When I Grow Up
est. 2004
A Creative kind of Life. A blog by Helen Hobden
I still haven’t worked out what to do when I grow up! I’m mainly a writer, an artist, and a fairytale dressmaker with various crafty hobbies! Here (and on YouTube) I share bits of my life, thoughts, and what I’m learning along the way. Let’s find magic and inspiration; join me for this creative living adventure!

 

Blog Archives

Oshun dress
Cultural Appropriation in Fashion. Should it really matter?
September 7, 2017
  If you know me, then you’ll know I am a person who happily trundles on in life, getting on with things as pleasantly as I can, doing as much as possible to avoid drama or confrontation. However, I think someone linked to a blog post I wrote over year ago, as I’ve come back from holiday to a flurry of angry comments on the post called OSHUN – THE STORY OF MY CLOTHING BRAND, AND THE YELLOW DRESS INSPIRED BY BEYONCE’S IN LEMONADE. I thought I would respond to those comments in a blog post, rather than reply to them individually, as hopefully I will explain myself and my opinions in a more complete and thought-through way. So to understand what I’m about to talk about, you might want to have a look at that post first and have a read of the recent comments below it. In summary though, it was written at a time when Beyonce appeared to be channeling the ancient African deity, Oshun, so I wrote a bit about her for those who hadn’t heard of her before, and explained how I came to choose her to name my clothing business and a dress after. I wrote a brief message a couple of days ago addressing this on my Threads of a Fairytale website, and if you don’t mind, I’ll quote it now as an introduction: “Hello! I’m back from holiday and had a wonderful time exploring the Acropolis and other ancient remains and ruins around Greece and Albania and have come home full of inspiration. Three new goddess dresses influenced in design by ancient Greek attire will be appearing in the Threads of a Fairytale shop very soon – one in pink, one gold, and one in a mottled green and grey – all pure silk chiffon. I will continue to be inspired by religions and cultures from all around the world; ancient and modern, because that’s the way art grows, develops and nourishes one’s soul and interest. The term “cultural appropriation” seems to be more in fashion than fashion itself at the moment….If you’re a regular visitor to this page, you’ll know that I changed my clothing business name from Oshun to Threads of a Fairytale a couple of months ago and explained my reasons here. And no, the change had nothing to do with cultural appropriation because I’m sorry, I simply don’t agree that it’s a problem here. We have been influenced by our neighbours of all colours and heritage since time began and I think that’s a wonderful thing. Segregating oneself and not allowing this to happen comes from a place of ego, not from a place of good”. If you are going to comment here or on facebook (or anywhere), I would appreciate it if you take the time to read this whole piece to fully understand where I’m coming from, and hopefully even take a minute to think about some of my points. I haven’t written this to try to get anyone to change their opinions – of course we’re not all going to agree, but I want to say at the beginning that I have listened to your comments; looked into them further, and really given it some thought from all points of view before writing this……
Game of Thrones costume ideas
October 7, 2016
Winter is coming and that means halloween is creeping up on us, so I thought I’d start you off with ideas for costumes from the famous HBO series, Game of Thrones. I’ll be honest, I didn’t get into it straight away – I think we gave up on it after a few episodes because I thought it was too violent and gratuitous and already characters I liked got killed. Then I knew I was going to meet Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) as she was going to judge the competition where we made items of clothing from old books. So I had to watch it, just in case it came up in conversation! So we ploughed through, and it wasn’t until the third series when I actually started enjoying it. Then I really got into it! Here are some ideas from Etsy….
Why I’ve decided to turn down work
September 7, 2016
This post is about my Oshun clothing business that you might have heard me mention one or two times, or have spotted the links on the right hand side there! I thought it might give food for thought or be useful for anyone else running a handmade craft business. I have recently turned down the opportunity to make a whole family different Clash of Clans costumes, and have since had two more requests for the Witch character’s costume for Halloween. This is why I said no….
Weekly Wardrobe – Summer Dresses (Glastonbury Festival edition!)
June 30, 2016
The day of the week for these posts have been a little random lately – sorry about that! Glastonbury Festival just messes with my schedule, and I’m not sure it will get much better as I’m quite busy over the next few weeks. However, I’m going to do my best to get these back on track and uploaded on Mondays. The misty drizzle that’s more-or-less settled itself over Pilton was not ideal for NotDressedAsLamb‘s theme of summer dresses this week. I did manage to wear a couple though, but with a cardigan over the top!
Oshun
Oshun – the story of my clothing brand, and the yellow dress inspired by Beyonce’s in Lemonade
May 13, 2016
I still have the notebook in which I brain-stormed possible names for my clothing business sixteen years ago! I was particularly interested in goddesses at that time and wrote several down, but the name Oshun resonated. When I found out more about her, she seemed perfect to name my brand after. She is a water goddess of love; a deity of the Yoruba people of West Africa and is associated with femininity, sensuality and the power of women. She has come into the news lately because there are rumours that Beyonce wore a dress in Lemonade which specifically represented her….
A day in out in Bath during Fashion Week
May 4, 2016
I don’t need much persuading to go to Bath – it’s a beautiful city and considering how close we are, I really should go more often. It’s the annoyingly slow and windy drive that puts me off I think. Anyway, considering clothing is one of my favourite things, I thought I’d go during Bath in Fashion Week. I chose one paid-for event, which was the talk with Livia Firth on sustainable fashion, and was pleased to see on the website that there were plenty of free things going on that day as well….
Sustainable Fashion – a talk with Livia Firth
April 23, 2016
If money weren’t an issue, I would have been up and down to Bath all through its Fashion Week, and despite entering every competition I could find, I did not win any tickets to the fashion shows. I did however buy a ticket to see this event with Livia Firth in conversation with fashion writer, Avril Groom. As you probably know, I make and sell clothes by recycling/repurposing/reclaiming/upcycling (insert favourite buzz-word here) unwanted fabrics with my clothing label Oshun, so sustainable fashion is something I am very interested in….
Farm Festival review, Bruton, Somerset
October 2, 2014
Oh my goodness – apologies for not posting in absolutely ages! One of the first things I was busy with was Farm Festival  which took place 1st – 2nd August. This review is from a trader’s point of view. We arrived about lunch time the day before the festival opened, and set to work putting together our stall. I don’t know how it took so long to do this, but it managed to take several hours! Although we were ready by nightfall, we quickly realised that the festival wasn’t anywhere near ready….
The Glastonbury bag dress
June 17, 2014
Recycled clothing When you walk through the entrance of Glastonbury festival, this is usually the scenario: You’re pulling some kind of trolley or cart stacked up with camping paraphernalia; it’s wobbling precariously, but so far the bungee cord is holding. The rucksack on your back is killing your shoulders and the bag full of cans of cider and snacks is cutting into your hand. Your hoodie, which you only just remembered is tucked under your arm. Your free hand clutches your ticket and by the time you’ve reached the turnstile you realise you’ve over-packed again. You get through the gates and you’re given your programme, then your fine guide; a policeman offers you a collapsable water bottle; someone else gives you a recycling bin bag and then someone from Yeo Valley hands you a tote bag…..
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