The Final Episode of the Podcast!

[00:00:00] Welcome to what is the last episode of Fashion- Not all as it seams. I know quite sad to be saying

[00:00:08] that. I am joined by Emma for our last episode. Hi Emma! Hi Jo, it's such a sad time. I've

[00:00:16] loved this podcast. It's just been incredible and yeah, sad times that we've come to recording

[00:00:22] the very last show. So why have we decided that Emma? Well, you know as much as it's been glorious,

[00:00:31] it's been now quite difficult to get all four of us into the same room at a time that works for

[00:00:38] us all and as such I think we can't quite make it work right now. It might not be the end forever,

[00:00:46] it might be temporary until you know we're able to come back and reconvene with incredible guests,

[00:00:54] but yeah for now it's just been a bit too complicated in terms of our diaries, our projects,

[00:01:03] what we're doing to get together at a time that suits us all. Yeah I mean I think we should talk

[00:01:10] about what we're all up to because I think there's some exciting things to head ahead. But yeah,

[00:01:16] if you think about when we first started this podcast it came from conversations that we had on

[00:01:22] Club House and the fact that I have still never met Koshie or Nairi in person. I've only ever met

[00:01:31] Emma in person but we just came together on Club House started to have these chats and then said

[00:01:36] we need to record them because the guests that we had on were just amazing and the podcast I'd

[00:01:42] really organically and it was quite unusual because we had four hosts and just even trying to

[00:01:49] coordinate four hosts was a lot and I think maybe that was easier in lockdown because we were

[00:01:55] all at home. But as the series have gone on I think yeah it's just the logistics of it all but

[00:02:02] what I take away from it is just the amazing guests that we have had. I look back even to episode

[00:02:08] one you know and I still reference that in terms of recycled plastics and yeah I just feel so

[00:02:14] privileged that we've had these amazing conversations with such great guests and I predict

[00:02:20] something will come from this in all of our individual businesses and in terms of what we're

[00:02:25] doing. So thank you about that Emma what is your next step? What have you been up to and what does

[00:02:33] the future hold for you? There's a lot going on at the moment I kind of I feel like I've

[00:02:39] kind of in October last year I kind of felt this nudge to kind of really start

[00:02:46] putting myself out there a bit more with my business getting the message out of what I do

[00:02:51] and so I've just been really motivated to yeah kind of get myself out there a bit more across

[00:02:58] my platforms, get clear on what I do who I do it for and so I've spent a lot of time going back

[00:03:06] to my foundations and basically my what I'm doing with my consultancy still remains I still work with

[00:03:13] purpose driven founders in fashion and lifestyle industries and help them connect to incredible

[00:03:19] craft people and help them source supply chains through the lens of craft and to have that

[00:03:26] transparency and impact in their businesses as well so the consultancy with that is still very much

[00:03:33] going and I'm working with some incredible founders at the moment both here in the UK and

[00:03:40] all over the world as well so that's been really really positive and it's just a complete joy but I'm

[00:03:46] also you know when you're in this space Joe you're always a student you're always a student and I think

[00:03:53] that's you know a really good hat to wear to never assume that you're kind of a master of knowledge or

[00:03:59] you know your niche whatever it is you want to call it so I've kind of digging deep into

[00:04:05] secularity course at the moment to try and bring more of those principles into my business

[00:04:12] and to help others with that as well which is amazing we obviously know that no there's a lot going

[00:04:17] on with the EU and policy and compliance at the moment which is going to undoubtedly impact every

[00:04:23] single business small medium or you know the bigger corporates as well so I really need to kind of dig

[00:04:30] deep into understanding more about that and I'd love to be able to help the smaller brands and

[00:04:37] the startups navigate that as well yeah and I'm also doing and actually she was a guest on the show

[00:04:45] in season one I am I was invited by Jackie who runs motif handmade she works with incredible

[00:04:55] hand-weavers in Bangladesh to create our own bespoke custom fabrics and using recycled yarns so

[00:05:07] she's running a kind of beta test on the course at the moment and thanks to Jackie and actually

[00:05:13] Neyrie who co-hosts this podcast I've been invited to be one of the participants to test out the

