Its a rare and special person who will risk everything- family, comforts, and personal preference, to follow a passion.  To pick up everything and go somewhere different to get a shot at living a dream is sorta a big deal.

But that’s exactly what Claire Matthews, a U.K. native and Aussie transplant, has done- and one reason why we love her so much!  Claire’s journey to living and working in Australia started back 2008 when she left everything in her quaint house in Surrey to move to Australia to work with young people.  She started by doing a youth study course on the Sunshine Coast that opened up doors for this talented young woman to begin working with skateboarders and the skate community. Now Claire manages multiple skate shops across the Sunshine Coast and is a unique position to be living a passion for her life- impacting young people and using her skills in design, marketing and business to serve others.  “I’ve always wanted to run a shop!” she says of her sometimes very stressful and manic role. “Here I have the chance to be doing something I would never have a chance to do in Surrey.”

In between managing skate shops as well as a new surf shop drop-in centre for young surfers, Claire still manages to find time to draw and design- another big passion for her.  At one point, she even turned part of one of the skate shops into an art gallery!  From skate decks and canvases to tee-prints for a fair trade clothing brand (wink wink), Claire gives it all a go with a full heart to serve, and we’re very grateful to have her as the feature artist and inspiration for the ‘Monster+Math’ collection.

We finally had a chance to catch up with Claire and ask her a few questions about the range and her art…

1. What was your inspiration behind  the whole monster thing that has been used in Moselles latest Tee range?

Whenever I have something going on inside me these little dudes turn up and help me get it out onto a page. It feels calming to draw what’s going on whether it’s wanting to vomit up all the worries and hope that are tying my guts up or to see hope for change lifting me up when I have no energy left. I hope that recognizing in these monsters experiences you’ve been through will give you hope or at least make you feel a little less alone.

2. Are there any that you have a specific story about?

Mr Monster weighed down by a boulder that’s being lifted up by three birds… when I first drew him there weren’t any birds, I was feeling really weighed down and heavy. Then one day I had some real encouragement that gave me hope and I could feel hope doing its business, lifting the load. Everything I had to do was still on my shoulders but hope was helping me carry it.

3. How long have you been drawing for?

When I started drawing my other hand was busy with its thumb in my mouth. That’s why I’m right handed, because my left hand was busy.* (*probably not why)

4. What gets you in the creative mood?

Being frustrated or sad gets me drawing, being happy gets me making things – bunting, clothing, skateboards, pompoms, fixing stuff, I love fixing stuff.

5. Do you have a favorite monster for this latest tee range?

I enjoy vomiting monsters. They aren’t really intended to be gross, it’s my attempt to get something out of me. You know that feeling in your stomach- regrets, loneliness, nervous anticipation, everything that ties you up and fills your brain. How good would it feel just to throw it all up at the feet of someone who really cares about it and doesn’t mind if you get some on their shoes.

6. What excites you about ethical/fair trade clothing?

I want to live in a world where people help each other and care about people they don’t even know. Where people don’t make their decisions on what saves them a buck but on what is good for other people.

7. How did you get connected with Moselle Clothing?

I’ve known Dan and Catrina for a couple of years now. They’re rad people, I admire what they’re doing and when they asked me to be involved I did a little jig in the middle of morning tea. Thanks guys!

It’s been an exciting year for us here at Moselle, one of lots of ups and downs and plenty of stories along the way!  The Moselle story has always been about confronting injustice and exploitation through beautiful clothes with a beautiful story.  It’s about making an impact through what we wear, what we buy, and the story we live.  It’s about caring for people, caring about doing the right thing, caring about our world.  And it’s about the power of our individual impact.

Over the coming weeks and months, we hope to keep you updated on all the little changes, big and small in the world of Moselle and purely ethical clothing- stuff that we’re really excited about and hope you will be to!

The blog (what your looking at now) will be the first point of contact- we’ll be updating new blog posts with great pictures and great stories from our rescue partners, the world of ethical fashion, and Moselle’s part to play every week or so- so check in often.

