Watching them just a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t believe the sort of balancing act these birds were willing to go through for the sake of their offspring. The beam they were building on was just too narrow, giving the nest a dangerous tilt. I’ve often had the opportunity to watch blackbird chicks grow up. The species is not very particular about nesting places, and they sometimes like to build their nests near enough to windows that they can be easily admired. By the time the two or three nestlings are grown, though, the nest will have been trampled and pushed quite a bit, and this precarious one on the beam just didn’t look up to the task.

But we have a bunch of real nature fans among us, including Regine, a very engaged animal rights activist. Although she specializes in hedgehogs, I thought that she’d be the right one to pose my question to: “Regine, how can we prop that nest a bit better without scaring off the birds?”

One ladder later, armed with clamps and a triangular cut-out of layout cardboard, we made our way to our impromptu refuge early in the morning. We were, of course, worried about what our feathered parents-to-be would have to say about our efforts. Would they continue to brood? Or would they take the disturbance as a signal to escape and never come back?

We worked quickly. We had the cardboard mounted within just a few minutes. Improvisational, but effective – and not much work, to boot. And it’s payed off so far: the blackbird mom was back on her eggs in the afternoon. We could just make out her beak and tail feathers in the darkness of the corner, but she was definitely there. Yippee! And what should I say: the sound of tiny tweets soon tinkled out of the nest – the chicks have hatched! The parents are diligently flying in with food; the cardboard functions as a take off and landing platform. And when the chicks become fledglings, they can put the platform to good use training their wings. I’d say so far, so good!

My colleague Katrin Backhaus wants to turn the whole thing into a project for apprentices here. They’ll have until next Spring to develop a sensible and sustainable construction for all roof-line corners, giving more birds better nesting places in the future at hessnatur.

Cool, don’t you think?

But what should I wear? On a daily basis, we hover in front of our crowded closets, without a clue, and ask ourselves that question. It sure feels like it, anyway. I’d like to share a few tips that I’ve come across during my online travels through the ether that might help put that clueless feeling to rest.

We sleep through a third of our lives, which is healthy and generally a good thing, after all. But the fact that we each burn up an average of 287 days in our lifetimes standing in front of our closets and staring just blows my mind! Sure, fashion is brilliant, and we like to own a lot of nice clothes. But often the myriad of our own choices becomes an agony all its own, especially when it comes to that goblin that lurks within the depths of our fashion consciousness – color combinations.

Dress according to who you are, and how you feel, independently of trends and ‘third party’ opinions. Jeans or shoes that squeeze the life out of you won’t do you any good at all. The secret to a stylish selection of clothing lies in color choices and combinations! Never underestimate the Power of Color, as it lends expression to you and your disposition. It tells something about you.

Let’s just take a few examples to help clarify. Red is passionate, emotional, and full of energy. Blue embodies integrity and sincerity. Black is elegant and refined. Yellow projects strength and optimism. Orange for courage and trust. Green for health and hope.

An now for the hard part – putting it all together. What harmonizes well together? What harmonizes with you, yourself? Can you wear it? It’s unbelievable how many faux pas are walking around on the streets. But for those of us who are not sure what works there is now a wonderful tool at our fingertips!

Elvan Online has created an admirable contrivance which makes color schemes a breeze. You submit a basic color and out comes a palette of shades and variations which harmonize well with your base color. Experimentation is fun and rewarding – give it a try at www.colorschemegenerator.com.

Have fun, and all the best! Yours, David.

“If a designer wants to create “green fashion”, creative potential is not enough,” explains Heimann. “He or she must first define “green”: Which fabrics may be applied? Which criteria should be followed for dying and finishing? What are the working conditions under which the clothing is sewn? How can the entire collection be produced in an sustainable fashion?”

Heimann wants to open the eyes of up-and-coming talent to quality criteria in “Ethical Fashion” by encouraging the development of their own concepts of what sustainable fashion is or could be. Particular attention is drawn to topics such as the “cradle-to-cradle” principle – a holistic framework which seeks to create efficient, waste free systems. Courses are available in English, and applicants are accepted internationally! Green fashion from new talent in Berlin! We’re excited to see the first results of the course, and we’ll keep you posted!

The first time I tried to wrap my head around the various methods of cloth diapering, I sort of stared at the pictures with this blank look of confusion on my face. Which insert goes under what layer? And where do you fasten what over which part? And which method is this one, anyway? Folding or fitted?

