The adventures of Patrick Pasty
When in Devon…!
When my friend Natalie suggested we go to a talk at Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, I was more than happy to go to such a lovely event - we love a cultural outing which is a thinly veiled excuse for a good catch up over tea and cake. The talk she’d hoped to book was sold out, so she looked for another, and queried would I like to see Patrick Grant talk about fast fashion? I immediately said YES SIGN ME UP I’M THERE! (Obviously because of my interest in fast fashion, you understand).
But genuinely, I AM interested in fashion, fast fashion, circular fashion, secondhand clothing etc and had already read Patrick’s book ‘LESS: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish: How Having Fewer, Better Things Can Make Us Happier’ (the grammar pedant in me also loves the correct use of less/fewer in the title, but I digress). It’s an interesting read about how Patrick’s past work, studies and even childhood experiences influence his views and passionate opinions regarding consumerism, fast fashion and the environmental damage wreaked by over-production by fast fashion businesses and the commercial drive for over-consumption. The book is full of frankly appalling statistics about the volume and damage done by the fast fashion industries, which are guaranteed to make you stop and think. I also find all the information about the history of craft and artisan makers, and the development of textile production in the UK absolutely fascinating.
I really enjoy watching The Great British Sewing Bee and while my sewing attempts are usually more ‘bodge it and scarper’ than skilled artisan, I love watching the competitors create amazing garments from scratch week after week. My degree in Fashion Promotion & Illustration was a brilliant dive into the world of clothing, fashion media, art, public relations, design and creative illustration and I love all of this stuff, I just want to be involved in everything (hence my degree and work not being something too restricted, I’m into ALL of it!) so Sewing Bee, Patrick’s book, The Great Pottery Throw Down and all this sort of thing is very much My Bag.
Back to BudLitFest - Patrick’s talk was just as you might expect, engaging, funny, interesting. As I’d read his book, the topics discussed weren’t new to me, but it was really interesting to see him discuss where he was coming from with the book and his experiences (and his opinions on Ikea tables - negative as you might imagine!). Patrick himself was just as you see on screen, engaging and articulate.
With time after the talk to get your copy of Patrick’s book signed, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity - even though I have lent my copy to a friend to read so didn’t have it with me, but that’s ok because that’s secondhand and spreading the word and so on, right?! They were giving out bookmarks for Patrick’s Community Clothing brand (which I think is a great company by the way) so I asked would he mind signing that instead, and he signed one for my friend who is reading it, too.
Before the event I had thought to myself that I knew I had a Patrick pasty in stock (they all have different names), and I thought if I had the opportunity to give Patrick a pasty desk buddy in his name, I really shouldn’t pass that up, and my small business friends would tell me off if I didn’t… no harm done if the opportunity didn’t come up and Patrick pasty just had a little trip out of the house in my bag, no one would be any the wiser.
I was really impressed how brilliantly the BudLitFest team managed the queue and the signings, and it was surprisingly swift, with a member of the team even on hand to take the photos! (I’m sure that wasn’t her actual role haha) Patrick received his namesake pasty gift with apparently genuine delight (!) and happily posed for the photo with it, which I will keep forever ;) I felt like a total swot, but sometimes you have to just pluck up the courage to put yourself out there a little bit even if you feel silly!
Obviously a small clay pasty desk buddy is a ridiculous thing, but essentially they exist to bring a smile. I hope the clay desk buddies communicate their handmade and handpainted charms, to Patrick himself and anyone else who may see his Patrick pasty (not a euphemism! ha!).
After all, the clay desk buddies ARE made entirely by hand, they ARE hand painted entirely by me, and surely that qualifies as Artisan. They’re also very, very cute. Nearly as cute as Patrick.
Cute clay desk buddies and NEW cute clay collections
#patrickgrant #budlitfest #fastfashion #less #communityclothing #sustainablefashion #greatbritishsewingbee