We're thrilled to welcome New York City-based designer Nia Thomas, and her ethically-made pieces, to the Idun family. Since launching her brand in 2018, Thomas has created vibrant pieces with an emphasis on Mother Earth, using plant-based materials and recycled fabric. Plus, Thomas plants a tree for every garment sold.

Her pieces are joyful, they're forever and they move with your body. They're beautiful now and will be beautiful years from now. 

We asked Nia a few questions about her background, her brand and what's next for her. You'll love her; we do.  

Give us the quick rundown: what’s your background and how do you identify as a designer?
I’m so excited to be at Idun, thank you for having me! I identify as a designer who believes in making work that is revolutionary in sustainable ethics and social commentary about the times we live in. What I design is very autobiographical in a way about the current place I am in my life. What’s resonating with me in my designs currently is a need for comfort and versatility. I love transition pieces that I can wear to back-to-back business meetings in Barcelona, running around the NYC garment district sourcing fabrics for my factory, or having a delicious dinner and mezcal with friends on the Mexican coast.

You’ve described your work as “anti-fashion industry.” What do you mean by that, and what does that mean for your production process?
Being “anti-fashion industry” to me includes not participating in the toxic cycle that is the current fashion industry in regards to overproduction, exploitation of garment artisans, producing pieces with unsustainable resources and dismissing a garment's lifecycle. I don’t think it's responsible to keep pumping out billions of new clothing every year at the rate that we are when we can’t figure out a proper lifestyle for these garments and thus they are ending up in landfills and our precious bodies of water all over the world. The way I combat this obstacle is by making smaller, more intimate amounts of pieces that I truly believe in while heavily researching about how they will recycle back into the earth. I feel that most people in the fashion industry aren't forward thinking in this way or just greenwash their products with false marketing and that's where many of the problems lie.

You’re very transparent about the true cost to make a garment ethically, with everyone in your supply chain making fair wages. By educating the consumer about the realities of ethical fashion, what are you hoping for?
When I was growing up, every August my parents would take my sister and me school shopping. We would save and buy valuable essentials like one good coat, a nice sweater, two pairs of sturdy jeans and one pair of well made boots. We would wear these for the entire year and many times even longer unless we outgrew last year's items. My parents instilled in me to always invest in quality over quantity.

Nowadays people don’t want to make investments in their clothing because fast fashion is cheap, easily accessible and trend driven. If people stopped investing in fast fashion but started investing in high quality timeless clothes they wouldn’t need to shop as often. The glamorization of overconsumption is egregious. I am transparent about my process so people can comprehend that they are investing in well made quality garments they can wear for 20+ years, pass down to their children and know that it was made with the utmost care and high class materials. My artisans and I work incredibly hard and deserve to pay ourselves fairly for the countless hours we pour into producing each and everyone of our pieces by hand.

"The glamorization of overconsumption is egregious."

How do you want people to feel while wearing your pieces?
I want them to feel like goddesses flying down from the sky, almost like an airbender, representing all of the earth's most powerful elements: air, water, fire. A spiritual and sensual energy pulsing through them that creates confidence. A feeling of an ethereal being that embodies self love in its highest form. This type of vibrancy creates a powerful glow that I see light up when people wear Nia Thomas. 

What are you currently…
Reading? 
Women who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. It is basically a spiritual Bible for women and reminds me of fairy tales for adults.

Encouraged by?
I am encouraged by all of the strangers that reach out to me after they purchase something of mine saying how they feel the magic in my pieces. They feel so special and comfortable when they wear them and are inspired to live their best lives in them. I feel so proud and encouraged to keep going when I read these types of praises from people all over the world whom I admire.

Enraged by? 
People’s lack of compassion towards migrants and refugees. The ignorance around this is absolutely egregious. I think many people don’t comprehend that a refugee is also a human being fighting for a better life. Kindness matters.

Inspired by?
Kara-Lis Coverdale’s music. Specifically the song Touch Me & Die off their Afertouches album. This music is great for meditation, dropping into a creative process, listening to at the end of the day to unwind from the craziness of the day, and dancing. I love music and sounds that make me feel a variety of emotions every time I listen to it.

Tripping over?
I’m constantly tripping over a healthy work/life balance. It is so necessary to take steps back when it all feels overwhelming to look at the work I produce with fresh rested eyes. Running a sustainable brand isn’t possible if I don’t have a sustainable lifestyle that includes self care and boundaries with my career.

Snacking on?
Sweet, plump, juicy cherry tomatoes picked ripened and straight off the vine in my garden.

SHOP: Josephine Bodysuit // Ailey Pant // Misty Bralette 

There’s something so relatable about a strawberry. Maybe because they’re the only fruit to wear its seeds on the outside. They’re tart to start, then sweet as can be, but be careful – they bruise easily. 

This season, Marimekko, renowned Finnish design house known for their original prints, took to the strawberry to celebrate the summer. Strawberries are playful, youthful and eternal, much like Idun herself. 

Shop: Lenella Mansikka Dress

First, Marimekko’s Mansikka (strawberry) dress, a classic A-line dress with a V-neck and a front and back central seam. The dress has a wrinkled look and comes with a fabric pouch, making it a breeze to travel with, since there’s no need to be precious about folding it. Wear it for a backyard dinner, or at a more formal celebration, cheerings to anything and anyone. 

Shop: Mansikka Smartbag

Farmer’s markets, here we come. This lightweight and beyond sweet shopping bag also features Marimekko’s Mansikka (strawberry) pattern. It folds up neatly into a small pouch, so you can always keep it in your purse or car. No more excuses for not having a reusable bag on you. 

