When life gives you lemons.... make lemonade!
I suppose you could say that this phrase could be used to describe a lot of what we do here at Elvis & Kresse. Life gave us fire-hoses and leather off-cuts, so we made luxury accessories. Life gave us a failed septic system, so we built the wetland system to transform that 'problem' into a biodiverse wetland.
We have incorporated this same thinking into almost everything we do which is why a big box of fish heads, bones, tails and flesh scraps caught our eye at our local farm shop.
So, what do you do with fish waste? It has a lot of nutrition, useful for our establishing vines, but not just strewn about... as much as that might please the birds, rats and foxes!
We added water and sugar and have been brewing up a liquor - called fish hydrolysate - which is nitrogen rich, and an incredible food for both plants and the world of microbes we are encouraging to thrive in our soil.
Some of the best photos we have are the ones that you have taken!
Not us, not professionals on photo shoots, but you, who have been wearing or carrying our pieces each and every day.
Teleki Marie, Fairrbourne, Gwynedd
Over the past 19 years we have seen Elvis & Kresse pieces travel the world, start university, commute to new jobs, feature in wedding parties and engagements, and celebrate birthdays among other milestones.
Alice Evans, Borneo
We can't thank you enough for sharing these amazing images with us. We love the characters, the composition and most of all the wonderful stories that they tell.
Ellen Clayton, Hobbiton, New Zealand
So this summer we are going to do something a little bit different, we are going to run a competition and the prize is huge. Over the next few months, all we ask is the following:
And the prize? The prize is one of our amazing Travel Bags.
Rakkojae Seoul Bukchon Hanok Village
On the 7th of June, at 6:00am, Stuart Harris from the Nature Friendly Farming Network came to do a breeding bird survey.
We definitely think that the dawn chorus is louder around 4:30, so we will have to be even earlier next time round. The results were great, and importantly we are home to 4 species of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK. We have three from the amber list: woodpigeon, kestrel and wren. But it is our greenfinch which is a red-listed species, pictured below.
Here is what we counted, the one or two letter prefix is the British Trust for Ornithology Species Code, followed by the common bird name and the number we could identify.
CH Chaffinch: 2, B. Blackbird: 2, BC Blackcap: 2, R. Robin: 2, WP Woodpigeon: 10, CC Chiffchaff: 2, WR Wren: 2, BT Blue Tit: 2, GT Great Tit: 2, JD Jackdaw: 4,
GO Goldfinch: 4, K. Kestrel: 1, GS Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1, LW Lesser Whitehroat: 1, LT Long tailed Tit: 5, GR Greenfinch: 1.
We also have kites, merlins, crows, starlings, a European green woodpecker and a beautiful creamy Barn Owl that we see nearly every day on our morning walks or in the evenings, hunting down the vine rows for mice. At dusk the bats come out over the ponds to feed on insects. With our lovely neighbours, Andrew and Mary, we have a plan to improve our farm habitats for Turtle Doves so keep your fingers crossed!
Stuart is keen to come back next Spring and is expecting to find more species and greater numbers. "In light of the excellent land management being implemented on the farm, I believe both bird diversity and abundance will increase."
So there you go, that one sentence says it all. The work we are doing? It's working.
Several years ago the lovely Co Founder of Synchronicity Earth introduced me to Arizona Muse. At the time, Arizona was (and is) a renowned model who was layering in a future career in sustainability. I liked her practicality, passion and compelling way of dissecting complex issues... Fast forward a few years and she has founded DIRT Charity, a UK charity working globally to turn fashion into a climate solution starting with the soil.... Specifically DIRT supports farm projects and biodynamic farming education.
In 2020 we moved our HQ to a farm, specifically to launch a regenerative agriculture project. We know first hand what the transition to regenerative looks like, which is why we are so proud to support DIRT. We will donate £5.00 from the sale of every Festival Pouch to DIRT.
We are two organisations which agree that plastic (fossil fuel derived) fashion isn't sustainable, and that transforming our farming system is fundamental to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss... a match made in DIRT you might say!
We are supporting DIRT with a brand new piece, which we have called our Festival Pouch. We called it this because it perfectly fits a phone and some tissue or toilet paper... we know our festival essentials! It can also hold a phone and passport, so it is great for travel. Why did we choose this piece to support DIRT? Well, it is both practical and fun, which if you think about it are both important skills to have when you are approaching large complex problems (like climate) and know that giving up or burning-out just aren't options.
And just in case you want to stop and smell the flowers... here are a few recent pictures from our farm!
A lone poppy in a sea of daisies, just outside the Field House
Monty, admiring the sea of yellow rattle growing between the vines.
