A fishy business!

"Grow your sneaker" is the advertising slogan of the new Thai footwear company Rayfish offering customised stingray-skin shoes.
Rayfish claims that they have developed a way to genetically mix and match DNA of different animals to grow transgenic stingrays with unique patterns and colours in their skin, tailored to each shoe customer's wish.
Rayfish will then turn each pretty genetically modified stingray into a shoe, selling for around $15,000.00 at the moment.



 

Dr Raymond Ong, head of RayFish Footwear, explained the process: 'Using the DNA on file in our genetic library from dozens of different species... we identify the genes responsible for color and pattern, and implant the synthetic 'supergene' cluster into fetal rays before they are born. As the ray grows and matures, it expresses the predetermined patterns on its skin.'



 

He continued 'We cannot breed any desirable shape or logo on the fishes, as our patterning process works by recording and recombining DNA of existing animals. Squares are for instance not possible, as the expression of the DNA on the skin doesn't allow it. The patterns that grow on the actual fish sometimes slightly differ from what you see in the design tool. Although it is almost perfect, we are still developing the mapping between the design tool and the DNA encoding further.'





Despite his very convincing sounding explanations, he hasn't found many believers in the scientific community yet, though.

Randy Lewis, a biologist at Utah State University explained that the idea of  "bio-customized" stingray leather would require a huge leap in the ability to manipulate the many genes responsible for color patterns.
"To the best of my knowledge, there is no way to do what they claim both in terms of the colors, as many of those colors on their website have no way to be expressed in the skin, and the ability to completely control the pattern that they imply has not been achieved for any animal."





So scientists are very sceptical and as you can imagine, PETA is furious and disgusted (understandable).

On the 11th of August 2012, animal rights activists apparently broke into the Rayfish stingray breeding farm and rescued all the stingrays and released them into the wild. They have published a rather unconvincing video of their rescue operation.
This obviously means a huge setback for Rayfish who had to inform all of their waiting customers that the production of the shoes will be delayed by at least two months.
The stingrays stay disappeared, apart from one, which has apparently been found dead washed up on the beach.





PETA told MailOnline: 'The idea of breeding and killing neon-patterned stingrays sounds like something out of a horror film. Even though stingrays may not be as familiar to us as the dogs and cats we share our homes with, they have the same capacity to suffer and feel pain. We hope that consumers will make the kind choice to buy products that don't cause the suffering and death of any animal.'
 
Whilst CEO, Dr. Raymond Ong thinks that "it enriches the product to know an animal lived and died for you" many see breeding genetically engineered stingrays for the sole purpose of turning them into a shoe as unethical.





Not only scientists express their scepticism towards the authenticity of Rayfish. After some further research, I discovered a website called "next nature", Next Nature just published a book about fictional bio tech experiments. In 2010, they called on designers to create "infotizements" about fictional bio tech for the book.The Rayfish Footwear one got included in this book.

So is Rayfish just a hoax created by the people at next nature, is it a fantastically smart campaign against genetic modification, a viral marketing campaign for something like a film or game, or a social experiment?

Or is it another example of inhuman treatment of animals to put on the pile?


www.rayfish.com
Rayfish on facebook
Sources:dailymail, livescience, vice, reddit

Photo of the day

 

Silent Monday.

Age of Reason

Distressed Union Jacks, wide-eyed pugs with mohawks and bondage Russian dolls, Age of Reason are definitely attention catching.

Age of reason is a British scarf-design label that combines silk with punk and a sense of surprise in the design.

Some of the ultra-feminine silk chiffon scarves also have a  little naughty edge - what may look like a subtle pattern when worn draped around the neck actually turns out to be a bondage print of a raunchy Russian doll when unfolded.

 

I wanted to find out more about the label and their inspirations behind their designs:


What does the name "Age of Reason" represent?