Shop: Kalliola Pieni Tori Shirt

Marimekko’s Tori (marketplace) print is meant to capture the atmosphere of a vibrant fruit market. We’re inspired. We’re imagining wearing this to lunch on a patio with a glass of Riesling. Fits oversized, so size down for a more fitted look. 

--

Strawberries
by Edwin Morgan

There were never strawberries
like the ones we had
that sultry afternoon
sitting on the step
of the open french window
facing each other
your knees held in mine
the blue plates in our laps
the strawberries glistening
in the hot sunlight
we dipped them in sugar
looking at each other
not hurrying the feast
for one to come
the empty plates
laid on the stone together
with the two forks crossed
and I bent towards you
sweet in that air
in my arms
abandoned like a child
from your eager mouth
the taste of strawberries
in my memory
lean back again
let me love you

let the sun beat
on our forgetfulness
one hour of all
the heat intense
and summer lightning
on the Kilpatrick hills

let the storm wash the plates

--

苺 ~strawberry~
by Misamurai Tanbo

The taste of first love
is like a strawberry
mostly sweet
but sometimes sour 

The long days, the warm nights. Happy summer solstice. 

To celebrate, enjoy these four summery poems that may inspire you to catch a firefly or nap on the beach or daydream a little longer. 

When we got to the beach
by Hollie McNish

i screamed
sprinted to the sea
flung off shoes and socks
ran towards imagined heaving waves
and jumped each tiny trickle that I found there
with just the same excitement

you stayed back
took your socks off more timidly
giggled at your stupid mother
eventually took my hand

we jumped together
and we jumped together
and we jumped together

three hours later
collapsing on our backs
we made angels in the sand

the seaside always made me
want to scream

now
with you
i can

What to wear to the beach:
Linen Bucket Hat
Short Caftan
Idalia One Piece
Mia Sandals

Marjory Sweet is the author of Farm Lunch. A book that describes an overall approach to cooking and a framework of ingredients that can be adapted and combined in countless ways. We are so delighted to carry Farm Lunch at Idun and learn more about the woman behind this unique and inspiring book.

Tell us a little about yourself. (Where do you reside? What’s your background, is it specifically in farming, writing etc.?)
I grew up on the coast of Maine; a landscape that I can still feel in my bones even after 10 years in the desert. During my early 20's, I lived in New York City and worked for artists: at Rivington Arms gallery, with Maryam Nassir Zadeh in her shop & showroom, and for Tony Oursler and Jacqueline Humphries. I never wanted to become an artist or gallery person, but all of those experiences were intensely formative for me at the time and they have shaped the work I'm currently doing in unexpected ways. I moved to New Mexico in 2011 for a drastic change of scenery, pace, and purpose. I didn't plan on farming, but I knew I wanted to be outside as much as possible. A single summer on a 5-acre Organic vegetable farm turned into two summers, which turned into nearly a decade of growing food. At this point, certain aspects of that lifestyle are deeply ingrained in me. No matter what else I do in the future, farming will always be my most significant, most personal effort in this lifetime. Writing has been a thread throughout, I suppose. Right now, my work is a nice balance of farming, cooking, and writing. 

Tell us about the inspiration or intentions behind Farm Lunch. 
The book is based around the concept of "farm lunch", a template anyone can use to prepare a different, locally-sourced meal every day using an accessible set of ingredients. The point is not to replicate my life or my lunch exactly, but to cultivate your own routine around market shopping, cooking and eating. My hope is that the book makes people feel capable and inspired. It's intended for anyone who prepares, consumes or thinks about food. 

What recipe have you been going back to again and again these days? Would you be willing to share it with us?
Various combinations of goat's milk ricotta, greens, and eggs---the gifts of early spring. Highly recommend Pasta Grannies, or any of the 90's-era Chez Panisse cookbooks for inspiration. Also, salsa verde on everything. I think it's the best way to use up all the green bits that start to emerge from the garden and markets this time of year. Recipe in Farm Lunch!

1. Hiking with my pup (Finn) at sunrise in the wilderness surrounding Santa Fe. The quality of the light and the air in that first sliver of morning is unreal- profoundly still, yet ultra-charged at the same time. I love being out at that hour. It's when I do all of my deep thinking. 

2. Watching Steph Curry play basketball-- that guy is a whole lesson in how to maintain your edge, composure, and personal style in the midst of chaos. 

3. Talking to my older brother, Sam Sweet. He is a lighthouse for me in this world.

Current book or publication you’re reading?
I've recently had the urge to revisit all of the books I read (or was supposed to read) when I was 17, so right now I'm halfway through My Antonia. Willa Cather's writing is so lyrical and unflinching-- it's mesmerizing. I've also been exploring Jane Grigson's work, especially Good Things. Food writing from that era is notably lean and elegant; very inspiring to me. I'm particularly intrigued by her recipe for gooseberry tart and something called "4-day spinach."

Have you let anything go recently- an object, belief, goal, way of thinking or doing that has made you a better or happier person?
Oof, well. The older I get the more it becomes clear to me that life is so much about letting go: of expectations, regrets, patterns, ambitions, desires, you name it. I've been thinking a ton about this lately. Something specific I have let go of recently? Being fixated on outcomes-- it's so freeing to simply honor the process instead. On a less revelatory note, I just let go of a rug I've had for years. Turns out it's extremely refreshing to roll up an old rug, toss it out the door, and plant your feet on a freshly revealed surface.

Images by Halley Roberts Strongwater

Shop Farm Lunch HERE.

We always ask Andi to share what music she has been listening to as she has exceptional taste and her discoveries end with us learning unique and avant-garde musicians to add to our favorites.

This new mix is like a slow awakening to springtime. Quirky, unhurried yet buoyant, with a hint of nostalgia. A perfect playlist to get you in the mood for spring's arrival. 

Listen to Andi's mix Lassitude and Attitude HERE.