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EESTI ELU reedel, 29. juulil 2022 — Friday, July 29, 2022
This sustainable Estonian designer is seriously chique Natalie Jenkins As it stands now, the fashion industry is not sustainable. Each season, the glamorous styles found in high-fashion runway shows eventually trickle down to social media platforms (including Insta gram and TikTok), where influencers replicate them to some degree. Or, runway models use these platforms themselves and inadvertently start new trends. Either way, these platforms offer plenty of fashion inspiration to consu mers. Companies exploit this opportunity to the fullest extent by engaging in fast fashion, which refers to mass-producing clothes that replicate these influencers’ and celebrities’ styles at low costs. In effect, consumers can purchase a Bella Hadid-esque outfit for the price of a sandwich.
Kelpman Textiles, SS18 collection. Photo: maikenstaak.com
Fast fashion has resulted in significantly shortened trend cycles. These so-called “mi cro-trends” introduce something new to buy every month. With the end of each rapid-fire micro-trend – which lasts any where from a month to a year – clothes are neglected or are otherwise thrown away due to their low quality. Whether they end up in landfills or the back of a closet, fast fashion is incredibly wasteful and un sustainable. In 2019, the World Bank estimated that “the fashion in dustry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.” Without significant change, “the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions will surge more than 50% by 2030,” according to the same report. But there is hope for a better future. Designers that use sus tainable production methods – from working with organic materials or biodegradable dyes to incorporating engineering patterns that create zero waste – significantly decrease their carbon footprint. Hailing from the island of Saaremaa, Estonian textile de signer Mare Kelpman sees stylish sustainability as the only way forward in the fashion world. Established in 2012, her successful women’s clothing and home accessory brand Kelpman Textile takes inspira
Ants Viires’ compendium of woodworking practices Vincent Teetsov After decades without compensation for his study and detailed description of Esto nian woodworking, the most recent English translation of Ants Viires’ text Eesti rahva pärane puutööndus: ajalooline ülevaade has continued to sell copies. Woodworking in Estonia: Historical Survey was translated into English by Mart Aru and was published by Lost Art Press in 2016. Viires passed away one year before, but he lived to see permission sought for the new edition of the book, evidence that his project will continue to inform those who carry forward the customs of building with wood.
It was a lengthy travail to get to the point where the author’s family would see proper recog nition for the book, though curiosity about it existed early on. The first section of the book is propelled by the compre hensive research of Suzanne Ellison, who unearthed the story behind what has become a staple of hand tool woodworkers worldwide, not just those in Estonia. The prelude to Woodworking in Estonia’s popularity starts in the post-graduate studies of the author. Viires was born in Tartu in 1918. At first a student of languages, he gravitated to ethnography during the Second World War, around the same time he was working at the Estonian National Museum.
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use non-toxic substances in the yarn. All textile items are created in limited numbers, and left overs from cutting are used to make small accessories.” Kelp man continues, “This way, I can contribute to the promotion of approaches oriented towards minimizing overproduction and overconsumption and help encourage local producers. Otherwise, the decline of the textile industry will inevitably bring about the loss of unique skills in Europe.” Though good for the en vironment, sustainable fashion is not accessible to low-income Mare Kelpman, designer of Kelpman Textiles. Photo: Telliskivi Creative City earning individuals. Hightion from Kelpman’s hometown you mean you’re making wool quality materials that are scarce by pairing long, airy silhouettes clothing? Where’s the glamour in number are expensive to with simple, yet abundantly and affluence usually en vogue acquire and even more costly to vibrant, colour schemes, creat in the local fashion scene?” outsource. Ethical labour also ing pieces that are timelessly “Now I’m looking for ways comes at a higher cost. On top chic. In Kelpman’s own words, to popularize wool, [a] material of this, brands still need to the brand’s style is reminiscent that has been in use for centu make a profit. of the “fresh morning dew that ries. Wool is a protective shield Even to higher-earning indi soaks the grass before a hot in the Nordic climate – it is a viduals, much of fast fashion’s day.” warming, breathable, water- appeal is derived from its cheap But how exactly is her brand absorbent and