Peacekeeper Truth Serum Blog

A pioneer of sustainable fashion, Chicago’s Lara Miller creates her designs under the influence of the city’s architectural landscape, with a playful modernity perfect for the urban chick on the go! Her Spring 2010 line is “sultry, sophisticated, and as endlessly variable as the woman who wears them” (elle.com).

Because Miller has devoted herself to ‘being green’, each garment is hand-loomed from eco-friendly fibers like organic cotton, hand-loomed bamboo, hemp and vegan silk.  Most of her garments, in the spirit of reusability, can be retied or rewrapped to reveal a different look entirely, from a strappy minidress to a sexy knee-length halter.

“Acknowledging the impact that we all have on our environment, I aspire to preserve and respect our earth in every way that I can,” writes Miller on her website. “I see my company as a way to support my community- not only by using organic materials while adhering to a ‘green’ lifestyle and workspace- but also manufacturing locally and working to sustain the sewn products industry in Chicago.”

You can find Lara Miller’s designs at NYC boutiques Bio, Kaight, Gomi, and Nimli Inc, and Brooklyn’s Camilla Boutique.  You can also check out her previous collections on her website, http://laramiller.net/ .

Already own Lara’s clothing?  Heard of her before? What do you think of her designs?

Samples from Lara Miller S/S 2010

(All images courtesy laramiller.net, blog.studio-808.com, and savsartorialist.blogspot.com.)

Fiber Installation by Atefeh Khas on Hormoz Island, Iran (from abigaildoan.blogspot.com)

What do you think of when you think ‘Fiber’?  Bran muffins?  Metamucil?  The nutrition labels on your box of Cheerios?  How about high art?  The new ‘(Re)Fashioning Fiber’ exhibit is making people think differently about roughage!

Fiber (or ‘fibre’, if you’re one of our British PeaceKeepers)  is one of the most ancient materials used by mankind and one of the most easily sourced natural resources—cotton, wool, spider silk, catgut and even human hair are all varieties of fiber!  Natural fiber is biodegradable, too, so everything you make out of it is eco-friendly.

Because fiber is such a common natural resource, its use has increased in fashion houses and art studios.  This exhibit provides a fascinating look at the aesthetic uses of fiber, from handcrafted ‘vegetation jewelry’ from artists in Bulgaria, to sustainable fashion by NYC-based brand Eko-Friendly (eco-friendly, obviously), and even gorgeous handmade books!  Many of the artists are based overseas, such as Iranian fiber artists Atefeh Khas and Tara Goodarzy, but several are based right here in the USA, like Michelle Loughlin, whose ‘woolpunk’ art is as boldly colorful as a butterfly and as delicately crafted as a spiderweb.

This remarkable exhibit runs from May 20-August 13, 2010, 6:30-8:30 pm daily, at Green Spaces NY, located at 394 Broadway (b/w Houston and Bleecker), 5^th Floor.

Don’t miss out!  For details, and to see some of the gorgeous fiber artwork, check out exhibit curator Abigail Doan’s blog at http://abigaildoan.blogspot.com.

And don’t forget to let PeaceKeeper know what you loved most about the exhibit!

'Woolpunk' art by Michelle Loughlin (from abigaildoan.blogspot.com)

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer: Renee Estey.  Editors:  Jessica Smith and Eva Kuhn.  To learn more about PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics, visit www.iamapeacekeeper.com.)

On May 5^th, The Nordic Center in America opened its latest exhibit, “Eco-Chic:  Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion.”  This exhibit, showcases Swedish designers who use eco-friendly methods of making gorgeous, high-fashion garments, proving that you don’t have to sacrifice style to save the environment!

The exhibit features designs by Anja Hynynen, who uses only organically grown materials and natural vegetable dyes for her handmade, romantic-with-an-edge clothing;   Righteous Fashion, who use non-genetically modified cotton for their drapey, luxurious Spring 2010 collection; and Reflective Circle, whose clean and classic ‘Icon’ line follows a holistic method of design, whereby the social consequences and global ideals for the garment are of equal importance as its form and function.

This event runs through August 21^st and is completely FREE to the public!  If you’ll be in NYC this summer, you should definitely check it out at 58 Park Avenue (at 38^th St).  Visit their website at http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on  this exhibit, so if you go to see it, leave us a comment below!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editors:  Jessica Smith and Eva Kuhn.)

Hey PeaceKeepers,

This Sunday marks a time to celebrate and cherish something incredibly precious—a mother.  On behalf of mothers everywhere, we wish you all a very happy early Mother’s Day!

A mother is a special and beautiful woman, capable of immense sacrifice and love.  The process of becoming a mother is far from easy; it requires unimaginable strength to carry another human being for nine months and undergo terrible pain to bring it into the world.  And after pregnancy, the sheer amount of time, care, compassion, and love that a mother pours into her child must be recognized for the incredible accomplishment that it is.

Here are some of the ways we here at PeaceKeeper are celebrating our wonderful, magnificent mothers:

-Giving her an all-expenses-paid overnight stay at the Ritz: tea in the afternoon, dinner, dancing, and Sunday brunch

-Breakfast in bed, with two perfect pearl earrings hanging from the handles of the teacups

-A two-hour, at-home session with a professional masseuse

-A surprise party  (This lucky mom has her birthday on Mother’s Day!)

Still stumped for ideas?  PeaceKeeper to the rescue!  Until May 9 (the big day!) you can still buy a PeaceKeeper Mother’s Day Care Package, which includes goodies like our “Eco-Easy” Nail Polish Remover; “Paint Me Tranquil” Nail Polish; “Perfect As Is” Lip Balm; A Kiss Canvas for our Kiss Museum; and a pair of peace earrings, all for just $26.00USD!  You can even get this gift overnighted to you OR your mom; just call our office at (212) 673 2233.

How about you, lovely readers?  What are YOU doing to celebrate Mother’s Day?  What are your favorite memories of your mother?  Leave a comment below!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editors:  Jessica Smith and Eva Kuhn.)