Age of Reason represents a genesis in peoples approach to accessories; they want beauty quality and longevity from their pieces. The name Age of Reason refers to the historical period of Enlightenment, but we are interpreting it in a modern way. There is a lot of shipping iconography in books about the Age of Reason, because it was an age of discovery."


Who, what or where are your main inspirations derived from?

For inspiration we look to the streets of Britain; punk, cinema, literature and the way people dress on the street. Books are a big influence too. Rebellion is important to the vision. But it's not too serious- There's always a playful side.



Where does your punk-influence come from?

Everywhere. Brit punk is part of our heritage. I imagine a woman who personifies punk cool because she doesn't even try to be punk or cool.


What age group is your clothing aimed at?

"I design for anyone who has come of age in their personal style. Customers I know of range from 14 to 94. I think that quality and playfulness have a broad appeal. Scarves can be worn in ways to suit anyone of any age."


How do you feel that in an industry as competitive as fashion, you can stand out and compete?

"We are a Made in England label, which is a huge point of difference in an industry where British workmanship is prized and rare. All our work, from design to manufacturing is done in the UK. Keeping our immediate supply chain local and minimising "fashion miles" is one of our principle philosophies. There are not very many labels who do this."

What are your plans for the near future and where do you see yourself in 5 years?

"We hope to continue growing our stockists list but keep it very select and high quality. It would be great to supply boutiques overseas as we ship around the world through our website already, and interest is growing all the time. In 5 years it would have been good to have done LFW."


What can we expect from your autumn/winter collection ?

"It’s all about magic in the night. Owls go punk with tongue in cheek Mohawks and studded wings. Colourful magi  mushrooms evoke a dreamy vibe in clashing colours. It's fun, wild, rich, dark and wearable."

From little pocket hankies to scarfs to over-sized chiffon wraps - these 100% silk scarfs come in all different sizes, suitable for any occasion.

So check out  the Age of Reason - Shop to find your new favourite accessory for the coming winter!
Or for more regular updates of the development of Age of Reason, follow their blog.

Photo of the day

What could sum up a Sunday better than this unmistakable photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono?
 
Peace in bed. 

Tie Dye For!

I am exploring the tie-dye trend a bit further and make sure you know how to wear it.. then we all want to avoid looking like this poor guy:

 

 

Just when we thought denim couldn't possibly have any more patterns (polka dotts/ floral/leopard /aztec..), the 90's tie-dye trend is celebrating its revival. But forget any misconceptions you may have about tie-die prints. Forget drum circles, reggea music and hemp, then this time, tie-dye is not only crazy and cool, it even can be chic! So you can definitely wear it without looking like a dread-locked, acid-dropping dreadhead or like you've accidentally been shopping in the childrens department.

 

 

The tie-die-revival started with the neon, digital patterns on Proenza Schouler's spring/summer 2010 runway. In the meantime tie-die has become huge again and is getting splashed onto everything, from a basic tshirt to bags, pillows and even dishes.

 

 

But careful!

The tie-dye trend does not suit everybody and when combined badly, you easily can be mistaken for a highschool hippie.

-Avoid the full rainbow effect! Chose pieces with one to three colours that blend together easily.

-Stick to neutral tones such as white, black or navy to avoid the teeny-bopper feel.

-Pair it with classic accessories or none at all.

-Chose pastel or monochromatic jewel colours and combine them with flowy silk blend pieces.

But whatever you do, never (I mean NEVER!) combine your tie-dye look with a mullet!

Super + Super

Today I'd like to introduce Brighton's first craft hub,- Super+Super. Opened in March 2012, Super+super offers plenty of lovingly restored vintage wears, kitsch home wares and quirky jewellery alongside regular crafty classes. I wanted to know more about the fascinating concept and young creative entrepreneurs of Super+Super and had a little chat with them..

 

 

First of all, tell us, who are you and what do you do?

Super+Super is a creative venue at 7 Kings Road, Brighton just round the corner from the Lanes and a stones throw from the sea. Super+Super houses studio space for creative freelancers as well as a teaching space where we run crafty workshops, craft parties plus regular events and networking evenings.