That’s why I’m going to attempt a short summary of all the cloth diapering variations that I’ve researched so far. And considering that my personal “experience” in diapering has yet to grow beyond theory, if you have anything to add or improve, then please feel free to do so.

I think folding is the most complicated method, and must require a lot of practice, patience, and dexterity. Each diaper must be folded individually. New designs have provided several improvements, though. As far as the technique is concerned, the diaper is folded into form. Then you place an insert (bourette silk is nice) into the folds and bind the construction around Baby. I would think that safety pins are a common order of the day.

Diapering with fitted diapers comes highly recommended, as the anatomical form and binding materials streamline the process as well as create a great fit which grows along with your baby.

Then at last there’s the virgin wool diapering pant, cocooning any sort of diaper. Moisture is absorbed to help keep Baby’s outfit dry, and she stays warm as well, no matter if she’s wet or dry underneath. You don’t even have to wash the wool pant as often as you’d think, as wool has a natural tendency to “shrug off” odors well.

As a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, hessnatur has a commitment to summarize the company’s approach to social standards in all areas of productivity, as well as project proposals and goals, in the form of an annual report to the FWF. This report is now available on our corporate website: How do we view social standards, and what do they encompass? Why do we produce in this country or the other? These questions and many more are addressed in the report, which has been given a new layout for this year.

We hope that our report further supports our efforts for transparency along our textile chain, as well as encourages a consciousness for the real value of a piece of clothing – with better knowledge of the kind of work that goes into a T-shirt, a pair of jeans, or a sweater.

The store is large, bright and has that “I’m at home” sort of touch about it. It harbors a bistro, a playground for the kids, and a beautiful garden. Had I not been on my way to an appointment, I would have lingered for some time in that garden.

After a warm welcome from store manager Cornelia Weber I was introduced to the showroom as a whole. In addition to showcasing ecologically fair clothing, the building itself has a lot to offer in the environmentally friendly department. The structure is composed of ecologically sustainable materials such as linoleum, wood from sustainable harvesting, and a rammed earth wall made from local materials, providing for stable temperature and humidity levels.

After familiarizing myself with the building, Ms. Weber lead me through all the departments, showing me the various types of clothing and textiles. Above all, the diversity and characteristics of materials was insane. I had them all in hand, and I must say that the fabrics felt simply fantastic to the skin. There was silk, wool (Merino and more…), cashmere, and of course cotton, all of the best quality. Then there was clothing made of unique blends like silk/linen.

At the end of the day, I was set loose in the men’s department and put together an entire outfit. The first stop on my “indoctrination tour” left me quite enlightened, and I’m looking forward to the rest of what’s awaiting me at hessnatur.

‘Til then, all the best!

Yours, David.

I watched the film “Babies” recently. The movie follows four babies from four differing countries, from birth to their first birthday. One child in the film is raised in Mongolia on a remote farmstead, and is tightly swaddled in cloth according to an old tradition.

I’ve learned that the ancient Greeks and Romans also wrapped their infants, although this seems to have been an attempt to prevent a contorted spine. The infants were very tightly wrapped and suffered under the circumstances. Ancient aboriginal peoples probably swaddled their babies with purely practical motives, making them easier to transport for a culture which was often on the move. We can only just speculate, though. No one can really know for sure.

Since we’re coming up to our due-date, I’ve been busily preparing for life-after-birth, as it were, reading lots and asking the advice of practiced parents. Friends of mine heartily recommended swaddling, which set me on a path of specialized research in that direction. Why should you swaddle a baby nowadays? We know now that imposed stretching is unhealthy, and as far as transportation goes we have buggies and baby carriages for every occasion and with every kind of doohicky imaginable. Besides, we’re not going out hunting anymore, except in the supermarket aisles. So why should we handily pack up the kid like we were ready for a quick getaway?

If you think about the fact that earlier parents didn’t have as much time to spend with an infant, it seems logical to swaddle a baby to keep her warm, quiet, and snug while you’re busy surviving. I can imagine it like this: a baby comes out of her mothers warm and trusted womb into an endless emptiness – our world. Her head, arms, and legs are no longer buoyantly cradled in a comforting bath of amniotic fluid. Rather they are strangely heavy. Like letting the warm bath water out and realizing that you actually weigh something. You suddenly feel yourself pushed into the hard ceramic by gravity. It starts getting cold, and the light goes on. But then you wrap yourself up in a nice warm towel and feel cozy and well again.

By swaddling, the arms and legs of a baby are wrapped against the body to prevent uncontrolled movement of the limbs, which can often startle the baby herself and wake her from a comforting sleep. They say swaddled babies cry less and sleep better because they feel more like they’re in the warm, snug safety of the womb.