antibacterial price tag. It’s no secret that we sustainable? For one, Kelpman material,” said Kelpman. Since live in a disposable society. Textile uses high-quality, com Kelpman Textile does not use Buying something cheap and pletely natural, long-lasting chemicals, the brand’s wool replacing it when it breaks has materials, as opposed to syn clothing is biodegradable and become increasingly more thetic ones like polyester. will leave no harmful residue common than indulging in expensive items. (When’s the Wool is one of her most behind. In the warmer months, popular materials. Far from Kelpman likes to work with last time you saw a local shoe considering it an untouchable linen, which is also completely repair store in your neighbour itchy nightmare, Kelpman sees natural and sustainably sourced. hood?) Despite society’s ram a certain elegance in wool’s Both materials – wool and pant consumerism, it is impor archaic origins and wants to linen – “do not travel long tant to invest in quality items revive it as a celebrated material distances in big ship containers, that will stand the test of time, in the fashion world. At first, and we do not create waste in if you can. this feat was met with difficulty. terms of both textiles and Overall, Kelpman Textile “In Estonia, my products were products,” according to the prioritizes sustainability without initially received with jaws brand’s website. “Yarns are jeopardizing style. Check out dropped,” Kelpman said in an sourced from various European her newest collection on her interview with Savant Maga manufacturers, who commit to website here: https://kelpman zine. “[I was asked] ‘what do fair treatment of animals and textile.com/shop/
During the war, he was enlisted by the German military police as a translator, which made it difficult to get a job in his field after the war. Soon, he had to juggle clerical and teaching work while writing his thesis about Estonian woodworking, to obtain his PhD. He achieved this in 1955, and five years later, the Estonian Academy of Sciences published his thesis as a book. Ellison notes that “the full publication of a thesis was exceptional in the Soviet Union” and that “Viires’ work was deemed too important not to be published in full.” At the same time as his i nvestigations developed, the United States and Soviet Union were, of course, facing off in the context of the Cold War. This was not limited to testing nuclear weapons or sending as tronauts and satellites into space. Competition came down to understanding the humble practices of working with wood. After the death of Stalin, texts that held technological in formation were easier to get. American universities and the Library of Congress were among the institutions who sought out texts like Woodworking in Estonia. The Smithsonian in Washington D.C. also wanted it. Orga nizations like the Israel Pro gram for Scientific Translations
were contracted to translate all kinds of publications so that they could be read and under stood more widely. Despite the demand, Viires was not consulted or compen sated for the English dissemina tion of the book. In 1969, it was translated without his goahead, and used as though it were public intellectual pro perty. Still, later on, Viires had expressed his pleasure at the thesis being widely known. As it stands now, Wood working in Estonia is sold through an arrangement with Lost Art Press, such that the profits are evenly divided with the author’s family. Lost Art Press started in 2007 as a joint venture between John Hoffman and Christopher Schwarz, who wanted to bring historic books of this niche to interested readers while respecting the rights of creators. Ants Viires is one of these. The book takes an anthro pological slant and clarifies passed-down knowledge through interviews conducted by the author. It compares and con trasts techniques used in differ ent eras and regions of Estonia. It discusses the purpose of these techniques. While not a step-bystep guide, several readers have affirmed that it spurs on ideas for projects. The book has countless dia
grams of tools and completed items, photos of wood products being made, and more. The 304-page book is manufactured with heirloom quality materials in the United States and can be ordered in Canada from Lee Valley Tools (www.leevalley. com). For books that encapsulate a topic with encyclopedic breadth, it has a particular colloquial style that makes it a friendly reference text in the library and in the workshop. We have the dedication, intense interest, and study of Ants Viires to thank for such a historic and valuable text.
Narva mayor… (Continued from page 9)
Ukrainian refugees have passed through our city and no one has slept on a park bench,” Raik said. “In the end, I see it as my job to act as a peacemaker and mediator on the Estonian bor der. I can’t say that this isn’t sufficiently pro-Estonian,” she said. Raik also added that she expects the state, various minist ries, and authorities to send clear messages about how they intend to deal with the Soviet war legacy.
