From Fast Fashion to Conscious Creation: Designer Nat Stratos Launches Eco Artisan – A Circular Design Hub on the Mornington Peninsula, Rosebud, VIC

CHAT SESSION 113 with Nat Stratos

Topic- With Eco Artisan, Nat Stratos is creating more than jewellery or fashion — she’s building a movement for slow, thoughtful, community-driven change. Whether you’re an artist, designer, maker, or curious local, there’s space for you at the table.

Monday 23rd June 2025 1pm https://rppfm.com.au

Podcast 🎧 https://megaphone.link/LCRUI6790827454

Meet the Founder: Nat Stratos

Nat Stratos is a multi-disciplinary design practitioner with over 23 years’ experience across fashion, textiles, education, and government. She is the founder of Neo3DT, a 3D-printed jewellery brand with a closed-loop take-back system, and Co-Circular, a research initiative in circular fashion systems. She has designed for brands and retail organisations like Adidas, Target, Myer, Anaconda, Kmart, Big W, and Play Corp, and created uniforms and technical apparel for the Australian Army, RAN, and RAAF. As a circular design educator and consultant, she’s led workshops and panels for RMIT, the National Gallery of Victoria Design Week, McClelland Gallery, and Victorian schools and is a spokesperson in her area of practice, Circular Design.

A significant chapter in her journey came through her work with the City of Port Phillip’s Cultural Development team, over a decade where she served as contracting art director and costume designer for five promenade theatre productions on rough sleeping, homelessness, substance use, and sex work. These powerful, place-based works deepened her commitment to community engagement, social justice, and creative placemaking.

“These productions fundamentally shaped how I think about design — as a tool for empathy, connection, and social connection,” she says.

This is her Story

What began as a playful virtual tequila tasting during lockdown has evolved into a bold new vision for ethical fashion and community connection. Local designer Nat Stratos has launched Eco Artisan, a creative retail and workshop space in Rosebud, inspired by her passion for sustainability, circular design, and social impact.

The seed for her journey was planted in 2020, during one of Melbourne’s many lockdowns. To lighten the mood, Nat and friends participated in a virtual tequila tasting party. Nat made herself and friends a pair of cacti earrings to create a festive vibe using a 3D printer and compostable corn starch PLA filament. When a friend posted them online, they went viral. That single moment sparked Neo3DT, her biodegradable jewellery brand, and opened a new pathway forward.

That joyful beginning stood in stark contrast to Stratos’ 25-year career in the fashion industry — one she describes as “wasteful and unethical.” Tired of overproduction, short-lived trends, and landfilled garments, Nat felt called to create something more meaningful.

Through Neo3DT, Nat creates planet friendly zero waste 3D-printed jewellery and limited-run fashion collections from upcycled and biodegradable materials. Her collections are not just wearable — they are designed to provoke thought, raise awareness, and express purpose. By showcasing her pieces through markets, exhibitions, and community events, she brings attention to issues of waste, ethics, and regeneration in the fashion industry.

“We’ve been designing for disaster for a hundred years,” she says. “It’s time to unlearn capitalism and move beyond colonial-based design. We don’t need more stuff — we need systems of care, repair, reuse and reflection.”

After losing her job due to the pandemic, she returned to university and completed a Master of Design Futures at RMIT, specialising in emergent Human-Centred practices refining her practice as a transitionary Circular Design Practioner — laying the foundation for her next chapter.

A Global Perspective Inspires a Local Vision

In 2023, Nat spent a year travelling through Europe and Asia, exploring global sustainability movements, artisan cultures, and circular makerspaces. From regenerative fashion initiatives in Italy and Greece to community hubs in Indonesia, she was inspired by models that reconnected people to materials, place, and each other.

Those experiences directly shaped Eco Artisan, a concept store and creative hub that brings the values of circularity, creativity, and inclusivity back to the Mornington Peninsula.

Eco Artisan: A Place for Creative Placemaking and Circular Futures

More than just a store, Eco Artisan is a local incubator for conscious living. It offers hands-on workshops in upcycling and sustainable design, curated artisan wares, and inclusive community programming. From local artists and micro-makers to NDIS participants, the space is built for everyone.

“Everything we do here is about rethinking our relationship to consumption and to each other,” says Stratos. “Design and making can foster not just environmental awareness but also wellbeing and social connection.”

A Leader in Circular Design Education

Today, Nat is a recognised speaker, facilitator, and circularity advocate working with councils, communities, and businesses to co-design ethical futures. Through Eco Artisan, she is building a community of makers, thinkers, and learners transforming sustainability from a buzzword into a lived practice.

“Circularity isn’t just a trend — it’s a necessity. But no one can do it alone. We need ecosystems of care and collaboration to make the shift real.”

Join the Movement

With Eco Artisan, Nat Stratos is creating more than jewellery or fashion — she’s building a movement for slow, thoughtful, community-driven change. Whether you’re an artist, designer, maker, or curious local, there’s space for you at the table.

About Eco Artisan

Eco Artisan is a concept store and circular design hub in Rosebud, Victoria. Founded by designer and social innovator Nat Stratos, it offers sustainable fashion, community workshops, and education programs grounded in circular economy principles, local resilience, and inclusive making.

Conscious Creation PENINSULA ESSENCE ARTICLE

Nat’s purpose:Through jewellery, garments, and events, Nat uses design to communicate values, spark dialogue, and inspire circular change.

Quotes:

“We don’t need more stuff — we need systems of care, repair, reuse and reflection.”

“Fashion can be a platform for healing, for story-sharing, and for connection.”

Follow + Contact:

Neo3DT,Instagram: @eco_artisan_shop

Nat Stratos: LinkedIn

 nat@neostratos.com.au

Unit 5/3 Rosebud Parade, Rosebud VIC 3939

0405 455 715

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