JAN 26 NUTRIENT

Nutrient: (noun) a substance that provides nourishment essential for the maintenance of life & growth. 

Here's Jolene's for January '26

This episode of Nutrient is coming to you from a small modernist cabin on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula just South of Fort William. Owned by two artists whose studio + home is adjoined, Mil and I came here to recuperate from bad colds, but also to work on something new + exciting for this year (more soon). 

Being in the remote countryside + striving to enter the new year with hope & positivity has me musing on community in various forms, so I thought I'd share some community themed things that nourished me recently: 

Community is central to our brand DNA, and is the thing we are most proud of. Together we raised over £12,000 for the Palestinian cause hosting online + in person events last year, and we continue to receive missives about how our garments worn out and about start conversations + create connections. 

My favourite book of 2025 was Storm Pegs, A Life Made in Shetland, a memoir by the Poet Jen Hadfield (youngest ever person to win the TS Eliot prize) about building a life as a "sooth moother" ("south mouther" / doesn't speak with a Shetland accent as is from "south" as anywhere not Shetland is known as) on my mum's tiny island where I spent every summer of my life until lockdown. As someone who lives in the city, but romanticises living somewhere remote and close knit, this is a beautiful love letter to nature, language + community. 

I also loved Kishies + Cuddies, A guide to the Traditional Basketry of Shetland, by Lois Walpole. Mil was actually at the Royal College of Art at the same time as Lois, both mature students, and like me she has Shetland ancestry. I'm quite jealous of people who have a niche passion like basketry, which has taken Lois all over the world as part of the basketry community. This book is perfect both as social history, but also inspiration to try and make something... 

On this mini getaway I finished reading two books that you will no doubt be very familiar with, but just in case you'd like a nourishing reset:

1) Rest is Resistance (the Nap Ministry on insta). Community naps are part of Tricia Hersey's activism, but I'm starting with small moments of rest from screens - for example staring into space + daydreaming or simply breathing consciously rather than scrolling when waiting on a train. Simple but lovely. 

2)Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer about what we can learn from indigenous communities - hopeful and inspiring and full of beauty.  

Finally, another community I find hopeful and inspiring is that of Good Law Project whose tag line is "We use the law to stop hate and bring hope". I've been on their mailing list and have been signing their petitions for a while, and promised that as soon as I started paying myself (achieved in Nov 25) I'd start a small monthly direct debit so I am part of a community of people choosing HOPE. 

Thank you for being part of our Irregular Community - we appreciate you and look forward to sharing new things in this New Year. 

Jolene xx