We’ll also be shooting out a flashy, spiffy looking newsletter to a few lucky ones every now and again chock full of all kinds of fun stuff, great deals, unique promotions and general lovin’- so be sure to put your email down to be in the draw for that one on the homepage…

In the meantime, its life as usual through our lovely little beach hut on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Moselle-Clothing/110415765714250 and always for up to the minute latest, @moselleclothing on Twitter.

(Psst.  We’re actually on Instagram too, if your into the whole photo thing).

Before you leave, leave a little note and comment around to say you’ve stopped by and tell us what you think!  Your input’s really important to us and the foundation of this business.

And there’s so much left to come!  So don’t go be’in a stranger…..

Welcome to 2012!
Dan and Catrina

Fair Trade Fortnight is coming up this weekend and with it we’ve got some huge news — Moselle is becoming fair trade! Yup, that’s right, Moselle is incredibly delighted to announce that we have recently become a licensee member of the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand (FTAANZ) and our next tee range, due out later this year, will be made with Fair Trade Labelling Organisations (FLO) certified fair trade organic cotton!

Tell Me More!

At Moselle, we’re dedicated to the goals of the fair trade movement and are proud to say we have pledged to only use fair trade cotton in all of our future t-shirt ranges! The fair trade organic cotton fabric used in our next range, due to be released in the second half of 2011, will be grown and sourced from India, and will still be made into shirts in Thailand, by women who have been rescued from trafficking. So with Moselle becoming fair trade, and Fair Trade Fortnight coming up this weekend, whats the deal with fair trade anyway?

Why We Love Fair Trade

Fair trade is a guarantee that the workers who made the goods are getting a better deal. According to several international fair trade organisations, fair trade is, “a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade.”

The fair trade movement began back in the day when people started realising that producers in developing countries frequently weren’t becoming much better off when they traded their products. Many times growers of crops such as coffee weren’t paid a price high enough to even cover their costs, while the large companies who purchased their beans sold them for many times more than what they paid for them and made huge profits! Fair trade was set up to change this.

Fair trade operates on 10 key principles, which aim to address big problems like worker poverty and child labour. Farmers and craft groups who make or grow fair trade products are routinely paid higher, agreed prices; work in safe working conditions that meet international UN guidelines; have the right to vote in their groups; don’t use child workers; are paid a social premium which pays for community services like schooling, and commit to being environmentally sustainable. Pretty cool, aye?

And It’s Organic Too!

At Moselle we’ve been in love with organic fabric for a while, and currently use it in several of our lines. Awesomely, because fair trade is focused on the environment, many fair trade items, like Moselle’s new upcoming range, are organic too! Switching completely to organic makes a big difference for a product like cotton, where non-organic cotton production uses massive amounts of herbicides and pesticides (16% of the world’s pesticides, in fact), which cause air and surface water pollution and can lead to significant health issues for workers including skin irritation, breathing and reproductive problems.

Growing and buying organic cotton means healthier, happier farmers and a cleaner environment. We like!

Click here to learn more about the benefits of fair trade cotton. Stay tuned for updates on the new Moselle fair trade t-shirt print collection!

Come See Us at Fair Trade Fortnight!

To celebrate this great achievement Moselle will be hitting a bunch of events for Fair Trade Fortnight (May 7 — 20, 2011). If you live on the Sunshine Coast make sure you come see us at the Caloundra Fair Trade & Green Market on May 14^th, An Evening in Peru in Brisbane on May 19^th or the Ethical Fashion Evening on May 20^th at the Stitchery Collective!

Happy Fair Trade Fortnight from Moselle!

It’s been a crazy few weeks at the Moselle office recently with the launch of our new Tee Design Competition and now we’ve just commenced another exciting new event — our first ever New Year Sale! The New Year Sale features great discounts on lots of Moselle tees with over 40% off the usual retail price for most items on our online store! This is your chance to get your hands on the last few funky Moselle items in stock — many of which may never be re-printed! All tees purchased help to provide ongoing employment for women rescued from trafficking, so every purchase makes a difference! View it here!

