Follow your bliss

You may have already heard about Joseph Campbell and his notion of the 'Hero's Journey'. It's such an obvious idea once you see it, but when you begin to see the symmetry in it's theme, in every story and in every society it starts to give you the goose bumps that Carrie and I refer to as 'the bubbles'. That awesome feeling you get when hope, joy, excitement and a deep knowing all combine to inspire you somehow. It's what we wait for with every decision we make about Mindful Apparel, we'll discuss an idea for hours but it's not until we get 'the bubbles' that we really get inspired to go forward. The bubbles can also mean 'scared as hell' by the way - it's not always a calm feeling, it's not always 'safe'.

I watched 'Finding Joe' last year and it moved me enormously. There's just something about watching people you admire, connect with you visually rather than just reading what they have to say that for me anyway, makes the goose bump effect even more dramatic. Finding Joe is a goose bump film. It's one for adults and children alike and it's inspiring beyond words. 

'Follow your bliss' is one of Joseph Campbells best known quotes and it's what we decided to do with Mindful Apparel - and it's also the reason these words are on our clothes.

We're currently working on new designs centred around these three simple words and we can't wait to have them printed and ready for you. But in the meantime, discover this profound and life changing story behind 'Follow your bliss and the 'Hero's Journey' for yourself and enjoy the bubbles!

x Jo

I see the sea - and everything else.

It's a wet Fall day here, and my thoughts are turning to my studio that is waiting for some attention and creativity to make it feel wanted again. And as I began to think about new artistic inspiration and the summer that I've just said goodbye to I remembered this film from a few years ago.

It reminded me also of a walk I took along the beach a few weeks ago. As the last of the tourists began to leave the sand, I walked and swam in the changing tides. And I also filled an entire bag with plastic. Creatively I have for some time been inspired by turning the unwanted into something beautiful and this film shows just how beautiful that transformation can be.

By the time I had ended my walk, the bag was bulging and the idea that I could empty it all back onto the sand seemed insane, but only moments before I had walked past it watching it blend in with the seaweed and tried to ignore it. But I was aware too that all it takes to make (even a small) difference in this world is to take a bag, 'out there' and do our part. It's not someone else's job. It's ours.

Before we started Mindful Apparel I must admit I wasn't one for Organic soap, hemp oil or a wheatgrass shot. I got my t-shirts at the big, low cost, wear-em-till-they-drop shops. But now that most of my wardrobe consists of past samples, current samples and hopefully future ones from our line, my attitude has changed. I still use the other stores occasionally of course, but now my beloved bamboo scarf (as seen below) and my organic tee's are now so over loved and over used, that the difference is obvious. Not only do they really let my skin 'breathe', (something my mother used to say when I was younger and now I know what she's talking about), but there's a feeling that I get when I wear them, that I am somehow making a small difference.

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Hypo-alregenic, Bamboo, scarf. "Thoughts are Things". $29.00

I think that the changes we make don't always have to be grand or extreme but sometimes just being mindful of our environment and what we surround ourselves is at least something.

This year not only do we still have our 100% organic cotton range but we are using more of the Eco-hybrid fabric, which feels incredible and and falls beautifully on the body. These new cutting edge fabrics are hypoallergenic and with our Eco-Heather range were produced from re-cycled materials. The rest of our new line will be out shortly and I am particularly excited about our new cardigan wrap ( and yes I've already got my eye on the sample).

Both Carrie and I find that the more we make an effort to mindfully source our products and introduce new items the more important it becomes to us to do so. They are not always easy to find and often hugely expensive, so we hope to solve both these issues for you!

We really hope you all like the upcoming products and as always we would love to hear feedback on what you like about them and what you would like to see us offer in the future. 

But for now, if your Saturday is looking a little wet, make yourself a coffee, wrap up and spend the next 24 minutes watching this truly beautiful film that might inspire you take a bag on your next walk in nature.

X Jo