[00:05:20] course and see how it goes and so far it's incredible Jackie's brilliant as we all know she's

[00:05:26] incredibly passionate about weaving and the weaving community that she worked with in Bangladesh so

[00:05:35] so far that's a joy and I'm also working on developing an artisan webinar with Tarradj Mello

[00:05:43] they're a female ed foundation in Indonesia we also had a partner the CEO as a guest on in season two

[00:05:50] so broadly speaking this webinar is just going to deep dive into what ethical and respectful

[00:05:56] co-creation with indigenous weaving communities looks like so I'm really really excited to be hosting

[00:06:03] that for them as well I'm sorry that was me just picking my mic up off the floor because I've not

[00:06:10] said I did not know any of this is very exciting that's amazing yeah I'm so looking forward to seeing

[00:06:18] what comes from you Emma and what I love about you is that you are so strong on your values and

[00:06:24] the DNA in that it's about craft and I think that is also what I've loved about hosting this podcast

[00:06:30] with you know us for is that we're all in kind of completely different areas of the industry but

[00:06:37] it's so complimentary yes it really is I think everything does end up being interconnected when you

[00:06:43] start to dig a lot deeper into what it is we do and our approach to everything you know there is

[00:06:49] there is that alignment there across all of the sectors and what we do the ultimate outcome for

[00:06:54] all of us is to you know redesign an industry that badly needs overhauling at the moment and you

[00:07:03] know also bring that impact into our businesses as well and I think that DNA like said runs through

[00:07:09] all of us and that's what connects us and the work that we do as well in whatever form

[00:07:17] that it takes but you know what about you what are you what are you up to my focus now is on sports

[00:07:23] a parallel and I hesitate about that because I still feel a little bit like an imposter in the sports

[00:07:28] world as a fashion girl but yeah I have become totally absorbed with it I've kind of fallen in

[00:07:34] love with this new aspect of clothing and textiles because it's just represents such huge volumes

[00:07:41] this is some really interesting nuance around it around things like fan emotional durability

[00:07:48] with the product that you don't always get with fashion and then you've got to kind of bring

[00:07:53] in the aspect of the club and the brand and the revenue that's generated by these items

[00:07:58] yes so I'm very fascinated by that in terms of my PhD so I'm doing a PhD at Love for Uni on

[00:08:06] football shirts and the circular economy and then I have rebranded my consultancy so we are now

[00:08:13] five thread and I rebranded because I really wanted to embed the values that we worked towards

[00:08:20] in everything that we do so we're based on five values which is circularity inclusivity

[00:08:26] partnerships digital transformation and leadership so we work with clients on you know projects related

[00:08:33] to those elements and one of the things I've really focused on recently is education

[00:08:38] which is something that me and Nihui talk a lot about so I've been doing projects with schools

[00:08:44] year 10 kind of looking at how do you design in circular ways how can you think about waste as a

[00:08:52] resource how can you you know shake up what's happening at the moment so lots of kind of different

[00:08:59] projects on the go every day is quite different I'm trying to kind of fit it all in I'm also doing

[00:09:04] ridiculous things like trekking the Sahara for charity amazing like you do so yeah

[00:09:13] kind of just following where my instincts go I think that's been a big part of this year is to

[00:09:20] really just tap into people who are doing great work in the space connecting those who are doing

[00:09:27] these projects and trying to support them and support them by creating collaborations with others

[00:09:34] you know so that we don't always have to do it ourselves I think there's a real power in the

[00:09:38] collective so really trying to push that a lot with organisations that I work with so yeah very

[00:09:46] busy and very holistic in the work that I'm doing but exciting too and also I am going to host

[00:09:54] my own podcast a little bit different to this but based around sport women education things to do

[00:10:03] with the 5th red values and mentality I love that Joe and that's what I love about you is like

[00:10:10] for you since I've met you you've always been very ambitious very committed very dedicated

[00:10:17] very intentional and it's also like your own kind of personal journey to like really challenge

[00:10:23] yourself as well like both like you say holistically and you're doing this incredible trek

