FASHIONISTA SISTA

I’ve just sent off a pitch to The Ecologist, a profile idea for a piece on my rising star fashionista sista. Since my last entry, Lilli has been offered freelance work from River Island, one of her garments has been selected to be sold at Selfridges, and some more of her work is being shown at a graduate design show, again, in London.

It’s mad how much interest her design work and ethics has attracted. How many twenty-two year olds can say that the leading fashion houses in the UK have approached them before they’ve even received their degree certificate? I don’t know any! She can play them to her advantage, demanding good, ethical practice for her services. The angle for my profile (if it’s accepted) is that Lilli is going against the gain of the industry to show that fashion can be ecologically friendly and still elegant and profitable.

She is adamant that she will not accept freelance work from any corporate companies unless they agree to her work ethic of sourcing organic yarns and natural dyes made in the UK by people paid more than the minimum wage. She also insists that some profits should go to charities or community projects. A brave step for a young graduate, but one that she hopes will make a difference to production in the UK fashion industry.

I’m looking forward to writing about her triumphs, and if The Ecologist doesn’t take it…well, there will be other outlets. It would be illogical not to push her profile at this stage, and I’m so close to her that I’m practically her PA! Maybe she’ll employ me when she hits the big time.

I’ve got another prospective interviewed lined up with an actor called Nicholas Boulton. He’s my next-door neighbours son, and he’s just been paid a ridiculous amount of money to play the lead villain in a Scandinavian film called Arne. He’s also had a part in Doctor Who, and regularly lends his voice to afternoon plays on BBC Radio 4. He’s a rising star, and apparently he’s very popular with the ladies! He’s living in Brighton, so I’m going to email him after I’ve got the first draft of my script in hand.

This time next week, I’ll be hob-knobbing with the film industry in Cheltenham, can’t wait…it’s pitching time again.

Out in the sticks...

I’ve made the move back to the sleepy backwaters of my homestead. There should now be NO DISTRACTIONS, no noise, nothing to stop me writing the first draft of my screenplay by next week. The last few weeks have been impossibly testing for my self-motivation. I’ve managed to put together the first ten scenes of Torn, but various social engagements and move-related issues have arisen in between.

First there was Lilli’s final show at Graduate Fashion Week in Battersea Park. A glorious and proud moment for my sister, to see her beautiful knitwear come to life on professional models in front of a huge audience was truly inspirational. She was nominated for the knitwear award at the Gala show – and won it the following day, judged by none other than Victoria Beckham and Zara Rhodes.

Lilli has worked extremely hard to reach this peak – she’s got strong ideas and a very opinionated view on the fashion world in general. She’s not interested in the glitz and glamour, but she is determined to change peoples’ views about sustainability and eco-consciousness in the industry. I want to write a profile piece on her and submit it to an industry mag and maybe a newspaper supplement, with a kind of ‘rising talent in eco fashion’ angle.

I don’t quite know how it’ll work with us being sisters, but I’d really like to give it a go. It would give her some unabashedly honest publicity and get her message across: recycled knitwear can be incredibly elegant and sustainable. Here’s a link to Lilli’s proudest moment to date – holding her prized award surrounded by models wearing her creations: http://www.gfwlive.com

Seeing such talent in London last week made me feel like I should have pursued a more visual medium at degree level. All I had to show at the end of my three years was a bunch of essays, a website and two dissertations. I think that’s why film appeals to me so much now. It’s taken me some time to get used to writing visually, but I am a visual thinker, so it’s just going to be a case of putting the two together.

So I intend on setting up a makeshift office in the covered gazebo at the end of the garden, surrounding myself with scene breakdowns, cats, character files and a good supply of reading material…it should be the perfect atmosphere for creativity. I’m going to miss Falmouth, it hasn’t quite hit me yet – that I can’t just wonder down to the beach, or pop into town for a coffee. When I got into the van that held six-years-worth of belongings yesterday, I got this hideous feeling in my stomach, like I hadn’t eaten for days or something. There’s no point in mulling over it, because I need to move on and although I love Cornwall to pieces, there isn’t quite enough going on to warrant me starting a new career there.

I’ve spent too much time in the sticks, I’ve grown in the shadows, and I’m ready to test the water further up country. My long term plans are to go wherever the job takes me, as long as it’s something inspiring. I want to write screenplays on the side, shorts that I can work on with my friends and enter into festivals next year. Ideally I’d like to work in-house as a features writer, but failing that I’d be more than happy to do some copywriting or PR.