Bella Gonshorovitz is a prizewinning fashion designer. She opened her made-to-measure studio in East London in 2012, creating fine clothes designed for longevity. A long-term vegan, her cooking is inspired by her childhood in Tel Aviv. Growing produce at her allotment has allowed Bella to experiment with different crops in the garden and in the kitchen. She has a clear, engaging vision of how we can live sustainably and shares this with warmth rather than worthiness. She lives in Walthamstow.

A uniquely holistic approach combining popular trends within the sustainability sphere - grow your own, vegan cooking, reducing food waste, and slow fashion

In the US, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. [Source: usda.gov] Bella not only shares her tips on growing and creating delicious vegan meals, but also shows you how to find other uses for excess food, creating natural dyes to fashion your own contemporary clothing, preventing waste in the process (US)

In the US, two in three Americans have stopped or reduced their meat consumption [Source: Cambridge University Press, 2018] (US)

Crafting is young and on-trend in the US: "The largest percentage of crafters (41%) are millennials, between the ages of 18 and 34 years old. Some 36% are 35 to 54 and 23% are 55 and older." [Source: Forbes Magazine] (US)

Google trends shows terms such as 'grow your own' and 'how to grow vegetables' are frequent in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada (Global)

​In the US, 18-34-year-olds are the fastest growing population segment of food gardeners, and there has been a 63% growth in the rate of gardening among millennials between 2009 and 2014. [Source: National Gardening Association] (US)

Using natural dyes to create your own clothes is a growing trend and is what links the food and fashion together. Instagram accounts have significant followings - Botanicalcolors from Seattle, Washington has more than 68k followers. [Source: Instagram]

Bella Gonshorovitz is a London-based fashion designer, dressmaker and writer. She has worked with Alexander Wang, on a sustainability project for Gucci, and on costumes for music artists, dance performances, and film productions. Her 'Gowns with Gratitude' initiative gained press attention during the pandemic when she tirelessly stitched over 8,000 gowns for ICU medics

Interest in using dyes to upscale clothing is growing, as home tie-dyeing became one of the biggest lockdown hobbies. In the last week of March 2020, search terms like 'DIY tie-dye' surged in popularity on Google and YouTube as people learned how to upscale their clothes without needing to leave the house. [Source: Insider] In July 2020, Pinterest reported that searches for 'tie dye at home' had increased by over 462 percent since the previous year. [Source: The Oprah Magazine]

Key features

The text gives Bella's unique, personal account of how she has adopted a holistic approach to sustainable living.

Bella's engaging voice, first-hand experience and straightforward instructions take the fear out of growing, cooking, dyeing and sewing, and make sustainable living feel friendly and creative.

The unique garden to table to garment structure walks the reader through each stage. The introduction includes essential advice, from the best vegan pantry ingredients to clear explanations of dyeing techniques. The five main chapters follow the journey of each crop from garden to garment.

Includes five growing guides - blackberry, onion, nettle, red cabbage and rhubarb - as well as advice on how to turn this produce into beautiful fabric dyes..

25 vegan recipes showcase the crops as the star ingredients.

Includes five exclusive garment projects, complete with step-by-step illustrations and full-size pattern sheets.