From the studio No.33

So…I’ve got some news…an update from the previous excitement!

I’ve had a logo made to my design, a sign, woven clothing labels, business cards and bought domain names for SONNET by Sarah Poland.

However, in a David and Goliath scenario, I’ve been pressured into changing my natural dyed clothing brand name (before it’s even launched).

We hear about insecure, avaricious big companies working to squeeze out independents, putting pressure on them in some way with their big buck budgets.

Well, they object to my use of the word sonnet in the name SONNET by Sarah Poland.

It’s JD Sports. They have an in-house, fast fashion, sports wear line who use virgin plastic (polyester) and high production.

It’s called Sonneti.

They’re not using the word sonnet and there are no similarities between our brands or our ideas.

Yet they are able to set out a list of restrictions. However, I refuse to adhere to this bullying tactic.

I’ve had to take down my SONNET by Sarah Poland website and social media accounts …or they might get heavy.

It’s a pain and has cost me a lot development time and money, including buying domain names, woven garment labels, a sign, plus I hired a graphic designer to make the logo to my specification.

So I’ve rebranded to just my name, and I’m getting used to it already. I will see that there is a silver lining, and with both websites merging on to sarahpoland.com, art and fashion will be in the same place.

As an artist and designer, my painting and clothing design do relate to each other, and they both use colours extracted from plants, so perhaps it is for the better and the story continues...

SARAH POLAND - Natural dyed, UK made, limited edition clothing, will embody slow fashion at it’s best.

Inspired by 1950s coffee culture (think Beat Generation), 90s London, an inner rock chick fused with the colours of natural dyes.

Coffee bar, intimate gig + cocktail cool, with quality + sustainability at its core.

From the studio No.32

I’ve got some exciting news about a new project that I’ve been focused on developing over the last 4 months. If you saw my solo exhibition in 2023 (either in the real or on my video tour), you will have spotted an area showing a few pieces from a mini clothing collection, natural dyed with botanical colour, with prints inspired by the art work. I am creating sustainable, ethical, designed, sourced and manufactured in the UK, clothing brand, SONNET by Sarah Poland.

If you'd like to follow my journey to create SONNET by Sarah Poland, receive product launch and pop-up invitations plus find out why the logo is like it is, you can sign-up on the website. www.sonnetbysarahpoland.com

You can also follow me on social media: Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook, Youtube, all sonnetbysarahpoland (now @sarahpolandstudio and sarah-poland)

Sunrise at the Do Lectures 2022.

I visited National Weaving recently, a label weaving factory which happens to be close to me here in West Wales. It was amazing and Very Noisy. They have many machines which weave names tapes, luggage straps, brand labels and badges and printed labels, each operated by a person (wearing ear defenders), they even have a vintage machine graveyard for spare parts and relics to one day restore.

I took a few videos of the looms which I’ll post next time, I’m currently on a weekend away at the Secret Dyery in Oxfordshire, learning about botanical ink screen printing with the wonderful Kate Turnbull - more on that next time too! I also visited a manufacturer in London last week to meet and talk over making a sample with them before production. It's pretty exciting And nerve-wracking!

Please help spread the news and if you know someone who might be interested, let them know.

My best,

Sarah