Supporting The Wayside Chapel - Thank You For Your Donations

 I have to thank our customers, one in particular, because we managed to raise 2500 aud or the Wayside Chapel winter appeal. Of course, I provided the product, but it was you guys who turned it into cash which could be donated. I will be running another of these sales towards the end of the month, no long now, and we will sell down all that remains of this month’s cut, but this time I intend to hold back on black tie and a few other collections.

Two weeks ago, I got a call from Wayside, their representative Samantha Jackson, their philanthropy manager. She was grateful for the donation and concurrently invited me in to see the facilities and at the same time explained that for them private donations are essential because it allows them to be more agile than often government funding allows for.

Yesterday I met up with both Samantha and Gabby on site. The Wayside Chapel is on Hughes Street in Potts Point, effectively Kings Cross – well it most definitely feels like Kings Cross, and it is a stone’s throw from it.

The building has been the home of The Wayside Chapel since Reverend Ted Noffs and his wife embarked on their project in the 1960’s to provide love and compassion and social justice to those living under difficult circumstances in the Kings Cross area.

For those of our readers from overseas, Kings Cross in Sydney is the red-light district. It has always been colourful, but in recent years this area, Potts Point included, has been increasingly gentrified and the area has over the years become an interesting melange of the rich and poor co-existing in the same area, for example, within 50 metres of Wayside is one of the more elegant stores offering glassware and objects for the home.

However, it wasn’t like that when the Wayside began. It was an area filled with homelessness, drug addiction, poverty and mental illness. In fact, it all goes hand in hand – and part of that has shaped the character of the area for decades. The Wayside Chapel intended to be beacon of hope or as Samantha explained, the founding ethos is “love over hate”. Pretty simple really. And it seems to really play out there in everyday interactions between those that use the services that the Chapel offer and those that provide them. There is a sense of “anything goes” at Wayside, you are loved and respected no matter what gender you identify as, what religion or lack of religion you have, what your sexual preferences are, whether you are addicted to drugs and alcohol or not, the colour of your skin, whether you are homeless or not, your mental state of mind – none of it matters, all of it is accepted. And so, it has become a hub for so many interesting characters that come and go.

Upon the moment I arrived I was met by Gabby, an attractive younger woman I imagine could be in any industry she chose. She presented very well, well mannered, well groomed, simple, easy to talk to. Her clothes were earthy, a grey woolly vest, white t shirt, a black skirt and converse shoes. She explains that Samantha is running late, she’s just around the corner, and then we are interrupted by Andrew. He begins his monologue about Wayside and how he uses the services here, his background in addiction, his sexual preferences, the drugs he hates (heroin) and the ones he could easily go back to (cocaine). It is very amusing and within another minute another man was standing on top of a bench poising himself in a superhero stance and saying something that was between a declaration and a mumble. Very interesting characters indeed. In fact, it was like a portal back into the old Newtown, and the old Cross. Many of these characters are less prevalent these days, and a sort of hostility has brewed. The new guard seems to want the old guard out.

But The Wayside continues deliver services to those that have fallen through the cracks and really need somewhere to belong, that society has done everything to avoid confronting. Those are the words of Samantha, and she explains that they help with even things like creating bank accounts for those that have no identification. It is hard to understand what that is like for those of us that live within the confines of what one might consider “a regular life”. We have tax file numbers, companies that are registered, gas and electricity bills in our names and so on. These people are off the grid, often entirely. The average homeless person that visits the Wayside walks up to 28 kilometres a week just to find places to stay the night, between shelters and locations across the city like under bridges and in open parks. Samantha was a donor to Wayside before she began working here about a year and half ago, around the same time Gabby joined, she wanted to work somewhere that aligned with her values and where she could see the results of what her daily work accomplished. And she says she gets it in spades. That every day she goes to work she sees meaning and purpose in what she puts her hand to. Gabby’s story is similar. She was a graphic designer by education but then working in the advertising industry on products she found didn’t fit with her values she decided to throw in the towel. She says she loves what Wayside stands for and that the people who raise money for Wayside, the Wayside front liners and the people that frequent Wayside all interact to form a very unique community. It also means she feels that she can see the difference she is making on a daily level.

And one of the reasons that Wayside is so successful is that it doesn’t try to fix people and instead allows them to make their own decisions. If they want to remain addicted to drugs, Wayside doesn’t try to sop them. If they find it too hard to put a permanent roof over their head, Wayside doesn’t push them. Wayside merely tries to give them the services that are often denied to such people. When you walk 28km a week then you’d want to get that ingrown toenail fixed, so the doctor comes past to help with that. If you are the victim of domestic violence, they will help you start a fresh page. And on a more basic human level, if you are simply lonely and need connection, this is a form of home, especially for the homeless. You can take a hot shower, check in with the notice board, listen to live events each day of the week like poetry or jazz.

And yes, there is a chapel. It was until recently run by the Reverend Graham Long but in recent times it has been taken over by Pastor Jon Owen. It remains committed to the ethos of Love Over Hate and continues to hold a service each Sunday, which is open to all.

Samantha, myself and Gabby in front of the weekly entertainment board for The Wayside Chapel

Livin’ Better Now, Coogi Sweater Now

 When Coogi started in Torak in 1969 it was known as Cuggi. It wasn’t until the mid-1980’s that the name changed to something more indigenous Australian sounding. And it wasn’t until the early 90’s that it really gained traction in the US market with Biggie Smalls rapping about them amongst others.

