UK Festival Season 2024

Yet Another Festival Marathon 

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    Every year,  for probably the last 8 years, well, since the “season from hell” 2016 when things were on our side, I have considered giving up trading at festivals. Of course its fun, even a little bit too much sometimes, but it is also super hard work. It’s also always a bit of a gamble. Any severe weather really affects the trade. That isn’t just too much rain, it includes too much sun too.

I’m a one woman band really, but my friends come to festivals with me to help and experience the scene from a different angle. Sometimes people you thought you knew and you thought were reliable will let you down and not even turn up. Then you are there in a field setting up pitch in severe weather, on your own. These things really do happen. 

But despite the financial risks and and all the physically hard work I still do it! 12 years plus down the line.  I guess I do still enjoy it, and the set up is there, I just need to top up by making some more stock, so what’s another season hey!? 

I like doing a little “warm up” festival before hitting Glastonbury just to make sure everything is in place, but this year we were straight in at the deep end. Luckily we hadn’t forgotten anything major so that went all pretty smoothly. I watched Jungle and Justice at West Holt. Rest of my time off I was back at The Mez Yard like last year.

As usual Love Supreme was straight after Glastonbury. I think I mentioned that I call this one the easy “village fate”.  Not this time! I don’t I have ever had to set up pitch in such high winds!  Oh my! Relentless! It did continue though out the festival and just about calmed down on Sunday. Jeez! High wind is worse than rain i found. More unpredictable. Anyhow.. we survived. Chaka Khan was headlining. It was sadly a bit  disappointing. I still danced to all the classics though of course. 

 

 

 

 

Sibel Lagerdahl

After a bit of a disasterous return last year, Secret Garden Party had decided to do one last “Back to Our Roots” smaller scale run. Personally I always liked SGP better when it was small. And this year didn’t disappoint. Quirky, creative and fun, just like it used to be without the “Carling youth”. Ren was headlining. Never knew his fan base was obsessed with him. Some coming all the way from Australia.  Leigh plus my friends Charlotte and Tara came along on the stall and it turned into one of those hilariously silly weekends, aching with laughter! 

Canmade Ringpull Wear at Shaboutique Glastonbury
Ringpull coat and bumbag by Can Made Purple Community Fund

 

 

 

 Straight from Cambridgeshire we headed to Oxforshire for Wilderness.  I’m always in two minds about doing this one. It’s become so commercial with their big sponsors. This year they had Audi, their sponsor parade a car through the festival. I mean really? 

Line up was weak, as usual. I think I made an effort to go and see De La Soul and that was about it.

Charlotte from Tantrum Clothing was sharing stall with me, which was fun as usual.

 

This year I was really excited about adding two new festivals routes to our summer road trip. Greenman and Shambala!  Never been to Greenman before but heard many good things. Shambala on the other hand I used to share a stall with my dear friend Chloe from Crystal Vintage. But never done it as Shaboutique. 

After a weekend of on the south coast tending my allotment, We hit the road for the Welsh valleys of Brecon Beacon. It’s beautiful to say the least. Those rolling  green hills…

We were trading the “Wellbeing Area” which I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work out. But to be fair, its such a small festival, everyone goes everywhere eventually.  It’s quite a band heavy festival. Lot’s of Indie and rock plus some folky vibes thrown in too.  Sitting watching Big Thief on the mainstage slope was lush.  Family friendly with no corporate sponsors, just good vibes all around.  

 

Festival cross dress fun

From Wales we drove stright to Northamptonshire. Oh Shambala, how I have missed you! Even ariving gave me a little buzz.  It used to be my favourite and it did not disappoint this time either. It still holds the magic. It’s so naughty, yet family friendly.  Punk, Berlin techno, disco, folk, you name it its all there. Interactive installations,  dark puppet theatre, burleque, workshops.. Oh and nearly everyone dresses up! This years theme was “Wild and Free!” So many incredibly cool costumes! And  most of them handmade. Oh I love this place! The only let down was my so called friend that let me down on the day she was mean to be there. Which meant one less crew which meant longer shifts which meant less time to enjoy the festival…  OK, let go now. 