[00:10:30] in the Sahara but through your work as well and through rebranding going into sports which

[00:10:36] must be like unbelievably fascinating and challenging and huge like sport is especially football

[00:10:46] football shirts is a colossal industry how are you getting to grips with that

[00:10:51] that is a good question because I have to like um basically say I'm not a football fan like we just

[00:10:57] didn't grow up with it in the house and I'm really aware that I do not have this like collective

[00:11:01] knowledge of football and I've kind of gone into that um but there are certain advantages to just not

[00:11:07] knowing anything about that um and just learning by doing and learning from other people um so yeah

[00:11:13] it's a bit of a baptism by fire but I feel like that's a little bit just by life um so I think it's

[00:11:21] just I'm just so intrigued by it very curious and I think as long as it keeps me curious

[00:11:26] I keep pursuing it and I think maybe if I had to this background in football and I'd had certain

[00:11:31] biases and expectations of how things should or shouldn't be I maybe wouldn't be coming up with

[00:11:37] the findings that I'm you know looking at now you know the research would have been different

[00:11:42] because I would have had another lens on it so I'm kind of looking at it completely openly with no

[00:11:47] kind of backstory to it which like I say has it pros and cons it depends who I'm speaking to do

[00:11:53] do you know what I mean yeah absolutely but yeah I can imagine that um the outcomes will be quite

[00:12:00] significant and incredible and you actually did a project yes last year yes it looked incredible

[00:12:08] so I was very fortunate to be on the UEFA panel that launched the Circular Economy Guidelines

[00:12:16] and to help to contribute to the apparel section um and I am so proud of that work you know

[00:12:23] there's certain things that come up in your life when you think this is part of the legacy and

[00:12:27] that was one of them for me because it has such a potential to have impact you know to put

[00:12:33] that knowledge out there and to give that information to the clubs for them to have a resource I

[00:12:37] think is really important and that's where it also goes back to education yeah so passionate

[00:12:42] that people have the resources that they need to act and that knowledge is not barrier to anything

[00:12:48] and also that organizations do stand up and take responsibility you know that they put out their

[00:12:54] their values and that they encourage change um you know I think we've seen a lot of people being

[00:13:00] very wary and worried about putting certain statements out in terms of how will people react

[00:13:05] so it's really proud to be part of a piece of work where there we are like no we need to push

[00:13:09] this we need to talk about how do we create a more circular economy so such an amazing privilege

[00:13:15] to be part of that yeah um I love that and I like you you say it's that the knowledge sharing

[00:13:22] the education piece is so so important you know this where we aren't kind of masters of what we

[00:13:30] know and yet there are so many people at whose whose level of knowledge um around sustainability

[00:13:36] and whatever arena is much lower and there shouldn't be barriers to be able to access that at all

[00:13:43] and you know having these conversations in this conversation we're having now it fills me with hope

[00:13:49] that you know we can progress we can move especially as the world feels like it's in a lot of turmoil

[00:13:54] at the moment with everything that we're seeing um but these conversations inspire me and motivate me

[00:14:02] to think you know there is the want drive and motivation for positive change not just across

[00:14:08] the industry but actually what in wider society as well which is amazing I'm 100% and I just think

[00:14:15] on that you know every days of school day and I think when you feel like you know it all then you

[00:14:21] should start to worry and I do think there is certain aspects of the sustainability sector who come

[00:14:27] across like we've we've got the answers we know it all um and I just think there's so much nuance

[00:14:32] to stuff it's about mindset change um you know we still got a way to go but that's what I'm really

[00:14:39] enjoying about what I'm doing now is every day I'm learning you know I speak to grassroots

[00:14:43] organisations I speak to reuse organisations that are just run by one or two people and the amount

[00:14:48] of knowledge that they've got and the passion that they've got to make change is so inspiring you

[00:14:53] know it's not always driven from the big brands it's about people doing really small things in

[00:14:57] their day-to-day life that's going to bring change and that I think is so um hopeful you know I get

[00:15:03] kind of really excited about that because if you can change one person's mind it can have a tipping

[00:15:08] effect um and then you know we will ultimately deliver the change that we need yeah absolutely um

