like an artist when I'm dyeing the yarn: to me it feels like painting. Sometimes it’s more experiment than skill, because each yarn is different both in its base colour and texture. But the results often delight and surprise me. I make my mending yarns specifically for visible mending – a little bit of my art to sew into your loved clothes.
My hand dyed mending yarns are individually made in small limited edition batches. No two batches/dyelots are the same – how boring would that be? Working with recycled raw materials it is impossible to exactly reproduce results. I may re-use the same IDEA more than once, but each time the outcome is unique because the base yarn itself is different in each case, varying in colour, weight, and texture. My dyeing process is organic, artistic and spontaneous, I never measure anything and I don't ever set out to 'repeat' a result. Consequently, my yarns are surprising and unique.
If you have purchased something of mine, even a single card of mending yarn, please know that it was made with love and I am very happy to have made it for you. I hope you enjoy using my yarn, and that maybe the garment you mend with it becomes a favourite. And when you no longer need it in your life, I'd like to think that you consider how it might be turned into something else or recycled in some way.
Lani
