About Blowpipe: History and Philosophy
Blow-pipe was set up by Angharad Barlow, after training at the London College of Fashion, Angharad spent 6 years in London doing costume, wardrobe, costume technical effects for theatre and TV including the West End stage production of ‘The Lion King’ and Zandra Rhodes costumes for ‘The Magic Flute’. But it was her award-winning costume work on the 2000 theatrical masterpiece ‘The Rhino Drum’ - a project in which top creative talents from circus performers and dancers to musicians, puppeteers and designers combined their skills to produce a spectacular show supporting a critical environmental cause of helping save rhinos in Africa and the general risk of extinction to endangered species – having been envolved inenvironmental projects for many year it inspired her to combine, what she does best with what she loves the most and what she believes in.
"My life led me back to Dartmoor where I have since been able to focus on my passion for recycling.
I run a textiles recycling resource at our local sustainable resource centre, Proper Job. www.proper-job.org
Proper Job is a not-for-profit community facility and a centre point for sustainable living. It aims to provide resources for the wider community whilst focusing on reducing waste to landfill. It is the only facility of its kind, with many activities on one site. It has RECYCLING as well as RETAIL departments for all manner of goods, dealing with materials as diverse as scrap metal, clothing, furniture, corrugated card and composting plus more. It is able to recycle, re-use and re sell most things and is a real eye opener to consumer and waste issues from daily living.
Living and working on the edge of Dartmoor the environment is a big part of my life and it was inevitable that green issues would be key in my lifestyle and my designs - the idea of fusing recycled vintage fabric and stylish child-friendly items of clothing was born! I realised that fashion savvy mums and dads want their mini me's to stand tall in the style stakes and reflect individuality, no one wants to be a generic high street clone and mums and dads have exactly the same attitude for their little ones too!”
Blow-Pipe offers true originality and style without sacrificing practicality. Quality is critical and all products are cut, stitched and quality controlled. Our policy is to be as sustainable as possible. Everything is made locally and 80% of all materials are currently sourced locally. We actively tackle the landfill issue by produce minimum waste from our workshop…. An average of 2 bin bags every 6 months!
My vision for Blow-Pipe is to establish a brand that embraces the things we love, respects the environment we play in and creates unique, practical lifestyle products that the whole family can enjoy.
through my work within the community and with Blow-pipe I am able todemonstartae and alternative soloution to the disposable consumer mentality”
My aim is to continue to work with other areas of the textile industry,artists and craftspeople in an attempt to close the loop, combining forces with those who are starting at the top end of the chain, using sustainable processes and products to create an item with those of us at the bottom, working with the prevention of waste and landfill without ever losing sight of style and beauty".
"My life led me back to Dartmoor where I have since been able to focus on my passion for recycling.
I run a textiles recycling resource at our local sustainable resource centre, Proper Job. www.proper-job.org
Proper Job is a not-for-profit community facility and a centre point for sustainable living. It aims to provide resources for the wider community whilst focusing on reducing waste to landfill. It is the only facility of its kind, with many activities on one site. It has RECYCLING as well as RETAIL departments for all manner of goods, dealing with materials as diverse as scrap metal, clothing, furniture, corrugated card and composting plus more. It is able to recycle, re-use and re sell most things and is a real eye opener to consumer and waste issues from daily living.
Living and working on the edge of Dartmoor the environment is a big part of my life and it was inevitable that green issues would be key in my lifestyle and my designs - the idea of fusing recycled vintage fabric and stylish child-friendly items of clothing was born! I realised that fashion savvy mums and dads want their mini me's to stand tall in the style stakes and reflect individuality, no one wants to be a generic high street clone and mums and dads have exactly the same attitude for their little ones too!”
Blow-Pipe offers true originality and style without sacrificing practicality. Quality is critical and all products are cut, stitched and quality controlled. Our policy is to be as sustainable as possible. Everything is made locally and 80% of all materials are currently sourced locally. We actively tackle the landfill issue by produce minimum waste from our workshop…. An average of 2 bin bags every 6 months!
My vision for Blow-Pipe is to establish a brand that embraces the things we love, respects the environment we play in and creates unique, practical lifestyle products that the whole family can enjoy.
through my work within the community and with Blow-pipe I am able todemonstartae and alternative soloution to the disposable consumer mentality”
My aim is to continue to work with other areas of the textile industry,artists and craftspeople in an attempt to close the loop, combining forces with those who are starting at the top end of the chain, using sustainable processes and products to create an item with those of us at the bottom, working with the prevention of waste and landfill without ever losing sight of style and beauty".
Latest News
'Art, Economy and Ecology' Exhibiton 2010
See samples of our Jackets and exciting new designs and projects at 'Art, Economy and Ecology' Exhibiton 21st jan - 28th March.
Blow-pipe at The Eden Project
This winter our hoods are available at the Eden Project to keep the chill off those daring enough to venture onto the Ice Rink......