 

 

What is the concept/story behind Super+Super and who are the creative minds behind this idea?

 

Super+Super was an idea born over many a cup of tea (and gin) by craft extra-ordinaire Miss Amy Phipps and vintage style blogger ‘She’s called Claire’ aka Claire Culley. We realised there wasn't a place in our fair town for us to do all of our favourite things under one roof. A place to work from, learn from, craft at, shop in and events where you can just hang out and chat basically. An excitable, and I might add questionable, dance-off later and Super+Super was born.

 

 
What coworkers do you collaborate with? What classes do you offer at Super+Super?
 

We have a totally mixed bag of co-workers in the building ranging from illustrators and print designers to tech whizz's and graphic designers. And that's just in our permanent desk spaces. We also offer flexible co-working Tuesday - Friday each week too so we open the doors from 10am - 6pm for freelancers to either come in just for the day or purchase larger packages to use as as when they wish.

Our classes are totally varied and range from sewing, crochet, knitting, papercutting, macrame, upcycling workshops and screen printing sessions. We also invite local tutors to come in and teach their own classes such as darning, pattern cutting theory, vest making, enamelling and many more besides!

 

Who are your crafty classes aimed at?

 

Our classes are aimed at all ages and all levels, both ladies and gents! We are really lucky that we have such a variety of people at every class.

I have read, that you also organise various events - tell us more about this!

So far to date we've organised letter lounges, vintage pop up shops, clothes swaps, stitch & bitch's, charity events, talks, meet and greets, networking events, film nights, music gigs and a fair few Super+Super soirees! And that's just within the 8 months we've been open so far. Who know's what we'll be cooking up next!

We also offer craft parties at the HQ so whether your having a hen do, a birthday shindig or just want to get all your pals together to hang out, we cater special craft parties or groups of 5 or more. We're talking craft + tunes + fizz (BYOB!) + joy.

 

What makes you love crafts or why is it so important for you?

 

Our love of all things crafty comes from the idea of being able to make and fix things for ourselves. Using our hands to create beautiful and functional items as well as inspiring others to do so whilst revitalising lost skills and traditional ways of thinking. We want to show people that its cool to make and upcycle our own clothes, to thrift, swap and fix and to move away from an over saturated mass produced consumer led throwaway society. Less is more and being able to embrace skills that are no longer the norm and taught at school at a young age is important. Being able to give a dear friend a gift and have the confidence to say I made that and it was hard is why we love craft. Sharing some old school joy.

 

 

What do you find most rewarding about running Super+Super?

 

The most rewarding thing has to be that we are operating a building that is so full of creativity (cheesy we know!). It's amazing to offer a creative platform for freelancers to flourish from as well as being able to teach people new skills and give them the confidence to learn about something they are interested in. We find that most people who come to the HQ find it so inspiring to be around like-minded enthusiastic and encouraging people and this is something we really want to continue to build on as we continue to grow.

.

Are there any thoughts or anything else you would like to say?

We would love to invite everyone to take a peek at our website - or join our mailing list.

Or why not follow us on twitter @supersuperHQ or like us on facebook to keep in the crafty loop!

Kitschy Living

Today is one of these days.
You wake up, there's no sunlight in the room, the horrible smell of a Brighton-student flat kills any intention of having a lovely breakfast and the beige colour of your carpet, walls and furniture bores you so much that you want to go straight back to bed under your blanket.

If we weren't so obsessed with appearing as sensible adults and having a mature taste, I am convinced that our flat would look a bit more like this:

 

 

Maybe it's the child in me that wants one of these tacky little ornaments filling every gap and covering any surface of my little flat.

 

Our guests would come round to play "The pie face" game rather than some banal drinking game.

 

And we would listen to this album...

whilst dressing up our little pet.

Unfortunately we do feel a strong urge to be accepted as sane people so we leave our flat as it is and only secretly eat food that is shaped like Darth Vaders head.