Shaboutique festival stall 2024

Last but not least it’s the usual End Of The Road. It’s usually a sell out festival, but it felt busier that usual this year. Also a wider range of traders meant there was less vintage clothes which means less competition for us. It was good! Whatever the trader balance/ticket sale formula was this year, please repeat it next year!

Line up wise, again, not really my bag , but Altin Gun was playing which I have been wanting to see for a very long time. But the female singer wasn’t there! It was just the guy… It was ok, but not the same energy…

But we don’t mind our spot looking over the Woods (main) stage. We get to listen to a lot of bands we would never go out of our way to see. Let’s call it educational. 

UK Festival Season 2023

Summer Summer Summer Time!

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Before you know it’s June and you are back in the fields of the English countryside. Overall we got pretty lucky with the weather this year. Nothing too extreme thank goodness!

We started off the season with Kite Festival again. I can’t say the vibe or the line up was as good as last year. They ended up closing the main stage so all acts got downgraded to smaller stages. But it kind of worked as punters were thin on the ground. Made it a little more intimate.

Next up was the mega festival marathon Glastonbury of course. 10 days on Middle Farm. I love the pre-festival part. All the crew are there and it already feels like a festival.  At the end we usually stay another night too just to wind down and make the drive a little easier.  Line up wise I only really saw Elton John on the bigger stages. Glastonbury for me is all about the smaller acts. Unheard grooves and bumping into acts you never heard of. Oh and venue-wise Mez Yard was the one for me this year. The Copperdollar crew and their DJ’s smashed it! 

With only two days rest at home we headed to Love Supreme Festival  This one always feels like a village fate after Glastonbury. Nice and chilled, short drive from home.  Yussef Dayez, Grace Jones and Little Simz amongt lots of other talented artists.

 

 

 

custom upcycled tail coat
ringpull upcycled halterneck dress
festival smiler

We were back at Latitude Festival this year after a years break. Not sure I will be applying to trade there again. It has become so commercial. Barclay Card is one of their main sponsors. They are ramming in about 200 traders, lots of them selling mass produced sweatshop tat. Lame. Plus the line up is never really my bag either, so no loss. 

shaboutique festival shop

Like we didn’t have enough festivals booked already we went to We Are Love just for fun! Well, I got booked to DJ and lots of our Brighton friends were there so why then heck not?! Intimate little festival in Sussex with great line-up.  Highly recommended.  

Straight up after there was Wilderness Festival. Weak line up as usual but hey, I guess that means less distraction away from the stall. Beautiful site though.. Those oak trees are magical. 

A festival we were really excited to trade at this year was We Out Here Festival. I actually went as a punter last year as the line up is always up my alley. Trading- wise it wasn’t the highlight of the season but music and vibes-wise it was a delight.  

Then of course the little Brighton local Brunswick Festival. I get to sleep at home for that one! Shared the stall with Purple Community Fund and it was lovely to have Jane there and to see all the positive interest to their ringpull products.

 

 

 

 

Lost Village is all the way in Lincolnshire, so that is quite a drive from Brighton. Worth it though? Yes, its a cool little festival. Very young, mainly dance music and less live acts. But still ticking a lot of boxes. Basically there isn’t really anywhere to sit down, rest your legs, listen to some acoustic stuff while having a chai. You got to keep up with them youngsters. Its just dance dance dance! Crazy P, Bonobo, Ibibio Sound Machine and Mr Scruff were there. Always a joy.

