A State of Nature
I co-founded A State of Nature in 2020 with my husband Nick Eisa. We produce high quality clothes and accessories made by us and other skilled craftspeople in London. Over the one year period of running the business we managed to create a successful e-commerce, social media (5.1k followers) and wholesale presence (selling to 12 stores across Japan).
The brand has been awarded the Crafting Business 2021 training programme organised by Craft Council to further develop our business plan and strategy. We have already received confirmation of business support from Prince’s Trust and Kickstart Scheme.
We want to make good clothes. It’s not complicated. We want them to be ethically produced, that means knowing where the fabrics come from and their environmental impact. We want to show our customers that beautifully made products can come from small workshops, or even people’s homes. And finally, we want to make products that stand the test of time, clothing of quality that outlasts the continual cycles of fast fashion’. A State of Nature is the company we created to solve these problems; we design and make shirting, outerwear and accessories.
Our little set of workshops in Hackney, London are a hive of activity. It’s where we design, pattern cut, prototype, and test all our products. I work from the fabric room, turning rolls of premium Italian or British cloth, into beautiful unisex shirting. Nick works from the leather and paper room, creating hand stamped swing tags with gold foil lettering to be hung from the neck label before each shirt is packed and shipped.
A State of Nature started with a single style of shirt that we call “Aniela”. It’s a simple, oversized cut, with no collar or cuff. The design was an instant success, with a roomy pattern that allows you to move about freely as you work. It’s now part of our daily uniform in the workshops. We designed the rest of the collection using “Aniela” as our guide: we’re inspired by traditional workwear, but our garments provide comfort through a generous, loose fit.
There’s a trend in fashion to make production local, for good reason; we need to take care of our planet. We pump ton after ton of CO2 into the atmosphere because it’s cheaper to get things made abroad. But there are so many other reasons that make local manufacturing attractive. At A State of Nature we’re building a network of shirt makers, tailors, and machinists. We’re investing profit from our company back into the community around us that contributed to its success.
- Listing ID: 2338
- Contact: Barbara Fidler-Wieruszewska
- What are your aspirations and plans for the future?: Our mission is to bring the cottage industry back to life by producing high quality, made in East London clothes, offering flexible employment to local communities. But also support the young generation of craftsmen looking for programmes to further develop their skills within tailoring, business strategy, design and PR. We plan on hosting an annual tailoring apprenticeship that will increase their chances of finding employment once they finish the training. A State of Nature team plan is to introduce free of charge online events and seminars. Dedicated to educating people about local clothing production heritage, zero waste manufacturing and engaging them with community driven crafts projects, sharing new environmentally friendly processes along the way.
- What types of projects are you interested in working on through Future Fashion Factory?: A State of Nature is the brand I have created to share my passion and knowledge for tailoring and local production. I am driven by ecological and ethical solutions when designing and making new garments. Zero waste pattern cutting is something I am interested in and would like to research and develop further. This is the least wasteful way to cut fabric. With Future Fashion Factory help I will be able to improve my understanding of clothing industry which will expose me to processes ready for innovation and improvement, offering more sustainable variations. These solutions will act as a blueprint for other tailors and designers to follow.
