ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
In and out of Astral Apparel Angel Armoury I am passionate about eradicating waste and operating in a fashion as environmentally sound as possible. I am not a ‘fast’ business. I consider my collections ageless. I possess no surplus stock or materials. My studio and despatch office are free of single use materials. If I generate any waste that cannot be recycled by traditional waste streams, I let said waste to eco waste management companies. All metal scraps are melted for reuse, indeed my own financial homeostasis is something to be tended to. Not a single offcut goes to waste or landfill. My packaging is recyclable and crafted by recycled materials, utilising environmentally friendly ink. My dispatch and packing materials are biodegradable.
Due to the frivolous nature of my wares, it is paramount that my environmental impact is harmonious at the very least. I consider my work a reflection of myself, so it is essential that my values are mirrored if I am to move with accountability and integrity.
I will only collaborate with traders who values are in alignment with my own. Environmentally speaking, this means sourcing crystals and gemstones cut by hand. Minimising environmental impact and protecting local people, who I believe in turn to be conglomerates of the environment. This requires local traders investing in local communities as opposed to gargantuan corporations. Instead of large scale mining, the crystals, metals and gemstones incorporated at Astral Apparel Angel Armoury are obtained by hand, thus retaining value in all senses of the word. My collaborating traders must abide and honour environmental impact as well as licensing and pollution control.
I am dedicated to learning and developing to maintain my business as a force for good, as far as vanity, materialism and expression goes.
Astral Apparel
A D O R N I N G P H I L O SO P H Y & R I T U A L
ADORN - əˈdɔːn : to add something decorative to a person or thing
PHILOSOPHY - fɪˈlɒsəfi : a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour
RITUAL - rɪtʃʊəl : A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed in a
sequestered place and according to a set sequence
When I use the term 'ritual', I am not referring to or limiting the activity to any perceived or subscribed mystical paradigm.
Rather, as a tool, a cipher for symbolism, to conjure focus with an intention. A host for lucidity and conscious 'living', and in the context of dressing- utilising the material for the sake of sensuality. Orchestrating sensual experience and thus enhancing experience. Of course adornment should not be used to compensate, rather to appreciate. So long as it is harmonious, why not enjoy the sensory applications of the material realm in this fleeting experience?
Through adornment, comes the merging of pleasure, symbolism and signal. Throughout the ages, people have been inspired to adorn themselves and engage in cosmetic rituals with a plethora of intentions; to spark inspiration, to express, to signal, to protect, to remind, etc. Most of all, Astral Apparel Angel Armoury encourages adornment for none other than yourself.
Whilst dismissed as trivial in certain domains, adornment has proven a primal function / impulse of the human psyche since
pre-historic times, indicating significant semiotics and anthropological implications . It is one of the most fundamental modes of communication. Whether implemented daily or occasionally, the priviledge of taking the time to adorn,
is a moment to be present and indulge in mindfulness.
Astral Apparel Angel Armoury encourages this supplementary practice as a means to embrace and enjoy life's temporal sensory experience, as innocuously as possible.