 

Yet again we ended the season with End Of The Road.   Or shall I call it middle of the road? Don’t get me wrong, the amount bands you can see in one weekend is more than your brain and feet can handle. But personally I find it all to be mainly “white man’s guitar music” Not enough funk. I dont mind a bit of rock and indie, but not four days on the trot. Kokoroko was there though. I guess they are groovy.  EOTR does have a late night  “dance” stage. Its hit and miss, but hey, Im there to work aren’t I? So no FOMO here. 

 

 And that’s a wrap!  Overall that was a good season. I have never done 3 in a row, a little break and then followed by 7 in a row before. Thats intense! But it was fun.  Well, they mostly are fun but when the weather is right, and your friends are being the best crew it doesn’t really matter that much if the headliners aren’t what you would have paid to go and see. Im there to work and I love seeing my crew enjoying themselves.  Less festivals next year though.. Ten is way to many! 

 

 

sustanable festival dress up

Festivals Are Back In Full Swing 2022

After the covid years, being back in the fields for a full season felt good. It was obvious that people had really missed the festivals and were beaming with joy. The summer sun was on our side too, we got lucky and didn’t get rained on very much at all. Just to settle the dust!

 

We started the season with a new kid on the block. Kite Festival. You may assume like the name suggests that it’s a kite festival, confusing yes, but it’s not.  It calls itself a festival of music and ideas and its set in the beautiful countryside of Oxfordshire that happens to have a lot of kites. The bird variety that is.. For a new comer we feel it did well and has potential to be something different. Grace Jones was headlining and as per usual she didn’t disappoint.
Next up was Glastonbury. The combination of the forced two year break and delayed 50th celebration made it extra special. Even the weather was well behaved.  A truly magical weekend.  One of the highlights was having Rajasthan Heritage Brassband flashmob our stall.

Straight after we had our local Love Supreme Festival. Conveniently only a 20 minute drive from home, we had a couple of days to restock and and shower then hit the fields again. With its jazzy groovy vibes its a much more chilled and compact festival compared to Glastonbury.   Erykah Badu were amongst the headliners.

After a five-year hiatus, the Secret Garden Party returned to its usual magical spot in Cambridgeshire. It was as raucous and silly as it used to be with a few issues that will hopefully be ironed out  for next year.  SGP is never about the line-up, its more about discovering smaller acts and walkabouts. We got sited next to Small World Stage, one of our favourites.

First weekend of August is Wilderness As sites goes its our favourite. But this years line-up was weak. And with all festivals back and running, they had barely sold half of their tickets. So from a trading point it was below average.  On the plus side there was never a queue to get down to “the valley”.

 

After a nice couple of weeks back in Brighton and one of our favourite little daytime events Brunswick Festival, we headed all the way to Lincolnshire. A new one for us this year, Lost Village Festival. Set in a beautiful woodland, it’s a dance music festival with a young crowd.  Line-up is a great mixtures to explore. Our ring-pull clothing samples we have been working on with Purple Community Fund went down a storm. We are hoping to launch these as collection next spring.

To finish the season is our usual End Of The Road Festival  Indie band heavy and family orientated its a chilled one to finish the season. Just how we like it.

Back In The Fields Half Festival Season of 2021

Shaboutique crew End of the road festival

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and all the festivals got cancelled there was a small part of me that was quite pleased to have a summer off.

If you choose to have a season off your spot at the festival will be given to someone else and the following year you are less likely to get in. So a forced year off was kinda welcome.

But by spring 2021 we were all gagging to get back in the fields! Even though the season officially didn’t start until late July we still managed to squeeze in four festivals. One was just for fun! As a punter! Unheard of!

We started off with Latitude Festival. They were actually the official government approved trial festival. We had to do Covid tests before and durning the festival. 

The transmission rate at the end was very low which was a good outcome.  Considering there were barely any masks being worn and no real social distancing. Which was nice as it wouldn’t have felt like a festival otherwise. 

