Winter Issue 63
Issue 63 has landed! Say hey to the Acacia A-line Skirt pattern • Creativity and Country with cover artist Lauren Rogers • The history of women donning trousers • Crafting dissent • The environmental impacts of AI • Wildlife vet Dr Audrey Shen • Community and inclusivity at made590 • The new wave of regenerative textiles • Brogan Allard teaches us shirring • The sustainability paradox • Fashion and empowerment with The Social Outfit
Buy nowA print magazine about style, sustainability and substance
Fabric of Belonging: Sangeeta Sandrasegar’s Latest Work Blooms at RESET Festival
Sangeeta Sandrasegar has long been drawn to the quiet power of plants – not only their beauty, but the colours,...
Read more
New Pattern Alert: Pants with Pleats and Pockets? Please!
Prepare to strut your stuff, friends: the fabulous Fern Pleated Pants are here, ready to become your favourite tailored-yet-comfy dream...
Read more
Wear It Loud: Jo Taranto’s Midwinter Ballgown Makes The Case For Environmental Action
Frost wasn’t the only thing sparkling in Canberra this week! At the annual Midwinter Ball, Parliament traded policy papers for...
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Village Green: Your Sustainable Travel Guide to Noosa
You know it for its picture-perfect beaches and lush hinterland, but did you know the Sunshine Coast region of Noosa...
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From Skincare to Slow Fashion: Meet the Clean + Conscious Class of 2025!
The results are in! The winners of the Clean + Conscious Awards 2025 have landed, shining a well-deserved spotlight on...
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Cocooned in Creativity: Inside Ruby Raisin with Mia Penn
If you’ve ever slipped into a Ruby Raisin piece, you’ll know it’s about more than just clothes. It’s colour, comfort...
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Say Hey to Sportsgirl: Pretty Knits, Popping Colours and Positive Impact
Cute crochet floral women’s knitwear, embroidered denim matching sets and cool quilted jackets? Yes please! The latest offerings from Sportsgirl...
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Cold Feet? Try These Sustainable Slippers To Keep Your Tootsies Toasty
Picture the scene: It’s freezing outside. (It really is.) You’re all rugged up, wearing a pair of your cutest, comfiest...
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Big Feels: Here’s to a Night of People, Passion and Peppermint Peptalks!
Oh, what a night! Filled with connection, warmth, and wisdom, Peppermint Peptalks was SOLD OUT and once again affirmed why...
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Do One Thing: How To Feel – And Do – Better When Life’s Being a Lot!
“Everything is broken and stupid and I’m gonna run away!” One half of my friend’s three-year-old twins tends towards (entertainingly)...
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Playing Shop – Creating Our Dream Stores From Life Instyle
Ah, to have a shop of one’s own: a light-drenched space filled with treasures and curiosities and a shop cat...
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Art At The Heart: What To Expect From This Year’s DAAF
It’s almost our favourite time again! Yup, we’re getting ready to immerse ourselves in the vibrant celebration of Aboriginal and...
Read moreI want people to see themselves in the story – not as bystanders, but as active participants in a collective journey toward kindness, justice and renewal.
LAUREN ROGERS, ISSUE 63
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Bathing in empowerment 🏳️⚧️🫧
Known just as well for their social and environmental campaigns as their bath bombs, @Lush_AusNZ has teamed up with @Transhub_Acon to stand in allyship with the trans and gender-diverse community.
Today, Wednesday 10 September, Lush is launching the Liberation Bath Bomb, with 75% of profits funding TransHub’s vital work supporting gender affirmation and health resources across Australia.
The bomb fizzes to reveal a swirl of blue, pink, and white, modelled after the colours of the trans flag, with an aim to help advocate for a world that tackles transphobia, prioritises gender-affirming care, and provides safety for all. That`s the kind of bomb we can get behind. 🫧
Michael Woodhouse (he/him), CEO, @ACONnsw, says, “Trans and gender diverse people have existed in every town, city and country since before recorded history. Initiatives like this remind us that trans and gender diverse people are valued members of our community and that we have their back.
With the support of proud allies like Lush, TransHub will be able to keep providing vital information people need to live authentically and thrive. Empowering trans and gender diverse people with knowledge, support, and resources, strengthens health and wellbeing, and saves lives.”
Lush also has an informative `How To Be a Trans Ally` guide - we`ve included a few pages here and popped the link in our bio.
