Kickcan & Conkers

Monday 10 January 2022

Community, Kindness and Healing

Happy New Year to You All ! Community, Kindness and Healing- these are my three essential areas of focus in 2022. I couldn't pick a better person than Agustin @anewcross to write about at the start of this year. I've featured his stunning slow brand several times on my Plumes and Feathers instagram page, but how grateful I am to share his work using Fique Fibre with an international audience passionate about textiles in the latest issue of @selvedgemagazine. "It is no secret that slow stitching is a meditative activity, and in this context it is also one of regeneration. In a country marked by intense conflict and war trauma with deep collective scars, sewing helps repair. Many of A New Cross’s artisans or their families have been victims of violence, expropriation of land, forced displacement or new forms of colonialism; they all have wounds to heal. Every fiber becomes a life, lines of lives, maybe crossing paths for a while; some continuous, others broken, loose or barely there. Gaps are part of memory too. Rivero’s artisans have free rein to thread their own line story onto his clothes, because “repair is an exercise that is done from the inside and reflects on the outside. Every fiber contributes to the construction of a strong thread and every thread helps to forge a resilient fabric,” he says. Through intimate and complex collections such as “Everything I Did Not Weave”. Rivero is giving a voice to all the artisan hands involved in everyone of the designs he creates. Essentially, his textiles are a form of expression and empowerment for craftspeople and vulnerable communities in Colombia. In turn, those who appreciate his endeavour will feel empowered and honoured to wear soulful clothes imbued with memory and identity. A New Cross’s aesthetic is minimal, unisex and trans-seasonal, fusing materials, culture and geography to celebrate the richness and diversity of its country. Respectful, sustainable and slow by definition, his garments are proudly labelled “Handcrafted in Colombia” whilst opening new horizons for generations to come." Stitch by stitch, strand by strand, lines and lines of lives slowly coming together to shape a beautiful restorative landscape, strengths, scars and all.

Tuesday 7 September 2021

So, what's it all about Deborah?

Wild Child

I'm sure most people think of me as a visual person, especially if they followed my blog Kickcan & Conkers. 'Tis true, I love photography, content curation and good graphics, but I also enjoy telling stories with words. How lucky am I to be able to capture the spirit of a creative's studio, shed light on a fledgling talent's business or honour the beauty of a family's simple life in the country.

I am delighted to be writing again, contributing regularly to Selvedge Magazine in the UK and Table Magazine in the US. More to come on my website soon...

Thank you to my Estonian friends the Karemas for allowing me to share their story about offgrid, self-sufficient life in the latest issue of Table.

Photography- Marlen Karema

Thursday 2 September 2021

Onwards

So, after all this time, I've decided to pick up where I left off, even though I'm very Plumes & Feathers now.

A lot to share, where do I begin? I'll be taking things slowly, writing on here initially then through my new website and publications.

How are you?

Thursday 1 February 2018

Finding a New Voice

February 1st, 2018: I woke up this morning with only one thing on my mind-my blog.

I started Kickcan and Conkers almost 9 years ago, eager to share, inspire and build a small, online community of likeminded creatives around the world. I had no idea how many wonderful friends and colleagues I would make on line and off, nor where my virtual journey would take me. There was obviously a different momentum in the early blogging days, a different community spirit too. I kind of miss that, but if I'm here again today, it's because I believe in here and now, in embracing change and in pushing onwards and upwards.

I have no clear idea of what I want to do with K and C, I may even abandon this space and create a new site and a new brand, I'll see. Since I closed my online kids' design shop I have been exploring other passions, such as fashion and photography, via my tumblr blog Plumes and Feathers. Tumblr offered me the anonymity I needed at the time as I felt confined to the vintage, graphic, children's world I had been so focused on for years. Plumes and Feathers is my happy place on line, the place where I really feel myself, hence these three screenshots I'm sharing with you today.

Are you still reading blogs? I occasionally receive emails from followers saying how much they miss K&C, prompting me to question whether or not I still have something to say. Social media has become so fast-paced, ephemeral and all-pervading - more, more, more...

Kickcan & Conkers has always been a predominantly visual blog, hopefully full of unusual finds, inspiring creativity and interesting links for readers to explore. If I can continue to share along those lines over the next few months, until I find a definite new sense of direction, I'll be more than happy I think.

Time to dip my toes into blogland again.

C'est parti...