Launch Date: Summer 2005
Number of Employees: 4
Location of Headquarters: Seattle, WA
Location of Manufacturing: Seattle, WA
Design Heroes: Vivienne Westwood, Rei Kawabuko, Natalie Chanin

While Camilla focuses on the creative end and Davora more on business development, both women contribute to the look and feel of their handmade line. “We try to blend utility and seduction, to find ways clothing can be both useful and ornamental. As entirely independent designers, we walk a fine line between experimentation and commerce and hope to offer something novel and desirable with each new collection.”

Cara Remington is a woman fascinated by an age gone by, when quality and craftsmanship were part and parcel to manufacturing, before massive factories began producing cut rate versions of everything. As the sole designer at Lucy Notions, Cara weaves into each of her stunning headbands the quality of the past by incorporating vintage fabrics from Japan, Austria, Italy, and beyond. She diligently searches out her raw materials at rag trades and flea markets, estate sales and thrift stores. Today, Lucy Notions can be found at the accessory counters of top quality sellers like Henri Bendel (NY), Fred Segal (LA), Boutique 1 (Dubai), and a short list of well-curated online eco shops.

Named after her mother, Cara launched Lucy Notions in 2003 with a desire to bring art to fashion, which is exactly what she’s doing. Cara never intended to have an “eco” line by recycling used materials into beautiful new treasures; she simply loves couture quality vintage fabric.

Between her Newport Beach, California home and her country studio in Harrisburg, Missouri, Cara attends to each and every detail of crafting the headbands herself: sourcing the material, stretching and buffing the plastic form, cutting the fabric, hand applying each swarofski crystal, and stitching together the final piece.

When she travels to work with the buyer at Bendel’s and overhears young girls asking at the counter why Lucy Notions headbands are so much more expensive than other brands, Cara bristles with the knowledge that other handbands are generally cheap factory-made knock-offs. To Cara, “It’s about handcrafting things of beauty. There’s no one else out there putting the work into these…There’s nothing mass market about what I do.” This statement is so obvious when you hold one of Cara’s pieces in your hand, they are indeed “hair couture.”

Much of the Lucy Notions collections are one-of-a-kind, mainly because Cara can’t bare the thought of repetitive tasks. Her recent Yuko Collection features gorgeous one-of-a-kind pieces, made from vintage kimonos. A Lucy Notions band is a unique and glamorous way to keep a wild mane tame on an elegant evening out, or to bring a little diva flavor on your next trip to the farmer’s market. Watch out when you wears Lucy Notions though, because Cara states with confidence, “These are man magnets.”

Hot off the sewing station for Summer 2008 is Sublet Clothing, the newly launched sustainable clothing line that eco fashion industry folks can’t wait to get their hands on (and their bodies into!) These fresh, resort-ready pieces from Sublet are crafted from organic cotton, bamboo, and just a smidgeon of spandex, right in the heart of New York City.

The women behind Sublet, Inessah and Tara, see Sublet Clothing as a means for positive social change. They take care to source and manufacture their garments in a socially and environmentally responsible way. They believe the effect Sublet Clothing has, on the environment and the people who inhabit it, needs to be a positive one.

Well, better get them before they’re gone ladies, because these stunning garments are going to make you feel like a Grecian goddess all Summer long.

This chic recycled wool felt laptop bag by Carga is biodegradable, highly durable, and a slammin’ choice for the meetings that matter. These fairly traded bags are designed by Mauro Bianucci and handmade in his native Argentina. They can be found at various shops around the world or online at Refinery 29.

Tom Bihn is into design. In his spare time he’s reading Cradle To Cradle by William McDonough and hiking in the wilderness…these are great signs. Tom’s most sustainable choice for laptops is an ultra sleek and sophisticated case with a molded cork exterior…behold The Archetype. Cork is both biodegradable and an incredible renewable resource, mostly sourced from the cork forests of Portugal. All bags by Tom are crafted by an adorable and skilled group of women at the Tom Bihn factory in Seattle, Washington. Adjustable shoulder straps made of soy in Montana (go American manufacturing!) can be ordered for your cork case or you can just slip The Archetype into your Reware laptop bag-you style magnet, you.

The organic cotton jersey strapdress and crepe ruffle shift dress are just two out of so many hot new looks from eco fashion pioneers Stewart + Brown this Spring. They manufacture their designs right here in the US of A, at a time in retail when some of the most conscientious companies still choose to work with the less pricey workforces of Asia and Eastern Europe. Karen and Howard say they optimize their “designs and lives to attain the highest standards of quality and functional style while extracting the bare minimum from Earth’s precious capital.” These two continue to set the standard for environmental commitment in the ethical apparel industry.