Head into your local Lush store and show your support! 🏳️⚧️🫧
#TransRightsAreHumanRights #LushCosmetics #TransRights #BathBombs #LushBathBombs
"The materials I work with are consciously chosen for their cultural or historical connection to the particular themes being explored in the piece. This installation is an ode to some of the lives that have striven and continued to thrive in this place. It is a gesture to these young boys who travelled so far at the turn of the last century, like many of the plants they sold."
Sangeeta Sandrasegar has long been drawn to the quiet power of plants – not only their beauty, but the colours, histories and cultural memories they carry. The Melbourne-based artist weaves together stories of migration and belonging. Her latest creation, ‘I ragazzi dei millefiori: the flow’rs of song and story’, is a luminous textile installation suspended in the Atrium at Fed Square – silk organza and cotton panels naturally dyed in earthy hues, layered with botanical illustrations and archival imagery that invites reflection on the connections between people, place and plants.
The work will be unveiled on the 13th of September in partnership with the Australian Tapestry Workshop at RESET, @FedSquare’s free, month-long festival celebrating greener living. The festival runs until 6 October, and celebrates sustainability, creativity and care for the environment. Its vibrant public events program spans toy swaps, eco-discos, repair cafés, a pop-up recycling centre, riverside clean-ups, outdoor cinema, craft workshops, expert talks and more.
We caught up with Sangeeta to talk about the threads of inspiration, colour and memory that continue to shape her practice. Read more at the link in bio! 🌸
Images: Supplied by @Sangeeta_Sandrasegar
#FedSquare #Reset #BotanicalDyes #PlantDye #BotanicalArt #SangeetaSandrasegar
"It’s about connection: I just wanted to make everybody come together. I also think that there is so much joy in flowers: they bring people together in a very natural way. It’s what we give to say sorry, it’s what we give to say thank you, it’s how we express love… Most of the messages I get about my work mention how happy the images make people feel – it reminds them of growth, strength, and beauty. It’s all about connection!"
An SFX makeup artist turned fine art photographer, Vancouver-based Jennifer @BonjourLatour creates then photographs intricate floral sculptures that exist somewhere between fantasy and flora, assembling stems and blooms into impossibly delicate hybrids. Her ongoing series ‘Bound Species’ is a love letter to connection: between species, between people, between what’s fragile and what endures. We had a chat in our latest issue with Jennifer, who’s represented by UK-based gallery @ODPrintSales, about the magic behind her process, the power of flowers, and a dream come full circle.
Read more in Issue 63! 🌸
#PeppermintMagazine #JenniferLatour #Art #Photography #Flowers #NatureAsArt #FlowerArt
NEW PATTERN ALERT! 🥳
Prepare to strut your stuff, friends: the fabulous Fern Pleated Pants are here, ready to become your favourite tailored-yet-comfy dream duds!
Its bevvy of fantastic features make the Fern Pleated Pants perfect to express your personal style. Whether you’re hunting for a new look for work or want to add some terrific trousers to your smart-casual wardrobe, Fern will fit the bill!
Bringing some big pleat energy, these wide-leg beauties are style personified. Slanted front pockets add interest and shape, with the double darts on the back ensuring a great fit across the hip.
With only four pattern pieces, the Fern Pleated Pants promises straightforward construction with big impact, making this pattern a great jumping-off point for advanced-beginner sewists to develop their skills, while still engaging intermediate and experienced sewists.
For our version, we chose the gorgeous ‘Giza Giza’ print in 85% cotton, 15% linen by Kata Kata Designs, available from @IndyBindyFabrics. Indy Bindy is an online fabric store showcasing a bounty of indie Japanese fabric designers. Curated by fabric and sewing lover, Aims Watts, Indy Bindy invites you into the wonderful world of hand printing, artisan methods and unique Japanese fabrics.
Speaking of pleats, the @SOHMO_Au tools make pleating a breeze with their snazzy metal mini clips and long, sharp, glasshead pins. SOHMO is the go-to destination for beautifully made tools for sewing, stitching, crafting and mending. Proudly Australian, SOHMO celebrates the artistry of making by creating tools that will spark joy for years to come.
We’re so grateful to our sewing partners, Indy Bindy and SOHMO, for helping make this pattern happen! Head to the link in bio to get the pattern now. 🏃🏻♀️
Fabric: @IndyBindyFabrics
Tools: @SOHMO_Au
Model: Aims from Indy Bindy!
