Journal

We are so thrilled to introduce you all to our marketing extraordinaire Tyler, who doesn't just help build the LH community but also writes some beautiful poetry. Tyler uses her poetry to share her thoughts on love, healing, growth and more. We asked Tyler to share how she got started, why she loves poetry and some advice she'd give her younger self.

Hi Tyler! Why don’t you start off by telling us and the LH community a little bit about yourself?

Gosh this is a hard one. It’s always so difficult finding the words to describe who I am but give me a good break up and I can write for hours! I am a 23-year-old with a love for words. I spend my time between a book, a notepad, Pinterest, Instagram and Netflix. I’m from Christchurch, New Zealand and have lived in New Zealand up until the beginning of the year when I moved to Melbourne. I have always been inspired by creativity and finding an outlet that helps explore this – whether it is writing, styling or making mood boards. I guess you could say I am an old fashion romantic and some of my poems showcase this and yes, I believe in love at first sight.

How did you get into poetry?

I think it just fell into my lap really. I have always loved English and creative writing class was my favourite extracurricular to take in high school. I also found a love for drama in my final years at high school and during university – Shakespeare has a way with words that I think no one will ever be able to recreate. When my partner and I first started dating we found that we both wrote poetry and he pushed me to explore putting it out into the world.

What themes/topics do you like to write about?

When I first started writing it was during a time in my life where I was lost, confused and (of course) going through a rough break up. But now as I’ve gotten older it’s a mixture of events that have happened in my life. To reflect that change, I broke up my poetry on Quiet Thoughts into parts. Part one is all about the breakup, finding my feet again and moving on. Whereas Part Two is all about rediscovering and finding love for myself and for another person. Part two is definitely a lot happier. 

Tell us a little bit about your creative process - how often do you write? What inspires you to pick up the pen and open your notebook?

I don’t think I have a specific creative process and I go through stages of writing intensely and then not writing at all. My process and inspiration are completely centred around my life and what is happening or has happened in it. I finished writing Part One by the time I was 21 and Part Two I completed the start of this year. They were all done in large chunks; moments where I was completely in tune with my emotions. Whether sad or happy, writing was a way for me to let it all out. I have now started writing Part Three. This process started during lockdown and the emotions linked to this.

What's one piece of advice that you were given that you've carried with you through your life?

I can’t think of an exact quotation, but my mum has always been a big believer in standing up for yourself and being authentically you no matter what and I have carried this with me always.

Knowing what you do now, what advice would you give your younger self?

For writing: Put yourself out there. It’s scary but so rewarding. The response from people that your words are helping will be worth it.

For life in general: try not to be so hard on yourself, you are doing what you can. Everyone is in the same boat in terms of not knowing what they’re doing, and your twenties are for figuring your life out, not having it all together.

Where do you see yourself going from here? What are your goals for the future (poetry and otherwise)?

I don’t have any set goals for my poetry other than just continuing to write and showing it to the world. If it happens to get a large readership that’s a bonus, but really, it’s about helping people even if that’s only a small few. For the future, it’s hard to say with everything going on in the world right now but I want to be exploring my creative side with my communications degree – something in social media with a hint of fashion and beauty would be the dream.

Since your poetry focuses around love and loss, what would be your advice to someone who is going through a hard time?

My advice is to look to your inner circle – your friends and family. Find who lifts you up and makes you happy. It’s so important to have people around you that are empathetic but hard enough on you to snap you out of it when you need. My other piece of advice is that it’s okay to be sad. Let yourself heal and grieve, there is no right way to do this and no time limit on it either. Work at your own pace and ask for help when you need it.

It's Fashion Revolution week this week, a week where consumers are encouraged to ask brands who made their clothes in an effort to hold brands accountable, and demonstrate more transparency in their supply chains.  

Fashion Revolution week also coincides with the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, which killed 1,138 people (most of which were garment factory workers) and injured many more back in April, 2014.

The Fashion Revolution campaign started in response to this tragedy, in an attempt to create a cleaner, safer, fairer, more transparent and accountable fashion industry - something that we strongly believe in. 

At Lois Hazel, we don't support the exploitation of people, and believe everyone in our supply chain deserves and has the right to a fair wage, clean working environment and the ability to earn a living that gives them a quality way of life.

So, every season we are committed to sharing with you the cost break down of one of our pieces. By doing this we hope to help you understand the complex nature of pricing a garment and all the different elements involved. Breaking down the garment's cost also uncovers just how many businesses a garment supports. When purchasing a piece from Lois Hazel either via our online store or at one of our many stockists, you are not just supporting us, but also allowing us to support other businesses.

Pricing a garment can be extremely difficult; you have to make sure you are able to cover both your direct costs and your indirect ones, the ones that are often overlooked but always there. Rent, employee wages, marketing, just to name a few. Not to mention retailing it at a price that your customers can not only justify but also afford.

This season we have broken down the cost of our beautiful Scrunch Tee, in our effort to be transparent and share a little bit more about who made your clothes.