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Mamas
03 June 2011
20 May 2011
Governor Shumlin signs The Midwives Bill
As some of you may know, in my "other" life, I am a birth activist, doula, herbalist and proud Mama of 2 homebirthed children. In my twenty years of birth work I have watched the problems with our maternity care system spiral out-of-control.
Recently, however, the tide has changed and my family and I were able to participate in an awesome event. After years of tireless effort from VPIRG, Midwives, social justice activists and families, Vermont's homebirthed children were able to look on while Governor Shumlin signed "The Midwives Bill" into law.
The Midwives Bill requires that all Insurance companies in Vermont must cover the services of midwifery and homebirth, just as our state's Medicaid and Vermont Health Access Plan do. Although I had insurance during my pregancies with both of my children, my family and I had to pay-out-of-pocket for the services of our homebirth midwives. (It was worth every penny!)
For many Mothers, their inability to pay for a homebirth forces them to "choose" a hospital birth, where often they are subject to unecessary interventions. The cost of maternity care in America has skyrocketed, while simultaneously our safety rates have plummeted. The U.S. now ranks 40th in the world for maternal deaths and 46th for infant mortality.
According to VPIRG, "Achieving a home birth rate of 15%, would save $13 million a year in health care costs." Currently only 1% of children are born at home in America. Vermont, a rural state with a long tradition of midwives, has one of the highest homebirth rates at 3%. Bringing birth back into the home could save Vermonters millions, as the average cost of a homebirth is 1/3 the cost of a hospital birth.
Homebirth is not just great for the pocketbook, it also provides the best possible beginning for healthy pregnancies to grow and give birth to healthy, happy families. I know that choosing to give birth to my babies at home with midwives was, by far, the best decision I have made in my life.
Babies love to be born at home.
07 February 2011
Spotlight on local Vermont designer: Kelly Johnston
Kelly Johnston is a native Vermonter and textile artist. She is the owner of Brooktrout Originials.
Artists Biography:
I am a native Vermonter who spent 15 years on the west coast and have returned home to raise my family. My Mother taught me how to sew when I was little and I have been at it ever since. My patchwork baby quilts have been the hit of many baby showers and I have expanded my line to included "recycled chic" hand and yoga bags. I blend my own perfume oil and sew luxury fabrics into duvets and throws. I am very excited to be working with Gyllian at The Bobbin.
What do you Create?
Memory baby blankets made from your baby's own clothes, soft down duvet covers, cute doily heart tank tops, purses, bags, patchwork quilts and "Fee Fi Faux" fur blankets.
Why do you Create?
I love to decorate and make people comfortable blankets to snuggle on the couch with.
What are your favorite materials, why?
I love working with eye catching Asian brocade satin and soft faux fur, organic cotton batting and natural yarns. I want everything I make to be able to be washed, loved and enjoyed.
What would you like us to know about you?
My love of my children inspired me to sew baby blankets and now as they grow, I too will grown and expand my creative horizons to include bedding in luxury fabrics that will always remind them that they are wrappped up in my love.
Kelly Johnston's Brooktrout Original yoga bags and purses are currently available for sale at:
The Bobbin - 299 North Winooski Ave - Burlington, VT - 802-862-7417
Stop on by Tuesday-Saturday 11am-5pm.
Brooktrout Originals can be found on the web at: http://brooktroutoriginals.etsy.com
05 October 2010
08 September 2010
SEABA Art Hop: Strut IV
Last year The Mamas participated for the first time in SEABA's (South End Arts & Business Association) Fashion Show Event: STRUT IV! Showcasing our upcycled, vintage & handmade fashions on a real, LIVE, Runway. Our theme for Strut IV was "Eco-Pirate Radio" celebrating life from infancy, childhood, tween-dom and beyond. Red Velvet, Black Silk, White Lace, Vintage Fabrics w/Rick-Rack & Applique provided the color backdrop of our collection.
With the final countdown to STRUT V! this Saturday, September 11th, the Mamas have been sew, sew, sewing...All day, Every day. We are super excited about our newest collection. We are exploring restoration, refabrication and the re-invention of upcycled Menswear for Women. The toughness of tweed, wool, leather & plaid paired with light floral prints, swinging hems and vintage trims.
Mama sez...Don't miss this show!
Saturday, September 11
Behind the Maltex Building,
431 Pine Street Burlington, Vermont
7:00PM AND 9:00PM
$12 admission,
$5 with Art Hop Hero button.
STRUT V 2010 DESIGNERS:
Zymora Davinchi
Flashbags
Dave Kaczynski/Khaos DesignsLucy Leith
Davis Studio-Teen Fashion Design Students
Carolyn Little/Fig Dreams
Nicole’s Thread’s
Tom Baginski
Gyllian Rae Svensson & Rachel Hooper-The Bobbin Sew Bar + Craft Lounge
Jewelry By Travis
Sew-Fly Jeans
The House of LeMay
Elisabeth Kaldor
integraTees by Ally Nadeau
Melissa Vizvaire
Athina Abelrhman/Diamondeye Fashion
Salaam
hi guys! by Lauren Stutzman
Tineke Russell
Jordan & Twill
Joanne Kalisz (Happy Fantastic Designs) +Adrienne Goulette (Burlington Zombie Walk) with special appearances by the Burlington Bombers Roller Derby
Staff, Patients & Supporters
of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
07 July 2010
Cut + Sew Poor Boy Dolls
In a sweet score of seventies vintage joy, The Bobbin Mama's came into ownership of a large stack of cut+sew+stuff Sad Boy dolls. Our love for this childhood image has influenced our designs for the Summer 2010 line. Parts + pieces of Sad Boys show up on patches and in appliques. If your lucky like us and live on the shores of Lake Champlain, you can take a class this July in our cozy Craft Lounge to cut, embellish, and sew up your very own Sad Boy doll.
