Research

Okay, so I spent a ridiculous amount of time watching videos on aquaponics and I am simply amazed by the whole concept.

WIKIPEDIA: Aquaponics, or pisciponics, is a sustainable food production system that combines conventional aquaculture, (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks), with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In aquaculture, effluents accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity for the fish. This water is led to a hydroponic system where the by-products from the aquaculture are broken down by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, then filtered out by the plants as nutrients, after which the cleaned water is recirculated back to the Fish.

Basically, you can have tower gardens or trays with gravel or chunks of granite in them. You set up some seed trays, then once they’re sprouted into tiny plants, you move some of the rock away and pop the plants in there. Then you flood the whole thing with water, which drains out into an overflow tub that then drains into a tub containing edible fish like tilapia or trout (depending on water temperature. Some people do tilapia in warm months and trout in cold.)

People are growing all kinds of vegetables – lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli – and there seems to be a fondness for beautiful strawberries grown in tower gardens (50 plants in less than five feet of space depending on tower height.)

Here’s some of my fave YouTube videos:





All Systems Red at Amazon

For “The Brand,” I’ve been forced to indulge in the horrors of research. Yeah, I know :)~

Since I’ve been watching a lot of kdramas and movies that take place in the Joseon period, somehow the concubines have ended up wearing hanbok-inspired formal robes. A lot of the hairpieces and accessories feature cloisonne decorations, as do some of the vases and statues.

I have also discovered a love for gache, or the Korean wigs mostly worn by gisaeng. Here’s a video I found HERE.  I really wish the vidder had added citations, since some of the clips have perked my interest 🙂 Honestly, I fell in love with the gisaeng look while watching Sungkyunkwan Scandal, a show I highly recommend.

I am desperately seeking a book of clothing through the ages, so if anyone knows of a good one, I would really appreciate it. Full-color illustrations so I can get a good visual idea of what I want to use. Or if someone knows a good website, that would be good too.

For the concubines: hanbok-inspired robes for formal occasions. They have regular clothes for the everyday.
For the nobles: doublets, jerkins, and breeches. The “hoity-toity” might wear hanbok, though I’m not a hundred percent on that.

Any help would be appreciated.