Coogi’s success was built on quality mercerised cotton and merino wool being woven in a unique array of colours and weaves in 3 dimensions to create striking fabric which is imitated by others, but which never quite seems to reach the original production.

I probably need to stop here and make a note. Cuggi and Coogi up until the early 2000’s should probably be separated from what Coogi is today. The company was founded by Jacky Taranto and in those days and under his stewardship the company was focused on producing high quality knitwear for the Australian market. This Cuggi / Coogi is a different company to today’s Coogi. In those days, and I possess a vintage one with the original care labels, they were made in Australia and so too was the fabric woven here. This makes a big difference, a sense of control and hand in the product that can sometimes mean the difference between something magical and something replicable.

Speaking of which and on a side note; one of the most famous people said to have worn Coogi sweaters was Dr Huxtable in The Cosby Show. So much so that Coogi could sometimes be referred to as The Cosby Sweater. This is not true though. In fact, a Dutch designer named Koos Van Der Akker is credited with designing a good deal of Bill Cosby’s sweaters.

Back to the story. So, the reason I mentioned the two Coogis was because I want to remind our readers that some of the best of what companies produce comes from the authenticity of those that create it. There is a reason that Coogi is featured in the Smithsonian National Museum Of African American History and Culture for its cultural significance in shaping American culture - it is original. Lyrics by artists such as Biggie Smalls who raps ‘every cutie with a booty bought a Coogi’ exemplify how it became part of the lexicon of rap with the rise of artists such as Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg also wearing these unique sweaters. And it is the old Coogi that these guys were enamoured with. The Australian production, unique, referencing in a sense Australian indigenous culture, made from Australian yarns sourced by Taranto and his team, carefully woven to deliver, even to this day, a product which is still unmatched by others who are pursuing the same line.

Admittedly, the cut is a little odd at times and part of me wishes that I could go back in time and re-tailor these garments to get a more fitting result, but another part of me thinks they should remain exactly as they are. They are pieces of art that should not be disturbed. In Australia we have spent the last three decades outsourcing production as much as we could. Let the Chinese, Indonesians and Vietnamese weave our fabrics, okay now let them make our product too. So much so that eventually all that designers do in this country is press send on an email and then wait for the freight forwarder to tell them the container is in port. This is my least favourite thing about fashion and designing. Once, when I began my business, an artist friend of mine sent me a WH Auden quote, I have never forgotten it – “a poet’s hope; to be like some valley cheese, made local, prized elsewhere”. It serves to remind me often of what it is to make an authentic product. To have a hands on approach, to make something which is unique right down to the fibres you used. It is for this reason that I have a profound respect for Taranto and the early days of Cuggi / Coogi. This is a brand that epitomises the best of our country and what is has to offer. And yes, we have given so much of it away but then perhaps this paves the way for the next generation to pursue something for themselves - the next Coogi.

I would love to know where the fabric was woven and the techniques deployed but I gather that the last time anything was woven in this country it was a different and more disconnected world. What remains of fabric weaving in Victoria is now merely a tiny reference point to a country that was once far more active in turning our raw product into cloth. It was once said, and how long ago that time seems now, 'that Australia rode on the sheep's back'.

Today Coogi is headquartered in New York. It seems to have lost any authenticity. After Taranto sold the company when it was in financial difficulties in the early 2000’s the company changed hands a few times, nothing which I tracked with any enthusiasm. It’s current owners sell it very much to black American culture, it lacks any real authenticity and reference to Australia. It is effectively dead in the water because it has lost that founders touch. Until it comes back to Australia it will never be anything of great importance, for it is only the authenticity of the country  and province of origin, like Camembert cheese is to French monks from the village of Camembert, or what the Barossa Valley is to Australian wine, that invokes in us that magic that makes you sigh - this is the real thing.

And so, in conclusion, I finally own a Coogi sweater, I bought a vintage one. It even says CUGGI on it. It is magnificent, textured, layered, colourful, cosy, vibrant and very comfortable to wear. I support local production, I hope that we have more Coogi’s develop out of our country. We have so few.

The Exhibition Of Miniartextil Running Until September 3, Lake Como, Italy

 What is fiber art? (We in Australia spell it as fibre) . It’s art made of textiles. Since the beginning of weaving textiles they have been used to create patterns. You might consider that art, it is in fact art. But over the past century a movement of artists steered away from traditional textiles prints and began to explore the medium in three dimensions, in textures and colours, weaves  and patterns from a wide and varied range of techniques including knitting, embroidery, tapestry, felting and more.

What these techniques and mediums in fibre create is also wide an varied. From wall mounted tapestries to sculptures made of fibre, it is a unique world that steps away from most other means of creating art. Sometimes messages are embroidered or printed onto mediums, sometimes woven. Sometimes the form is an abstract expression of a shape or object conjured by the artist.

You may have seen our Instagram post from just after Christmas where I explored the winter exhibition in Lake Como, or perhaps you then saw my visit to the Palazzo Mocinego in Venice or to the home of Mimmo Totaro, one of the founding fathers of fibre art in Europe.

And the reason I mention all of this is because there is an exhibition currently running until September 3^rd in Como. It once again explores artists from Asia, Africa and Europe across a broad variety of expressions in fibre art. By all accounts it is an interesting exhibition.

Exhibition: Lake Como, Via Odelscachi – runs until September 3rd

You can read more about the exhibition here.