As a girl in the seventies, I would often tag along with my Nana on trips to the fabric store, a magical place full of fabrics, notions and endless possibilities. My favorite spot at the local fabric shop was the ever changing selection of "poor boy dolls" or cut, sew, and stuff dolls. I stitched up my very own "poor girl doll" with blue gingham skin, black mary-janes and yellow braids. I would pick through the patterns dreaming of stuffed elephants, teddy bears and musical instruments.
It was such a nostalgia trip to open up a box of glorious fabric donations (Thanks sew much Aunt Carmen!) and stumble across sheet after sheet of classic seventies pink + white gingham, rosy red cheeks, sweet black + white sneakers and that quizzical Sad Boy "smile". Living a modern existence of endless plastic dolls and action figures strewn across every floor, it was a fond childhood memory to recall my siblings and I playing with handmade hand-sewn toys.
The Bobbin Mamas have since cut and sewn and stuffed and stitched up many a Sad Boy doll for our shop. The first three, of course, went straight to the giddy hands of our children and are currently well loved couch buddies and floor pals. Other dolls have been lovingly hand-sewn for sale at our Etsy and Artfire shops, while some dolls still lie un-cut waiting for the next student to learn the skills, patience and joy that comes with the creation of their own "poor boy doll".
04 June 2010
The Bobbin's June Newsletter 2010
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03 June 2010
Mamas R looking 4 some Etsy Artfire love!
As many of our fans know, The Bobbin Mamas have been running a local socially responsible brick & mortar storefront in the Old North End of Burlington, Vermont for over 3 years now. At our shop you can take eco-fun classes in sustainable sewing & crafting, rent out the store for a private class/party, have your clothing altered, custom patterns drafted, or purchase locally handmade products made by Vermont artisans. It's that last part "...purchase locally handmade products made by Vermont artisans" that I'm focusing on for this blog post. In fact, Mamas got an embarrassing little secret to confess.
Ooohhh, secrets? confessions? about retail? how odd...
Oh, yes, Mamas been carrying this secret around for for over a year now, but the time has come to fess up...We are tormented by online retail failure. Yes, it's true, absolutely tormented by the big fat zeros on The Bobbin's Artfire and Etsy stores. Yes, ZEROS! We've maintained our little shop-on-the-web for many moons now and still nothing, zip, zilch, nada- no sales, no feedback, no karma (ugh, no karma???) no nothing! We happily sell dresses, bags, tops, eco-critters, tie belts and more, the old fashioned way-at our store, yet our 24hr online opportunity to shop has been a total dud.
Admittedly, the first six months of our online retail presence were slim and sparse at best (fuzzy boring photos, limited items for sale, clothing photographed on hangers stuck to a wall) Learning from our mistakes we've really amped up our efforts with gorgeous photo shoots of our unique local models, fun new products and increased site traffic, yet still nada.
Stubborn as all heck, we Mamas are no fans of failure. This blog post is not only a confessional (whew, it really does feel good to get this out in the open) but also a cry for HELP! Check out the sites, give us your feedback, let us know what you would like to see and by all means, if you get the urge, shop! We are on a quest to discover what it is we are doing wrong and free ourselves from the tormenting zeros.
Spotlight on Local O.N.E. Designer: Rebecca Mack
Rebecca Mack of Flying Hen Studio
The Bobbin is committed to highlighting the unique and diverse population of our Old North End neighborhood.
This month we are turning our spotlight on one of our favorite local Mamas Becca Mack -founder of Flying Hen Studio A sound lab and stitcherie in the Old North End of Burlington, Vermont. It is home to DJ's Classic Hits and mothertrucker, a.k.a. designer Rebecca Mack
Becca was one of our first Bobbin friends when we opened up shop in the Fall of 2007. She has been consigning her popular upcycled caps teaching classes at The Bobbin for over 2 years now. Check out her practical sewing skills class for June "A Better Fit"
Rebecca Mack "...loves making new things from old things." Learn more about Becca and her crafty ways on her blog flyinghenstudio.blogspot or her facebook fan page
We recently had Becca over at the shop to answer a few questions about herself and her work:
What do you create?
caps, mixed tapes, collections of found sound recordings, collages, quilts and franken-garments.
Why do you create?
i love making new things from old things.
What are your favorite materials?
favorite tools: scissors, sewing machine, turntables.
favorite materials: old clothes, paper, vinyl recordings + found sound
What would you like us to know about you?
i'm a mama, a healthcare worker and a student.
The Bobbin Sew Bar +
Craft Lounge is pleased to offer a wide variety of green, vintage,
upcycled and eco-friendly sewing, knitting + crafting supplies. We are
also the only spot to purchase one-of-a-kind upcycled caps.
Stop on by Tuesday-Saturday 11am-5pm
05 May 2010
The Bobbin Sew Bar + Craft Lounge May Newsletter 2010
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May is a wonderful month to shop local and buy handmade first! Make your Mama an eco-friendly craft to celebrate her day, or purchase local 