Strong crew this year with Nick, Glenny and the lovely actor John Dagleish on board. He is the winner of the Olivier Award for best actor in a musical for his performance in Sunny Afternoon as Ray Davies. Legend.  ·

 

After a weekend at home post Latitude we headed to our favourite festival field in Cornbury Park. Wilderness this year had some rain and cloud but it didn’t dampen the spirit of the British people who hadn’t been at a live music event for two years. They were keen to dress up and take part. The spirits were high and everyone seem to haver an amazing time. Including us! 

We were also in a much better spot this year. Location is everything at festivals. You can sell the coolest stuff ever but you won’t sell much if there is no footfall.

Before our last trading festival we went to We Out Here Festival as punters. Since its launch in 2019 its always has an amazing line up. So I wanted a work free weekend just to enjoy it all.  Always nice to see people wearing their “Leftover Threads” from previous seasons too. 

We got accepted to End of the Road again, which was lovely. I love how each festival has such a different crowd.  EOTR isn’t necessarily very “dressy uppy” compare to other festivals we usually do. Do they have a good eye for cool sustainable clothing so it still works for us.

Such a good feeling to be back in the fields with happy smiling people and good music!

 

The Face Mask Story With Our Partner Charity

Ash Cloud with a Silver Lining

In the months leading up to summer, my small team and I would usually be busy sewing colourful upcycled wears ready for the festival season. However 2020 had different plans for us all. With this years UK festivals cancelled, we are now making masks instead.

But my personal mask journey didn’t start with the Covid-19 pandemic. It started back in January, in the slums of Tondo – Manila Philippines.

Jane Walker, inspirational power house and founder of the Purple Community Fund (PCF) had invited me to participate in an education-development project for the residents of Manila’s most densely populated slum, Barangay 105 in Tondo.

PCF supports the community through a range of services and livelihood schemes, its signature project being the making of upcycled products including bags and jewellery made from ring pulls, to shoes out of aeroplane tyres.

Last year, Leftover Threads sold PCF upcycled products at UK festivals giving 100% of the money back to the charity.

The original plan for my stay in Manila was for me to design a festival range of hats and waist-coats made out of neckties for the nanays (mothers) working in the livelihood centre to sew. Nature, however, had a different plan.

Jane and Simon with the local kids in Happy Land
Tondo Recycling Dog

24 hours before my flight, Taal Volcano, 100 km south of Manila, started spewing hot ash columns exceeding a kilometre in height. A state of emergency was declared on the island and its nearby residents were evacuated. The situation on the ground worsened rapidly, with continuous eruptions leading to an ash cloud visible from space, swiftly moving towards the capital Manila, one of the most densely populated cities on the planet (more so than Delhi). Tondo, the slum I was to work in, houses 38% of the city’s inhabitants, crammed into a small area with poor sanitation, negligible security and health provision. Accommodation is made of found materials and the windows are merely apertures without glass through which the harmful volcanic dust threatened to rampage.  Fear surged through the area, as measures taken to protect inhabitants were inadequate.

With smoke still billowing from the volcano, 80,000 passengers had their flights cancelled or delayed but luckily my connecting flight from Hong Kong was one of the first to arrive in Manila. As we began our descent, I could see the big ash cloud lingering threateningly.

Upon arrival, Jane and I quickly decided that the easiest way to give immediate support to the Tondo community would be to provide face masks. Mask prices locally had quadrupled in the days that followed the eruption making them unaffordable for many. Could we make some? Of course we could!

At the time, there weren’t many patterns online. We downloaded one from craftpassion.com.

Within 24 hours of my arrival, I had trained a team of 20 women to make the masks using recycled textiles we had at hand. Bed sheets, shirts, t-shirts, school uniforms, you name it.

Over a 1000 masks were distributed to the local residents of Tondo in our first week of mask production.

Face Mask Cutting
Face Mask Making with Purple Community Fund in Manila

The city remained on high alert for a month, after which the volcano calmed to a level 2. But at this point Covid-19 had already arrived in Manila. Fear surged through the community once more.