Six Inches of Soil at Elvis & Kresse!
On June 13th we will be screening Six Inches of Soil at our workshop together with our friends at COOK, who will be providing a simple supper.
This wonderful documentary has been taking the country by storm with sold out screenings across the UK. We are very excited to be hosting one in our workshop!
The film tells the inspiring story of young British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, our health and provide for local communities.
Details:
Why are we hosting?
This documentary features farmers who are all on the same Regenerative Agriculture journey that we are. And what is regenerative agriculture? This is a great graphic, to give you the details in a nutshell:
We armour the soil, we keep living roots in the soil, we do not disturb the soil, we have livestock and we are fostering biodiversity at every opportunity! We also don't use synthetic chemicals or fertilizer.... we just use compost (that we make from locally available waste) and compost tea! Come along and learn more.
In particular this film features three new farmers on the first year of their regenerative journey - Anna Jackson, a Lincolnshire 11th generation arable and sheep farmer; Adrienne Gordon, a Cambridgeshire small-scale vegetable farmer; and Ben Thomas, who rears pasture fed beef cattle in Cornwall. As the trio strive to adopt regenerative practices and create viable businesses, they meet seasoned mentors who help them on their journey. They’re joined by other experts providing wisdom and solutions from a growing movement of people who are dedicated to changing the trajectory for food, farming and the planet.
“We imagine a world where Nature is Muse, Nature is Teacher, Nature is Client, Nature is Rights Holder and Nature is Stakeholder…”
The Garden of Tomorrow is a 2 day event, hosted by The House of Hackney at their HQ, 74-76 Leonard Street London EC2A 4QS.
All of the contributors have unique connections to nature - whether they are growers, communicators, activists, NGOs, or fellow B Corps... they all understand that we are a part of Nature, not apart from it. We all believe in the power of creativity and collaboration to make a change.
This is an incredible initiative by the House of Hackney - a company who we admire so much for acting on nature, when they could so easily just be talking... They are genuine kindred spirits!
Do come along for the event which runs from the 13th-15th of June, I will be giving a short talk/Q&A on the 13th in the morning before rushing back to the farm for our screening of Six Inches of Soil!
Click here to book your tickets for The Garden of Tomorrow.
A bit of a preview on our discussion where we hope to host a lively Q&A!
We will focus on our regenerative journey and why we moved our HQ to a farm, so that we could literally live, work and be in nature.
Our journey to the farm has been both short and long...
The short version? We saw it in the summer of 2020, and after first losing it in sealed bids in August, it was re-available in late November and we bought it on the 4th of December... It was quick because we had been looking and planning for a lloooooonnnnng time.
The long version? Years ago, when we realised that sustainable was not enough (if we all go net zero, we will cruise past 2 degrees) we wondered what Elvis & Kresse would look like if we became a regenerative business.
What does regenerative mean? Well, there is no single definition, but for us it means doing more. In practical terms it means that you give more than you take, you sequester more carbon than you emit, you generate more (renewable) energy than you consume, you treat more water than you use, you foster more biodiversity than you corrupt and you create more than you destroy. You have to solve more problems than you cause too... and all of this 'more' it has to be substantially more. We aren't talking about jumping on a plane and then planting precisely the amount of trees to account for it. We are talking about redesigning your business so that it delivers for nature and remember, nature includes people. We are redesigning our business so that it regenerates...
We thought the best way to do this, to weave this through our work, was to take on a farm. And not just any farm, but the worst farm we could find. Why the worst? Two reasons really, terrible farms cost less but more importantly we felt that it would be a much greater achievement if we could bring a degraded landscape back into biodiverse abundance. The past 3.5 years have been absolutely incredible - so do come along to discover the rest of the story!
As you can imagine, increasing biodiversity means doing lots of different things. Don't worry, a much bigger post is yet to come, but today we are going to focus on water, and newts! We are celebrating our first real biodiversity victory at New Barns Farm.
Water brings life... and our farm held no water. The first thing we did here, precisely 1 day after our planning permission came through, was to dig a series of ponds. We have 7 in total, two of which are quite large and hold well over 300,000L of water between them. These are live, soil lined ponds, planted to create complex ecosystems... In the first year they were a little barren but now they are absolutely teeming with life.
At just before 9pm, on Friday, April 26th (yes, Friday nights are a whole different kind of fun on the farm) our first newt survey began. With the expert guidance of John, a Masters Student from the University of Kent, we spotted 2 in our top pond and 10 in the bottom pond (all Smooth Newts). This was on an unseasonably cold night, when they are relatively inactive, so we expect to find more as it warms up. Also, John told us that the rule of thumb is that for every newt you see there are 10 that you don't. Can you spot the newt in the first image? We have zoomed in and circled it in the second one, to help you out!