[00:15:18] brilliant I know Kashi and Nairi are not here with us today but we just wanted to give you a bit of

[00:15:24] an overview as to what they have been up to as well so I can take us through Koshis amazing you

[00:15:31] kick it off then right well Koshie um who obviously was very instrumental in the production the marketing

[00:15:41] the community building for the podcast who did an exceptional job there is currently undertaking a

[00:15:48] master's in sustainable design she is looking at bio design and new materials and that is taking up

[00:15:57] a lot of her time at the moment hence the reason she couldn't be here today but I know through our

[00:16:03] conversations with her that it's an area she is super excited in and really kind of wanting to dig

[00:16:11] as deep as she can into that area um of those materials as well and a message from her to all

[00:16:19] of the listeners today is a big thank you for listening for tuning in and being part of the

[00:16:27] community and she's extremely grateful for the experience that the podcast has had so that's Koshie

[00:16:35] let's hear about Nairi yeah in Nairi similar sentiment she has said it's been a great opportunity

[00:16:41] to be part of the podcast and the original clubhouse she's learned so much and it's been wonderful

[00:16:47] to host it with all of us um what is she up to when Nairi is of course up to many many things

[00:16:53] she's speaking events on wall traceability education and usability of wall she just finished making

[00:17:00] 280 uh felt it would in pads for homeless people in Brussels to help keep them warm she's really

[00:17:07] focused on wall processing and wall in general and working on a project with some different house

[00:17:13] trousers as well as outdoor coverings for cyclists and walkers and runners she's also bought a

[00:17:19] tabletop loom and is teaching herself how to weave amongst other things i mean that woman knows

[00:17:24] new bangs um i love her so much because she's always up to something she never sits still she's

[00:17:30] always got a project done i know and she literally juggling everything um and doing it with a lot

[00:17:36] of generosity as well you know she's very generous with her time and advice as well um and i just

[00:17:43] go back to the conversation we had about um how she started this wall business through a conversation

[00:17:49] with sheep and geese i think it was that literally was the spark and the seed that planted um yeah

[00:17:57] this this journey for her and this business and it just like it's gaining momentum she's been

[00:18:02] traveling in Europe here in England and also she's been to Ireland recently so you know I really

[00:18:09] really can't wait to see where that takes her i know i find it hilarious i'm i listened to that

[00:18:13] episode and i'm sure she was like yeah so i was chatting to this goose and then it all climbed

[00:18:19] and then i went chatting to the sheep and then when i started talking to the farmer and i was like

[00:18:24] it's actually yeah all right then um but you know i love it i really love that and yeah just the fact

[00:18:32] that every time we do an episode she'd be like there'd be some kind of wall processing happening in

[00:18:37] the background she's like doing some scouring just doing this so yeah amazing to have had

[00:18:44] for three years like co-hosting with her yeah and it's just been yeah and it's been great for us

[00:18:51] all to have got to know each other and and the guests we've had on you know the the countless

[00:18:57] conversations but each one there's been a big like a harm moment or a big takeaway and that's been

[00:19:03] the beauty of it as well is is being a student in this space as well 100 percent um so yeah i mean

[00:19:12] it's our last episode for now as we say we don't know whether we will come back and if we will come

[00:19:17] back in some other form but you can definitely stay in touch with all of us through our socials

[00:19:23] which are in the show notes we will all continue to be working deeper in our own specialist areas

[00:19:29] which you've heard a little bit about but we just went to end the podcast by saying thank you so

[00:19:35] much for listening thank you to our amazing wonderful guests who gave up their time shared their

[00:19:41] experience and it's been such a privilege to be part of this and we're just incredibly grateful

[00:19:48] yeah i echo all of that it's been it's been such an honor and i've loved the diverse voices

[00:19:55] that we've had on the podcast of all over the world it's it's just been as cliched as it sound

[00:20:00] the biggest gift and thank you all of you for listening and reaching out and sharing feedback

[00:20:10] and what you've loved about it as well it's it's been incredible but for now we will say goodbye

[00:20:16] and wish everybody the best bye that went well