In Tondo, it is very common for families of 10 or more to live in a small room together. Due to these living conditions, it was a huge concern that the virus would spread like wild fire with a devastating impact on mortality rates. Fortunately, by the time Covid19 arrived, we had a team of 40+ women across Luzon already skilled in face mask making. So PCF could continue paying them a good living wage whilst providing free masks to the communities.

The nanays in the livelihood centres in Tondo, Baguio and Bulacan made around 4000 masks during my time there.

When lockdown was announced at the beginning of March, I was working at the PCF centre in “Dumpsite” Irisan- Baguio, North Luzon

All foreign nationals were given a 72-hour window to leave the country. I didn’t really want to leave. It felt like my work in the Philippines wasn’t done. We had so many other projects in the pipeline. School uniforms, shoes, hats… But sadly I didn’t have a choice.

After hours spent trying to get a last minute flight on a terrible internet connection I then had the challenge of finding a way to get to the airport. Public transport had stopped overnight. No buses. Not even taxis or private vehicles for hire.

Finally, we managed to get in touch with the local tourism department and they gave me 30 minutes to get to the city hall. Luckily my bags were already packed. With a handful of other foreign nationals, I got escorted to Manila airport. What should have been a 4-hour drive took 9 hours with 5 temperature checkpoints and massive queues along the way.

Face Mask Making from Secondhand Textiles
PCF handing out masks to the local community

On my return to the UK, I continued making face masks. It suited the Leftover Threads ethos well as masks can be made from smaller pieces of fabrics like off-cuts, end of roll and other reusable textiles. At the beginning, I was donating a mask locally for every one sold. But the demand was so high and I couldn’t keep up. Luckily there is a big group of people making and distributing free masks to those that need them locally. So I decided to donate 15% of all our masks sales to PCF instead. I know that all the money goes directly where it is needed the most, making a big difference to people’s lives. PCF do so much for so many. Their charitable schemes span education, nutrition, housing, health, and livelihood.

Lockdown in the Philippines has been strict. Struggling families are even worse off now. They are only allowed out one day a week. Most families have had any chance of earning an income totally taken away from them. We are grateful that there are some nanays who have mask-making skills enabling them to go out on their day to the market, sell some masks and make some money for groceries. Strangely Taal Volcano‘s ash cloud had a silver lining and had prepared us for what was to come.  I know they are very grateful for the skill-sharing which enables them to sell direct. Purple Community Fund also continues to buy masks from them and distributes to those in need.

 

Many of PCF’s beneficiaries live in, on and are surrounded by waste. Not their waste- other people’s waste. Half of the community sort recyclables all day, every day.

Even the food waste from fast-food restaurants is “recycled” refried and sold. Its called pagpag and people eat it because it’s cheap. In Barangay 105, survival is a constant battle.

Every so often there’s a fire. Usually a result of working with plastic and heat in cramped conditions. Last month, a big fire meant over 1000 people had to be put in emergency housing by the charity with no government help whatsoever. Families are familiar with losing the little they have. They are resilient, positive and creative in the face of constant change. They know that life is as flimsy as the walls of their makeshift homes and rebuilding is part of staying alive…

Tondo local with facemask
Nanay's Making Healthy Meals

However, parents are hopeful for a brighter future for their children and believe education is the key. This is why PCF sponsors hundreds of students through school year in, year out. The opportunity of an education keeps hope alive.

Residents of Manila continue to live on strict lockdown measures. The Department of Education has announced that all learning will move online, via an App, for the foreseeable future. Without electronic devices, the poorest students are unable to continue their education. The Coronavirus pandemic and associated school closures now pose another immediate threat to the Tondo community; loss of hope.

PCF’s “Phones for Futures” campaign aims to secure electronics for as many students as possible so that they can access online learning.

By buying our masks you are providing essential support to these students and their families.

If you want to help directly by donating cash or a smart phone you can find more information here:

https://www.p-c-f.org/phones-for-futures/

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