Newts and other predators like dragonfly larvae are a sign of healthy ecosystems... it was great to have John's confirmation that our ponds are doing very well indeed! During the count we saw common frogs, toad spawn, pipistrelle bats, at least 10 kinds of beetle, nesting Moorhens, and two large hedgehogs.
Here is a maths challenge for you, when you go from 0 newts to 12+ newts, what is the percentage increase in newts?
Water brings life.
We love a special request, particularly when it so specifically speaks to our skills! Several months ago London's Air Ambulance Charity got in touch with us about a few fire-hoses that required decommissioning. We are always delighted to keep hoses out of landfill but there was an added bonus with this project. We were tasked with transforming these hoses into pieces for the Charity, so that they could auction them to raise additional funds, keep the helicopters flying and continue to save lives!
We made a selection of pieces from Weekend Bags to cufflinks and candle holders.
We sent them over and then held our breath... would London's Air Ambulance Charity love them as much as we did? And then came the feedback...
"We’re hugely grateful to Elvis & Kresse for putting together these amazing bespoke bags made from our old fire hoses to celebrate their anniversaries.
Elvis & Kresse make beautifully designed accessories and homeware from 15 different reclaimed materials that are contained within decommissioned fire hoses.
Speaking about Elvis & Kresse, our CEO Jonathan Jenkins said: "Our advanced trauma team attended over 2000 missions in 2023, so as you can imagine a lot of our kit gets worn out very quickly. To see our old fire hoses repurposed like this is amazing to see – and I can’t think of a more fitting gift for our longest-serving member of staff, Chief Fire Officer John Power.
"I’ve been a long term admirer of the work of Elvis & Kresse, and was delighted to be able to do this with them. I'd like to thank them for their incredible work.”
Introducing our Scottish Stockist! Try saying that 3 times quickly!
We have been having an ongoing conversation with Clare Campbell for many years now. Clare is the founder of Prickly Thistle, an incredible business which is bringing back centuries old weaving techniques and equipment to breathe new life into the tartan landscape. Her mission, her team and their products are all just amazing.
Their Flagship, Rebel Row, is now stocking a selection of our pieces so if you find yourself in Inverness and are keen to discover innovative sustainable design then head on over!
Rebel Row, 17 Union Street, Inverness, Highlands, IV1 1PL
EXTENDED HOURS COMING SOON FOR SUMMER!
Mon - 12noon-4pm
Tues - Closed
Wed - 11am-6pm
Thurs - 11am-7pm
Fri - 10am-6pm
Sat - 10am-6pm
Sun - 10am-2pm
On April 10th we had a lovely visit of all the Kent Mayors, coordinated by our local Mayor Sarah Stephen.
Of course Monty took Centre Stage
The event, which consisted of a full tour of our workshop and farm, helped to raise funds for Mayor Sarah's three chosen charities. We had a lovely afternoon, answering all manor of questions, sharing the Elvis & Kresse story, finding the perfect bag or belt for those who could not resist and of course there was time for tea and biscuits!
It is always a joy to welcome people to the farm, particularly a group so committed to the wider Kent community.
Did you know that Mayor's have a whole host of roles and duties including promoting public involvement in council activities, highlighting the work of local charities, presiding over council meetings and officially opening anything from schools to fetes!
We know what we do is unique, we know it is important. And we don't just know this intrinsically, we know it because we get emails like this all the time.
Our best story tellers are often those impacted by what we do, and the causes we support.
This lovely message arrived yesterday and we immediately asked Laura if we could share it - today we got a delightful reply, a wholehearted YES!
Hi to all that work at Elvis & Kresse,
I’m loving my gorgeous Small Post Bag. I spent 30 years as a firefighter in the LFB and was medically retired following an accident. Retirement has been, interesting. I started my transition from roughty toughty straight retired firefighter to being the women I had always known myself to be some years ago.
I was a proud London firefighter and I am a proud transgender woman and member of the LGBTQ+ Community but how do I link these two halves of my life together? A beautiful hand crafted handbag, hewn from the materials of my past fire service life is just the perfect way!
I will always enjoy the incredulous looks I will get when people ask me about my bag and I explain my journey. As I do talks to groups on trans issues this will happen a lot. It might lead to a hug or a smile or a sneer, it’s always difficult to know but I will very proudly use my Elvis & Kresse firehose handbag as a perfect symbol of the two halves of my life. Please inform your staff that sometimes a handbag is not just a handbag.
We are just delighted to be a part of a business like this. Indeed Laura, sometimes a handbag is not just a handbag.
