About us

The 2011 crew

Sarah

Sarah hails from Taranaki but lives in Wellington. She got married last year to Marcus, promptly got pregnant and had a beautiful shwop baby boy in February 2011.  She is currently being domestic honing her skills at nappy-changing, baby-talking and writing – in that order. Sarah is really into being a mumma and a wife, music, fair trade coffee, gardening, quality fiction, large hounds, travelling places, social history, dress-ups, ethically made things, wine, hanging socks out in pairs, documentaries, cooking, sustainable fashion, tidy sheds and dancing about being a goon. She once had a sky-diver land on her. Sarah is not keen on battery farms, injustice, science fiction and sports wear.

Inga

Inga also hails from Taranaki but lives in Wellington now too. She’s been in TV production and has worked on some cracking shows  like ‘How to look good naked’ and ‘You are what you eat’ over in the UK as well as the Winter Olympics and the Americas Cup. She’s just finished a telly series here which she feels pretty darn flash about.  Inga is currently spending far too much time oogling travel sites as is getting desperate for some sunshine. Inga is really into live music, George the cat, travelling places, wearing wigs and lippy to parties, fresh pasta, spending time with her girls, wine, film, film, film, old skool party games, West Coast beaches, sustainable fashion, pretty scarves, the Mediteranean and dancing about being a goon. She once had a goat that she dressed up in a babies bonnet and trained to jump over obstacles. She’s not keen on ridiculous big cars that use heaps of petrol, wetas in your gumboot and chess.

Kate

Kate is from Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, but has lived in Wellington for 9 of the past 11 years. She works in media as a manager, using her skills in people management. She spends far too much time online oogling vintage street style blogs. Kate loves running, flat shoes, old fashioned drinks like Pimms Cup, couch days, playing petanque on any available surface, cooking, attempting to make dumplings, dreaming of visiting Japan one day, sustainable and affordable fashion, laughing at her friends, and dancing around being a goon. She has never learnt to drive. She is not so keen on bad grammar and punctuation, the smell of roast capsicum and the idea that buying things will make you happy.

Jenny

Jenny is also from Taranaki and recently returned back to New Zealand after nine years in London. She works as a freelance graphic designer, and practices aromatherapy on the side. She spends far too much time oogling at design, photography and fashion blogs. Jenny loves flat whites, long walks, festivals, martini’s, markets, travelling, baking banana bread and vintage shopping (especially on Brick Lane). She’s not keen on moths that eat your nice woolly clothes, bad radio stations and jig saw puzzles that have missing pieces.

The founders

Inga, Sarah and Chrisssy

Inga, Sarah and Chrissy are the co-directors of The Big Shwop –  a company and concept that was started in August 2008 here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Chrissy is away in Canada snowboarding and being all Northern Hemisphere about everything. But we still wanna tell you all about her!

Chrissy

Chrissy hails from the Hawkes Bay but lives in Vancouver. She’s been in event management for some time and is an organisational whizz. She’s done heaps of sailing around the world which she feels pretty darn flash about.  Chrissy is currently spending far too much time oogling volunteer websites as she has pangs to go help out in South America for a while (update! She did!). Chrissy is really into travelling places, natural remedies, snowboarding fast, spending time with her girls, wine, campfires, sun,sun,sun, tennis, yoga, Japanese food, festivals, dress-up parties, sustainable fashion, gorgeous boots, and dancing about being a goon.  She once had a boyfriend that threw up on her feet.  She is not so keen on liquorice, holes in socks or plastic bags.

About The Big Shwop

The Big Shwop is an eco-fashion event. It brings together people and their wardrobes for an afternoon of shopping – shopping that doesn’t make a dent on your bank account or your conscience.

The idea is a simple one – you bring along your unwanted, barely worn quality clothes and exchange them for vouchers. When the shwop begins, you can ‘cash in’ your vouchers for any of the other lovely threads on offer. It’s nearly free, totally fun and truly fair trade!

Check out some articles, some TV interviews and all the deets of what, wheres and whens here