Swaddling grants the infant a small trip back to the security of the womb. That newborn just came from nine months of the closest contact possible with the mother. Wherever I go, there always seems to be a mother with a baby buggy walking by. When I peer inside the buggy, there lies an infant which emerged from that intimate contact just a month or two before. And she’s lying all alone in the buggy. The baby was far closer to her mother and her mother’s environment in all that time in the womb, so why change things now? Carrying the infant directly against the body, swaddled in a sling, can give the baby a lot of that close contact back.

As far as I’m concerned, I’m sold on the subject, and hessnatur has some pretty cozy blankets in the diapering and swaddling section of their on-line shop which I’ve already got my eye on. But don’t just take my word for it. There are differing opinions about swaddling, and I would suggest that each expecting mother do some research on her own in order to make an informed decision.

We’re shooting for our new Fall/Winter collection (available starting July 2012 in our catalog and online shop) in Majorca at the moment. Also on location is the team from Lookbook, highlighting selected outfits from the collection in the midst of all the great landscape of the Balearic Islands. You can find first impressions of the set on our flickr photo album!

As cold as it’s been, I’ve learned to love hessnatur’s cotton maternity slip. When you’re wearing it, it really looks goofy – like a diaper with a tummy warmer built in – but the slip is gloriously warm, and that’s that. You don’t see them under all that maternity wear anyway. Perhaps the maternity slip would be even better as hot-pants – might keep the rear end a bit warmer?

To go with it, I ordered the matching cami. It’s pretty sheer and a bit short for my taste, with frills at the neckline which I personally don’t really like and are not that noticeable in the catalog (you can zoom in on-line, though). It would be nicer without the frills.

The lounge pants are comfy to wear and leave enough room for the tummy to grow. I think that’s really important, since I expect a lot of comfort in a pair of jogging pants. The jersey insert warms the tummy nicely because it really covers all that ‘real estate’. The legs end at the ankle so the seam doesn’t drag on the floor (although it might be really practical if it did, as you would have to vacuum less ). The fabric is unfortunately a little course on the skin and the velveteen coaxes every bit of lint off the carpet – but lint doesn’t bug me much, and there’s that vacuum advantage to think of.

At hessnatur’s latest sale I ordered myself a cardigan for the colder weather, and I’m absolutely delighted at how easy everything has become. Just slip it on, button up, and you’re warm. Since my jackets don’t fit me anymore, I just have the cardigan underneath and wear the jacket open. Because it’s really long, it keeps my legs quite warm as well.

No matter which cardigan you order, it’s simply the best piece of clothing for a pregnancy in winter!

The first thought that went through my head as I unpacked the maternity bra was, “There’s probably no maternity bra in the world that’s sexy.” Although this one is adorned with lace edging, you can still see that it’s a functional piece of clothing. Not that it really matters; I’d just never had a maternity bra in hand, and simply needed to get used to the look of it.

What I liked most about it is that as soon as I had it on, I just plain forgot about it. At some point in life, it dawned on me that nothing was pinching or pushing or constricting. This bra fits so perfectly that you just don’t notice it. And thanks to its natural fibers, it feels totally comfortable against the skin – a woman’s not likely to sweat under it, which keeps the nipples from itching.

I can’t actually put it to the test as far as real nursing goes, but I can’t imagine what could go wrong. It opens quite easily and continues to support the breast wonderfully.

It occurs to me, though, that the straps cannot be adjusted very far. I have them adjusted to the maximum length and can imagine that they could use a bit more to allow for a growing bosom. This might be a case of too much variation being better than too little.

Then I tested the long sleeved and short sleeved tees. Excepting the sleeve length, they are the same cut. Considering the fact that just about all of my tops are too short by now, I was quite pleased about the length of the shirts! They make it just down to my fanny, and the gathers on the sides create plenty of room for my growing tummy. The gathers also help keep my midsection snug and warm because they create a complete enclosure, and don’t let the breeze in.

The shirts also don’t fall victim to much bagginess – cotton tends to get baggy because of its stretchy nature. That is, it stretches, but then doesn’t come completely back into form like elastic would. This was a positive surprise, because I already have a few shirts made of natural fibers which have unfortunately become very baggy. The wide neck line is also very comfortable. Not too low, but more importantly not too tight or constricting around the neck.

The tights which I wrote about last time, by the way, are definitely worth recommending in the below-zero weather we’re having at the moment! They’ve kept me warm despite cold winds and icy rain.