Design/concept: @Laura_The_Maker
Patternmaker: RBPatterns
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Location: @MSA4170
#PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintFernPleatedPants #IndyBindyFabrics #SOHMO #MeMade #SewingPattern #PantsPattern
"Big fashion thrives on speed, scale, and sameness. It externalises costs onto the planet and people. Sustainable labels, on the other hand, internalise them – and pay for it."
Sustainable fashion isn’t just beautiful – it’s built on dedication, labour, and resilience. Amanda Hayman, co-owner of @MagpieGoose.Au, knows this all too well. As a proud Aboriginal woman with a connection to Kalkadoon and Wakka Wakka Country, Amanda is a passionate advocate for sustainable fashion that honours people, Country, and culture. In Issue 63, she ponders why the fashion labels fighting for people and the planet are struggling to stay afloat.
Read more in Issue 63 / The Sustainability Paradox: When Doing Good Costs Too Much.
#PeppermintMagazine #MagpieGoose #SustainableFashion #IndigenousFashion #SustainabilityParadox
It`s Second Hand September! 👗
Ready to dress for the world you want? Say it loud, wear it proud. 📣 Share and repost if you`re taking part in #SecondHandSeptember – an initiative of Oxfam.
Why Second Hand September?
Oxfam says this:
Fashion fuels climate change. – whilst the people who have done the least to cause the climate crisis are being pushed further into poverty.
There’s mass-pollution from the production and transportation of clothes. A throwaway culture that leaves millions of clothes in landfill every year. And precious resources like water are being used up.
So, by recirculating our clothes – buying, wearing and donating second hand – we can help to reduce the demand. And this can help to reduce the damage to our planet.
Images from: @OxfamGB
#SecondhandSeptember #SecondhandFashion #RewearClothing #ReuseResources #Recycle #Upcycle #Secondhand #Preloved #LoveClothesLast #Oxfam #OpShop #Thrift #ThriftShop #ThriftedFashion
Blak excellence, power, talent, joy, culture, style and storytelling were on full display on Larrakia Country recently.
The art! The fashion! The music! THE TEXTILES!!! 😍
The 10 year anniversary of Country to Couture - the stunning fashion show by @IndigenousFashionProjects, where First Nations textiles, fashion and art collide, kickstarted the week-long celebrations. The National Indigenous Fashion Awards (The NIMAS) followed, then the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art Awards (The NATSIAAS) and The National Indigenous Music Awards. All set to the background of the @DarwinArtFair - showcasing the rich diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, design and culture.
Come and relive this incredibly inspiring week with us - and mark your diaries for 2026, it’s not an event to be missed! In the meantime, support Indigenous businesses and #BuyBlak 👏🏾
Thanks to:
@Lauren_Rogers_Art_
@YatuWiddersHunt
@LindynRowland
@SarritaKing_Artist
@NITV_Au
#DeborahMailman
@DarwinArtFair #DarwinAboriginalArtFair #IndigneousFashionProjects #DAAF #IndigenousFashion #IndigenousTextiles #IndigneousArt #AboriginalFashion #SustainableFashion #NIFAS #NIMAS #NATSIAA #NationalIndigenousFashionAwards #NationalIndigenousMusicAwards
Frost wasn’t the only thing sparkling in Canberra this week!
At the annual Midwinter Ball, Parliament traded policy papers for sequins and champagne – but one gown outshone them all. Environmental strategist TheJoTaranto stepped out alongside her partner (Bennelong MP Jerome Laxale) literally wearing her values.
Not borrowed from a runway, nor pulled from a boutique rack, her gown was a collaboration between Sydney designer Daisy-Rose Cooper (@Soh.Label), stylist, slow-fashion advocate and founder of @Slogue_Fashion, @JoGambale, and a circle of emerging sewists.
Together, they transformed reclaimed antique French linen into a flowing ballgown, eco-printed with fallen eucalyptus leaves and dyed with historic fustic pigment (a natural yellow dye derived from the heartwood of the dyer’s mulberry tree).
We spoke to Joanne, Daisy-Rose and Jo about natural dyes, fashion activism and everyday gestures - link in bio!
