black friday Archives - Orchid Corsetry

I’m sure none of you have missed the memo- Black Friday started a month early this year, and it just hasn’t stopped. It is LOUD out there and I’ve never been one for shouting. Many of you will be unsurprised to hear that, as last year, I will not be joining in the Black Friday melee. What I will be doing is sharing some great independent brands who deserve recognition for their incredible work, and, if you can spare it, a fair price for their labour.

I’ll be very honest here- I have written the remainder of this blog post a few times now. I have railed on about how independent brands that don’t get supported this Christmas will not be here next year. I’ve written a heartbroken rant about how Brexit is threatening my own business very personally as of 1st January (that one will probably still get released when I’ve reigned it in a bit) But I actually wanted this post to be about the satisfaction and JOY of buying with a business that genuinely needs and covets your individual order. Naturally I hope you will choose to continue buying with me, and I hope there will be some little Orchid parcels of love under some trees this Christmas. However I felt it was more in the right spirit to fight the Black Friday/ Amazon juggernaut with some solidarity and to showcase some great talents! I hope you find something that excites you.

Your Future Treasures…

Logandria- Illustrated silk scarves and artwork for lingerie lovers.

Logandria illustration of our Meriel overbust corset

Logan is an artist who creates rich aesthetic worlds, full of adventurous midnight spellcasters, lovers feasting in opulent gardens, and mythic figures in whimsical scenarios. How can I put it better than she has? “Deliciously hedonistic 100% silk scarves illustrated with scenes of mythology, fantasy, queer love, the natural world, and soft eroticism” Many of her designs are strictly NSFW but the beauty of her scarves is that you can be wearing something utterly inappropriate to your important meeting, but if you tied it right, no-one need know!

This year I have several beautiful scarves from Logan (most as part of an exchange) a print of her infamous Garden Party scene for my studio, and she has even made a custom illustration of one of my designs which will be in your orders soon when I get around to printing my care cards!

Why will it bring you joy? Not only are you supporting an artist who has created an astonishing portfolio of work, but her creations are full of colour, deep with stories, and bursting with charming detail that you will keep discovering anew. I can hand on heart say a gift from Logandria is a treasure to adore year after year.

https://logandria.com/

Blue reign– Vegan leather lingerie, power dressing for the boudoir.

I came across London based brand Blue reign before their official launch, and I just found myself really drawn to the atmosphere Alyx was creating. There was a clear communication of strength, confidence and sensuality that shone through. I also really appreciated the vegan leather angle, as a lifelong veggie! In Alyx’s own words “Everything must exude a fierce sense of confidence, an overzealous sensuality and above all, the complete ownership of your sense of self”

This year I took the plunge and added a Nova K bra to my collection. It is everything I hoped it would be- decadent, vampish, and beautifully, beautifully made. I’m a huge sucker for packaging, and Blue Reign truly presents your purchase like a gift to be lingered over.

Why will it bring you joy? I have watched a video of Alyx being extremely real and sharing a bra she had made that she just wasn’t happy to send to a customer, explaining her process, and why she would rather start from scratch at cost to herself than send out something “that wasn’t fit for a queen” and that is honestly the attitude you deserve from EVERYONE you work with.

https://bluereign.london/

Pillowbook– Conscious, compellingly made lingerie, unlike anything else you have discovered.

What is the Pillowbook look? Heirloom pieces that draw deeply from traditional Chinese designs with contemporary flair and bold colour. Techniques that are precise, graceful, feminine in a fresh and un-familiar way. As a maker I have enormous fascination with how other artists work, the nitty gritty of stitch and fold, and the gentle perfection of Lu’s simplest creations is very simply a mastery.

I was restrained and just treated myself/ my insomnia to a sleep mask from Pillowbook- I use it most nights and I honestly think everyone needs one! It’s pure silk and she uses silk scraps from her work to stuff them so they are fluffy, soft and really block out the daylight! I spent some time just delighting in the little mesh carry bag it came with. Everything is pure beauty despite it being truly functional.

Why will it bring you joy? Lu is not only a master of her craft, but she is conscious of not wasting a scrap of silk that passes through her hands. She created an entire range to piece together fragments, back into the luxury garments they belong as.

http://www.love-pillowbook.com/

Figure of A– Shibari inspired accessories for the erotic aesthete

There is forever a part of me sworn to lace and silk, however the industrial and intricate world Figure of A have created draws me in every time. “Edgy, architectural, feminine and body-aware, Figure of A pieces function equally well as part of your everyday styling as they do as part of a fetish-heavy ensemble.”

Earlier in the year I bought an Eri choker from Anna- I work with a lot of bondage pieces and there is something grounding and thrilling about the weight of the metal, the smooth symmetry of the knots… Everything is beautiful quality, precise and purposeful with a flourish of movement.

