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NOP AND GOTS
As readers of our journal, many of you have read about our attempts to grow organic cotton here in Alabama. While researching the process and details of what it means to grow organic cotton, we...
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PICK 5: A RECIPE FOR CHANGE
I’ve written before about the importance of organic cotton and the residual chemical damage traditional cotton leaves behind in our land and our bodies. As many of you know, we planted and raised our...
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EARTH DAY
We celebrate Earth Day every day at Alabama Chanin through our philosophy of slow design and sustainable production methods, and have been celebrating sustainable design for over a decade. We use only...
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THE CRAFT OF MIDWIFERY
I think it is pretty safe to say that midwifery is one of the first DIY skills in human existence. Certainly, the human body knows instinctively what to do when the time comes to birth a child. Still,...
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SLOW DESIGN
There may be no more relevant time than now to talk about Slow Design, specifically Slow Fashion, as the body count in a collapsed garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh – a factory that churned out...
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ZINGERMAN’S AND THE LAPSED ANARCHIST
In 1982, Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw opened Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The deli quickly became Ann Arbor’s premiere specialty foods store. As the business grew to include...
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WHITE OAK PASTURES
Cows were born to roam and graze. Hogs were born to root and wallow. Chickens were born to scratch and peck. According to Will Harris and White Oak Pastures, these are the natural behaviors of...
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IN THE (KITCHEN) GARDEN
Popular culture, social media, and our peers are all embracing a trend in home gardening across the country (though few of these gardens are as radical as Ron Finley’s median-turned-vegetable-garden...
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NATURALLY COLORED COTTON AND SALLY FOX
Here is a bit of information that may surprise you: not all cotton is white cotton. If you are like me, you may not have always known that natural cotton comes in plenty of hues. In fact, there were...
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DIY MACHINE MANUFACTURING (IN ALABAMA)
We have written before about the rich manufacturing and textile history present in our community. The Shoals area and surrounding communities were working fabric and textile materials beginning in the...
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OVERDRESSED
Last month we wrote about Slow Design, specifically in contrast to Fast Fashion, as the death toll from a collapsed garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh rose by the hour, reaching 1,127. During the...
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A. CHANIN
At Alabama Chanin, we practice Slow Design, which focuses on producing goods in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. The intent is to design clothing and home goods that are made from...
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SIGN PAINTERS (THE MOVIE)
Yesterday, I wrote about my appreciation of hand-painted signs, inspired by the book Sign Painters, authored by friend Faythe Levine with Sam Macon. Faythe and Sam have directed a documentary – also...
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SUPPLY AND DEMAND: LIGHTWEIGHT FABRIC
We all understand the basic principles of supply and demand. In a perfect world, the two work in balance, supply always meeting the demand, one never exceeding or disappointing the other. Of course,...
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PATAGONIA: AN EXAMINED LIFE
Alabama Chanin has long looked to Patagonia, and Yvon Chouinard, as the standard for sustainable design, manufacturing, and corporate culture. The recent film “Legacy Look Book” (shown above) is a...
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PHILLIP MARCH JONES, COUNTY CLUB, AND A RECIPE
We are pleased to welcome back friend and writer, Phillip March Jones, who we have convinced to join us as a regular contributor to this Journal. Phillip will be writing about art, visual design,...
View ArticleSTILL STANDING: THE REAL STORY OF THE NC TEXTILE INDUSTRY
I recently came across this documentary about the disappearing North Carolina textile industry. I studied design and textiles at North Carolina State University (shown in the video), when the state was...
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EAT ALABAMA SEAFOOD + A RECIPE FOR SHUCKING OYSTERS
It has been over three years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill devastated the Gulf Coast and, in turn, the livelihoods of many. The Alabama seafood industry was practically devastated, but is...
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CARBON NEUTRAL SHIPPING
At Alabama Chanin, we believe in living and creating a sustainable life – beginning conversations like MAKESHIFT, contributing in every way we can to the Slow Design movement, growing and reusing...
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ECO FASHION
In the book Eco Fashion, our friend Sass Brown celebrates and examines designers and labels practicing sustainability in the fashion industry, including Alabama Chanin (you might have recognized our...
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