Designer @Daiisy.Rose
Stylist @JoGambale
Sewing team @Slogue_Fashion
Label @Soh.Label
Coach @SheridanMortlockOfficial
Photos @Linustudio_
Credits @FDSFashionDesignStudio @TafeNSW
#PeppermintMagazine #Slogue #SlowFashion #NaturalDyes #HandmadeFashion #UpcycledFashion #Fashion Activism #ClimateActivism
🌟 GIVEAWAY! 🌟
Thanks to two of the incredible makers from @TheGreatArtistMarket (featured in Issue 63’s Marketplace pages), we have a beautiful pack of feel-good fun to give away. One lucky winner will win these goodies with a combined value of $100, including:
🌟 1 x 16oz botanical scented candle from @__Casale worth $56!
🌟 1 x Question Yourself game from @Forge.Forward valued at $45!
To enter, follow @TheGreatArtistMarket and tag a friend in the comments below. We’ll draw the winner next Thursday, 4pm 4th September. Australian addresses only. Good luck!
And don`t forget to mark your calendars for the next TGAM market on Saturday 18th October at @FelonsBarrelHall, Meanjin (Brisbane). See you there!
Update: Congrats to @hayley_stanich - you`re our lucky winner! We`ll dm for details. 🎉
#PeppermintMagazine #TheGreatArtistMarket #Giveaway
PATTERN SNEAK PEEK! 🌸
Get ready to say pleats and thank you: the fabulous Fern Pleated Pants pattern is almost here! These tailored-yet-comfy, wide-leg beauties will become your new go-to for work and play. This phenomenal new pattern, created with the support of our partners @IndyBindyFabrics and @SOHMO_Au, will launch at 3pm 4 September: set your alarms! ⏰️
Even more exciting: current magazine subscribers will receive the digital pattern this weekend ahead of the launch next week – how cool is that?!
Get a leg up: subscribe by 3pm Friday 29 August AEST to get the Fern Pleated Pants digital pattern delivered to your inbox this Saturday morning.
We`re obsessed with this new pattern and know you`re going to love it too!
Fabric: @IndyBindyFabrics
Tools: @SOHMO_Au
Model: Aims from Indy Bindy!
Design/concept: Our lovely @Laura_The_Maker
Patternmaker: @RBPatterns
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Paper flowers: Our very own @DesignWithEm_
Location: @MSA4170
#PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintFernPleatedPants #IndyBindyFabrics #SOHMO #MeMade #SewingPattern #PantsPattern
New pattern, new plans... 🌸
Get excited: our new sewing pattern is launching next week! Stay tuned for a sneak peek tomorrow – it`s a goodie!
Spring’s in the air, and we wanted to let you know we have a few ch-ch-changes up our me-made sleeves. Going forward, magazine subscribers will get advanced access to the digital pattern the week ahead of its official launch – how cool is that?! As our loyal subscribers, you`ll be the first to get your hands (and needles) on our patterns. Hoorah!
Speaking of changes – our sewing patterns will now be digital only. There are many reasons for this:
🌿 It helps with environmental considerations, as we`re aware that not everyone in our community are sewists. Printing thousands of patterns for those who don’t want/need them isn’t a mindful approach.
🌿 The restriction of paper size: our printer can only print a smaller size than A0, so it significantly changes what we can design. Being able to design to A0 (for downloadable copy shop size) gives us much greater scope for what we can create – and that`s exciting!
🌿 Postage can be inconsistent at the best of times, but especially so after the announcement from Australia Post yesterday that they were suspending shipping to the US.
🌿 Releasing them digitally means no-one misses out and everyone can access the patterns no matter where in the world their sewing desk is located; inclusivity is important to us.
🌿 Cost is of course a factor too – we’re a teeny indie company and are feeling the crunch like everyone else.
Pricing on our patterns will be increasing too, which is even more reason to subscribe: Subscribers will now exclusively receive four sewing patterns, digitally, and ahead of launch, as well as two fabulous print magazines over 12 months! 🎉
Soooo... what does that mean? It means that if you subscribe by this Saturday morning, 9am 30 August AEST, you’ll get the digital pattern sent to your inbox at 10am Saturday morning, ahead of the launch. Woo!
Thanks for supporting our small business, we heart our minty mates. 🫶
Kelley, Laura, Mandy, Donnay and Em xox
#PeppermintPatterns #MeMade #SewingPattern #DigitalSewingPattern
