Bonnie Glass
SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
There are two over-riding principles that I have used from the beginning for over thirty years in creating my garments. Time has proven them sustainable as I now resell my originals on consignment which is something I never anticipated in the beginning. I have also seen these two principles play out in the vintage clothing market or that market wouldn’t be a market.
1. MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL - If a woman feels her kind of beautiful in my garment and it is comfortable(and still fits), she will keep wearing it! It can be artfully playful or colourful, dramatic or very feminine but there is a timeless beauty I aim for in its creation. Women enjoy the fact that it is as one of a kind as they are.
2. MAKE IT AS WELL AS I CAN - I pay a great deal of attention to the type of fabrics that will go into a garment’s intended use. Especially a jacket or coat to prolong its wear. Then I sew it as well as I am able in a style that is also comfortable. I like being comfortable in my clothing or I won’t wear it often. Apparently a lot of people are like me.
PRACTICES THAT EVOLVED ALONG THE WAY
MATERIAL EFFICIENCY: Being efficient has always been important to me as the first coat I ever designed was made out of remnants from an upholstery business. My collage process usually enables me to use discrete pieces left over from an initial body of work, so I can incorporate them into other designs. I have become more purposeful with this aspect. See example below using a hand crochet table cloth that started out white but eventually dyed pink after the initial 3 uses. See if you can spot where I have used it.
NEEDLE ARTS REVISITED
This has become very important along the way and I now mainly use what is left in my stash accumulated over the years, gifted legacy fabrics from clients or discarded clothing and thrifted cloth. This has challenged me to be even more creative in the initial design phase. I have become passionate about reusing discarded handmade needle arts to give them the due they deserve in a wearable garment. The 3 garments below are completely made from people’s castoffs with all three incorporating needle made arts that came from the home decorating industry no longer wanted (the fuller stories of these 3 can be found here: Recycle to ARTcycle
DIVINE ReDESIGN
This was an innovative line I started a few years ago. I take quality jackets and tops that have had a life, but have more life to give. I modify them to give them the creative flair that makes them a “Bonnie Glass”. My clients appreciate the preferred rate that I can charge for those.
LIFE CYCLE THINKING
I now launder some of my fabrics in order to preshrink them. This means that once the garment is finished they can be washed and hung to dry instead of being dry-cleaned. This benefits my client more than me as it reduces their cost of care and chemical footprint.
CONSIGNMENT SERVICE
Who knew this would become such a great success? If the garment is in good shape and clean, a client can bring it in for me to resell. When it does, they receive half of what was paid. This means a Bonnie Glass original comes in at half of the regular price or less so it’s a win-win for everyone concerned. It is heartwarming to know there is a second home for my originals, and they are sought after.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The first change I made around 2009 when I went from custom work as my core business to focusing on ready-to-wear. Custom work had me driving all over southern Ontario looking for specific materials. In 2015 I bought a home with studio space inside of it so I wasn’t driving to work anymore. Even a tiny business like mine can feel positive about having a lower carbon footprint.