Hi. Welcome to Larkery!

When my girls were much smaller than they are now, I struggled to find reasonably priced organic, ethical and fun clothes for them. Maybe with a little bit of hip to them too. After all, we were living in Seattle, the hipster capital! I tried to avoid dressing them like frilly pink princesses, or worse, in bling and camo lycra like a tiny pop star. I didn’t want to gender code my girls from such an early age. No chance were they going to wear either the overly sexualized or the sparkly pink outfits which filled the aisles of the reasonably priced stores. There were plenty of Space and dinosaur themed tshirts for boys while the girls could choose t-shirts printed with images of cute tiara wearing kittens. I didn’t want them to absorb the narrow and limiting message about how their gender is supposed to look and act. It may seem like it’s no big deal what children wear in their early years, but I do believe that this gender marketing is so pervasive, how can girls and boys not fail to absorb the message that girls should be beautiful and docile, while boys can be boisterous and scientists. But I have to say, that I am all for girls dressing up in princess gowns for creative play or if that is what it takes to ease into the first day back at preschool. And I love a little boy in a princess dress too. When my girls are older, I hope they will feel confident about owning their sexuality in their own way, if that is important to them. And I hope that I can respect that, though I will fear for them, having experienced my own share of sexual harassment and misogynistic behaviour.

To find more gender-neutral clothing I had to move up the fashion pyramid to more expensive children’s clothing. In addition, I realized quickly that here I was able to find clothes made from organic cotton and that these clothes lasted long enough to be passed down to friends and family. But doesn’t it seem horribly wrong that you can only escape this gender stereotyping if you can afford to? Or to buy organic and ethically made clothes if you bring home a decent paycheck?

As I became more informed I added new “avoids” to my list and the number of companies that I felt happy buying from dwindled. I couldn’t buy my children clothes that came from a supply chain that used child labour. I didn’t want to buy anything synthetic due to the environmental impact. I struggled with the idea of cotton, even organic cotton, for the amount of water consumption involved in cotton farming. Sequins, besides being too girly, are plastic and will be around forever. But I couldn’t buy all their clothes from Patagonia! I love Patagonia and I am a believer in purchasing better quality clothes less often. I often guiltily think back to my fast fashion spending sprees in my 20s. Yet, I just wanted to find fun, quirky and ethical wardrobe staples at a reasonable price for my children.

When my younger daughter at the age of 3 started despising socks, underwear and clothing with tags, seams, ruffles, buttons, finding soft and simple clothes became vital and challenging. Finding clothing options that fulfilled our criteria was starting to take a lot of my time. Frustrated, I tried sewing clothes for them. A couple of skirts, dresses and trousers later, I realized sewing was too painfully slow for me. They had almost outgrown the garments before I had finished!

I decided to try printing onto a ready-made plain organic t-shirt. A pair of cute rabbits was the obvious choice for my bunny adoring older daughter. Soon a bunny in space followed for her sister and I was receiving compliments on the school playground. The girls loved their bespoke tees and I discovered that I loved the whole process of relief printing, from thinking in black and white, to the carving of the image in lovely lino, and then revealing the print in ink, with one print never the same as the next.

In 2020 as Covid hit, we were in the midst of an exciting adventure, moving from Seattle in the beautiful northwest U.S. to tiny Tisbury, nestled within the green hills of the south of England. This was where I grew up, where my parents still live, and it had been gently tugging me back. I was tired of the noise and relentlessness of the city. I reasoned that my family would have a unique experience and I would be close again to my parents. So the girls and I made the leap in June 2020, leaving Jon in Seattle for a little while, longer than anticipated, to tie up loose ends. With this fresh start I decided to see if I could maybe sell my tshirts to people who also cared about what they put on their bodies. After many walks through woods and across fields, being surrounded by so much nature, I realized that my t-shirts could go one step further. I could print images of endangered native British species. Children are so curious, so close to nature and will willingly take up the plight of a species in decline. It has been a slow process to craft these t-shirts alongside parenting and enjoying this experience of living in the British countryside. To remember this adventure, I have attempted to put it down in words and photographs. I found it more motivating to write snippets for faraway friends and family on Instagram than keeping a diary. These little essays also reside here on my website, where the various threads of my life are woven together, printing, knitting, motherhood, foraging, rambles across the countryside and a few escapades afar.

As my amazing daughters enter their teenage years, I am aware, all over again, of the limited scope in clothing for girls. My eldest tries hard to shop conscientiously from brands that are rated “It’s a Start” and up on the good on you website, but it is hard for a teen girl on a budget. Luckily, she loves thrifting and perusing the charity shops. Moving to the UK introduced us to the parental joys of school uniforms, which are very equalizing and easily passed along. But now my latest struggle is to find affordable black skirts and trousers that have not been treated with forever chemicals. Perhaps it’s time to return to the sewing machine!