The New Year Sale includes a healthy variety of Moselle prints and three new tee lines from our friends at Motto. The Motto tees are not made by Moselle but all revenue from their sales goes into growing Moselle! Thanks Motto! Check out an example of one of the stylie new Motto tees here

Get in quick as there are limited items in many of the lines and stock will go fast! Check out the sale now at: http://moselleclothing.com/

We are super proud to announce our first-ever Moselle tee print design competition! The comp is called ‘Stories of Freedom’ and gives designers and Moselle fans alike the unprecedented chance to design the next range of Moselle t-shirt prints!!! Pretty cool, you say!? Yup!

The competition involves designing 2-4 original t-shirt prints for the next Moselle tee range.  Designs must be centered around the theme ‘Stories of Freedom’, which is inspired by the unique and beautiful stories that each of the young women who make Moselle t-shirts have. To make it even more exciting we’re offering $300 Australian in cash and coverage on the Moselle site for the winning designer! Check out all the details at [intlink id="167" type="page"]http://moselleclothing.com/blog/teecomp/[/intlink] !

So if you’ve always craved the chance to design t-shirts check out  [intlink id="167" type="page"]http://moselleclothing.com/blog/teecomp/[/intlink] now and get your entries in! Not a designer but know someone who is? Forward this link onto them and tell ‘em to get their entry in!

Get your entries in now! Entries close 5pm April 15th, 2011!

Buy anything between now and Christmas and recieve 20% OFF your next purchase through Moselle Clothing’s webstore! 

Stocks are limited, so get in quick, and get your discount for the next time you shop at Moselle!

Merry Christmas from the Moselle Clothing Team!

Check out the new look as well as 16 new products on sale!

Keep an eye out for upcoming new designs, as well as nifty Chrissy promos….

Its been an amazing two weeks since we’ve landed, the first week just getting oriented and over jet-lag, now this week in Chicago, already three events into the Tour and lots more to come in the days ahead!

We’re currently in the city of Chicago about to head out to the ‘burbs’ to the town of Wheaton to take part in an advocacy night with a local church there, meet up with the Destiny Rescue USA folk based in Indiana, spend some time on Wheaton Colleges’ campus connecting with students and then sharing at Wheaton college’s International Justice Mission (IJM) chapter- so things are really picking up steam on the tour, we’ve updated the tour schedule on the Tour Schedule post, so check this out if your in the surrounds!

Meanwhile, our picture uploading capabilities are severely handicapped at the moment, but will get some pics up here soon!

In the meantime, here’s where were be and where

Oct 15-  South  Bend, IL
Oct 17-28-  Chicago IL,
 - Ispento Coffee Shop
   (www. ipsento.com)
 - Faith Evangelical Covanant 
   Church, Wheaton, IL
 - International Justice Mission
   Wheaton, IL
- Traffick Free Chicago
  (www.traffickfree.org)
Oct 29-31-  Grand Rapids, MI
Nov 3-11-   PA
 - Calvary Church, Souderton, PA
Nov 12-13-  Baltimore, MD
Nov 14-21-  NC
Nov 22-23-  YWAM Richmond
Dec 1- 14-  DC
Dec 15-17-  NYC
Dec 18-20-  Toronto, Canada

If you are in any of these areas around these times and haven’t touched base with us yet, we don’t want to miss you!  We will have a cell phone with us and we will email out the number when we get it to our tour contacts, so please drop us an email at ‘danandcatrina@gmail.com’ if you already haven’t!

Otherwise, we will be keeping regular tabs on the progress of the tour on this blog, so CHECK THIS SPOT for future updates, photo’s, stories, roadtrip tidbits, as well as progress reports of impacts being made in ‘sharing the story of freedom’!