Samantha Hannah Style Consultancy goes 100% ECO

You may have noticed a few subtle changes on the blog this week.  Sam’s styling room title has been replaced with Sam’s eco styling stuff and the subtitle now says NZ’s leading ECO styling consultancy.  That’s because we have gone 100% ECO!

I had planned to become an eco styling business 3 years ago, but fear held me back.  The annoying critic in my head often ranted about “no-one caring about the same things I did” and “why are you thinking about limiting yourself”.  Then last month I read a couple of books.  Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, and In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore.  These incredibly inspiring titles helped me find my voice.  They made me question a few things: was what I’m doing really making a difference? How could being more sustainable be limiting?  And most importantly, why wasn’t I following my heart.

I am a greenie and I love luxury.  I adore eco fashion, natural organic beauty products and caring for the environment.  I want my children to have a beautiful world in their future.  Any one who knows me well will tell you I wear mainly eco clothes and use only organic products. I recycle, upcycle, even pre-cycle. I can’t stand pollution, waste and nasty fabrics. I’m not a collector. Having too much stuff stresses me out.  The fashion world with its weekly ‘trends’ and ever-changing choices makes me panicky; I can hardly keep up to keep you informed. The truth is, I’m not a slave to trends.  My style is just that, my style.

Since I live by the saying fashion fades, style is eternal I have decided to slow things down in my business.  This is not to say we’re going all sleepy on you. Quite the opposite is taking place. I want to show you more sustainable ways to become authentically stylish. To quote Fried and Heinemeier Hansson ‘Remember, fashion fades away.  When you focus on permanent features you’re in bed with things that never go out of style’.  Samantha Hannah Style Consultancy is not fashion.  We do not want to fade.  We want to stay luxuriously stylish!  We want you to stay that way too.

By the end of this month our new website will go live.  We have some exciting new things to offer, like our new style service.  To reduce our carbon foot print we are no longer offering one2one consultations; they see us driving all over Wellington.  Instead I have designed 4steps2style monthly workshops that bring people (generally women) together in one place to celebrate individual uniqueness and all things ECO style.  If you apply the 4 R’s to your style, we think you’ll save money, time and stress.  Refuse, Reduce, Recycle, Reuse becomes Recolour, Reshape, Restyle, Rewardrobe.

The feedback from my workshops this year has been amazing.  People feel welcomed into a warm, non-judgmental environment that helps build self-confidence no matter of age, size or shape.  If you haven’t been to one, we think you’ll love them.

We are now using the natural and organic Inika make up range, mixed with Karen Murrell lipsticks and some Living Nature.  We continue to use only organic skin care and cleaning products.  All of which you’ll be able to purchase from my online store soon.

A range of fair-trade organic cotton basics that I’m currently designing will be available early next year.  Along with a range of handmade scarves to match the colour swatches you are given in your workshop.  The scarves will be made from a mixture of organic merino, reworked T-shirts and silk shirts plus other environmentally sound fabrics.

I am excited about my new brand.  It feels more authentic. And nothing is limited when you’re authentic.   By becoming an Eco Stylist I am caring more about what I am doing, I’m caring more about you and you won’t see me compromising on luxury once.

Love,
Sam xx