Rosy Crosby, 24, is a founder of the online vintage store Woven Earth. Rosy decided to open the shop to share her love for vintage and secondhand treasures as well as promoting ethical and sustainable way of shopping.
"One of my fondest memories from my childhood is making weekly trips to the charity shop with my mum on a Saturday. It had a giant table filled with everything you could imagine. My mum would give me a £1 coin and let me pick 5 things, whatever I liked."
Rosy remembers having weirdest outfits but it sparked her love of rummaging and finding second-hand treasures. "The only thing is I like to think my taste has got a little better since then!"
Rosy has an overflowing wardrobe, one of her favourite pieces is an old vintage hand-embroidered Mexican dress and a huge solid silver Native American cuff bangle which Rosy wears every day.
Rosy was raised in a countryside village in Devon, near Dartmoor. The founder studied Anthropology at University which further evolved the love for clothing, jewellery, textiles and artifacts from different cultures.
Rosy loves hearing the stories behind the items she buys. "All vintage pieces have had a previous life which makes them so much more interesting and all the little imperfections make it even more unique."
While talking about the most interesting item Rosy sold thus far, she has mentioned about the textiles. "Different patterns denote different cultural meaning. I sold some very old traditional Banjara bags a while ago and loved researching the meaning and history behind them."
At the Woven Earth, you can find vintage sterling jewellery from around the world. Rosy particularly loves Indian, Balinese, Mexican and Native American pieces. The store also has various clothes and homeware which are made with natural materials and earth colour pallet.
Rosy believes that more people are becoming environmentally conscious when it comes to buying new clothes or accessories.
"Vintage is an antidote to the highly damaging and exploitative fast fashion industry. I also think people like owning special and unique one-off pieces, especially in a world filled with mass production and consumerism."
"Buying vintage or secondhand also means that no new items are being produced, that's got to be a great thing? I think people are also seeing that the quality of vintage items is far superior to that of cheap fast-fashion, meaning it will often last a lot longer. Buy well, buy less!", adds Rosy.
Everyone needs to start somewhere to make the change. "I truly believe that everyone's small positive action have a wide ripple effect."
As well as physical changes everyone needs a mindset shift, especially when it comes to consuming. "It's important to understand that more isn't necessarily better. Nature and the environment should now be at the forefront of our decisions making."
For anyone who wants to start changing their shopping habits, Rosy recommends to search items at the vintage markets as not only you will be able to physically see and feel the items but also have a conversation with the seller.
One of the main challenges Rosy faced while creating the online store was believing in herself. "It's hard running a business single-handedly and can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially all the technical things. However, I try to learn as I go."
Rosy found it helpful reaching out to other small businesses owners to learn from each other's experiences.
When creating Woven Earth Rosy wanted to show a positive impact on the planet people can make. Sustainability is at the core of Rosie's business and one of the main reasons she wants to continue expanding her vintage store Woven Earth.
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