April 06, 2022

With love, from Lucy - April 2022

It has been a while since I last wrote an Aspiga news update. So much has happened and I can’t believe that Winter is now behind us and Spring is very much here. However, much as the days are getting longer and brighter, since February our attention has been focused on the dark and truly shocking events in Ukraine, and the human catastrophe that has ensued. Our hearts go out to all those affected, in particular the mothers and children who have had to leave their homes, husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons and, in many cases, country, to seek safety.

We felt compelled to try and help, so on three dates in March – International Women’s Day, World Water Day, and Mother’s Day – we donated 10% of proceeds of sales to the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal along with Water Harvest Charity. More fund-raising initiatives to come. We hope and pray that there will be a peaceful resolution soon.

We’ve had an extremely busy winter with the launch of our first AW collection, three new shops opening this Spring and being able to dust off the passport and travel again.

Lucy & Kolonzo, our wonderful belt atisan in Kenya

 

After two years’ absence, I flew to Kenya (with Izzy from our Design team) to visit our wonderful suppliers, source some new ones, catch up with the charitable initiatives that we support there and take part in our monthly Beach Clean.

It was so wonderful to see our Kenyan family again, whom I have missed and who’ve recently been able to start back up after the pandemic restrictions.

On to Barbados, where we opened our first international store on the West Coast (opposite the wonderful Sandpiper Hotel) in February. This is particularly exciting as we have been visiting the stunning island for over ten years to do our photoshoots.
Here are some behind the scenes photographs of this year’s shoot and our beautiful shop.
Please note, we always offset all our Airmiles…

April News

Looking forward, I’m so excited to be opening two more shops at Easter – one in St Ives, Cornwall and one at Lavershot Barns in Windlesham, Surrey. Stay tuned for details on our opening dates, please come and see us if you’re in the area.

We are marking Earth Day on the 22nd of April and World Oceans Day on June 8th with a series of Thames Beach Cleanups that our London staff will be taking part in. As well as these dates, our shops will be holding their own beach cleanups around the UK this summer, so if you would like to join us, please get in touch for more details.

Anyone taking part will receive a 10% discount on their next Aspiga purchase.

I’m exceptionally proud of our team who work so hard to put together all these initiatives – in the office and beyond. For our Impact Report, please click here to read more.

I’m delighted to report that this year we have been recognized in a wider context. Common Objective, the global platform for sustainable fashion, named Aspiga a finalist for the CO Leadership Award. We were thrilled also to be nominated as finalists in the Drapers Sustainable Fashion awards 2022. All fingers and toes are seriously crossed.

May News

Spring is absolutely my favourite season, so I couldn’t sign off without mentioning the Chelsea Flower Show. This year we have a shop at 33D Kings Road, which is conveniently close to the entrance of the Show! I know that many of you attend every year, and we would love you to come by the shop for a restorative glass of fizz afterwards (Tues 24th, Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th May). No need to call, just come on over and do bring along a friend or two.

Sustainable Tips

Suguru

Broken something and you don’t want to impact the environment by just throwing it away? Suguru has invented a fantastic mouldable glue that can be used to fix just about anything from charging cables to footwear. Take a look at their website for this and other products that help you to repair and repurpose.

Planetcare

One clothes wash releases 100,000 tiny plastic fibres into the wastewater and our oceans. Planetcare has a solution, they have created a microfibre filter to catch these microplastics before entering our oceans. Once these filters are full, Planetcare takes these back to be recycled, producing no excess waste.

Books We Are Reading

Billy Connolly, Windswept and Interesting

In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend
and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth
behind his windswept and interesting life.
“I didn’t know I was windswept and interesting until
somebody told me. It was a friend who was startlingly
exotic himself. He’d just come back from Kashmir and
was all billowy shirt and Indian beads. I had long hair
and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue
flairs”.
The Maid, Nita Prose

Molly the maid is all alone in the world. A nobody. She’s
used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand
Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime,
dust and secrets of the guests. She’s just a maid – why
should anyone take notice?
But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she
discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his
bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up.

Read more

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