Why will it bring you joy? Another proud “made in Britain” brand creating their own niche in a crowded marketplace. The subversion of a decorative bondage practice that you can make part of your everyday wear! Treat yourself to a harness and turn some heads! This is the sign you’ve been waiting for!

https://figureofa.com/

I hope I’ve been able to introduce you to some makers you might not have heard of. Perhaps even encourage you to become patrons! They are all very deserving of your appreciation, this Black Friday and beyond. I suppose I would just ask everyone to shop slower, to gift consciously, and remember how joyful it can be to choose something deliberately and consciously, not racing against a timelapse coupon! Makers like these are waiting to give you an experience, and to offer you something made with care and consideration.

We are pretty much fully boked for this year but keep an eye on our sale section as I may be adding a few bits and pieces here as December moves on! Newsletter subscribers get the first heads up so remember to subscribe if you haven’t already.

Take care of yourselves, I wish you a very peaceful and happy festive season, full of warmth and love and great company. And… maybe a corset under the tree! But only if you’ve been very, very good.

Then To Now

The biggest change I’ve made at Orchid is one that you have all shared in and contributed to- your orders go towards our 9 Trees subscription for carbon offsetting! 9 Trees is an organisation local to me who are planting and managing native trees in the UK designed to work within their landscapes and provide biodiversity, habitats and spaces for us all to enjoy. There are similar organisations out there but having met with one of the directors I am reassured that these trees are not just popped in the ground and forgotten, they are nurtured throughout their lives and you are kept up to date with their progress! There is due to be a site planted about 30 minutes from Orchid HQ, which feels like a wonderful thing for us to support, given how the landscape here has inspired me my whole life. Please do visit their site to learn more about what you’re helping them achieve.

I’m happy to say that I am seeing change in my suppliers as well as in our own studio. Our main supplier of components now sends every order in paper mailing bags, our silk supplier uses plant based biodegradable polythene to ship our orders, we can now buy ribbons made from recycled plastic, on cardboard reels! Each of these changes earned a happy dance from me! And if this sounds insignificant in the face of the challenge before us, know that we can do nothing without these initial steps. And every time I see a company make these changes, I make sure to support them wherever I can. Sustainable fashion isn’t about doing everything perfectly, it’s about making changes and building on them.

I’ve also made a switch in our packaging- Your shop orders now go out in corrugated paper mailers instead of jiffy bags! These new biodegradable mailers can be composted, recycled or reused, which is a big improvement. As before our shop orders are wrapped in tissue paper with our ink stamp of approval, so your corsets journey to you is entirely plastic free.

Ivory Flame and Gingerface model in ribbon corsets

Ivory Flame and Gingerface wearing plant dyed silk ribbon corsets shot by Sally Sparrow

Building on our initial plans to create products designed to minimise waste, we have two designs coming out any minute which will be limited edition to allow us to focus on using dead stock fabrics! If you haven’t come across this term before it means a fabric that has been discontinued or left over from industry use. Sustainable fashion brands are turning to this sourcing option more and more! I consider this to be a really valuable way of minimising our impact as it does not add to the increase of demand, or use further resources for manufacture. I also think this has the added effect of keeping things fresh- a style has to be reinvented as it sells out and can never be allowed to grow stale. I hope we will be able to do more of this in future!

Our business was never a very problematic one in terms of waste but every time a decision is made I try to run it through a conscious process. Is this necessary? Can it be made more efficient? Can I reuse instead of recycle? By taking this through small exercises like saving up packaging sent to us from suppliers to give away for local reuse, bulk buying items where possible, or delaying a supplies order so that it can be added on to a larger one in the near future, I’ve seen my non recyclable or reused items dwindle to practically nothing.

Scarlet silk corset with flossing.

The Future

The big thing I want to focus on next is finding sources for our silk fabrics and luxury trimmings that are more sustainable or use more natural dyeing processes as I’m aware that this is a huge part of the issue with our industry as a pollutor. The stumbling block I’ve come across with this in the past is meeting our quality standards for the end product but I hope there is more we can do on this front. Our main fabric is cotton coutil, and it’s nature as a specialist fabric with dwindling factories left who supply it means that alternative sources using organic cotton or more responsible dyes is non existent. However I will be writing to my suppliers to ask if this is a suggestion they can pass on.

I honestly believe that these are the things that will help us survive as an industry, because at some point our worldwide culture of more, faster, cheaper simply cannot continue. Hard decisions will be made and priorities changed. As a luxury brand we do not offer essential items like tools, food, medicine. But what we do offer is something that our clients connect with at a deep emotional level, as well as something that sparks imagination, passion, connects us to our sensuality and helps us realise identities that are fundamental to our sense of self. I want to keep making corsets for as long as you come to me with a story of how you waited years to make this call. For as long as I see the thrill in your eyes of opening that box. For as long as I see you proudly loving the skin you’re in. Please share your ideas for improving our approach to sustainable fashion, what elements matter the most to you? We are always looking to learn more and do more!

Black Friday is Out- Buying with Pleasure Is Back.