Enlightening Upcycling

Small steps can make a big difference.

The Perfect Beach Bag

The Perfect Beach Bag? Really? Well, yes! That's what people say over and over when they see this roomy light weight durable tote.




Bonus: Not only is it eco friendly for the outside material: upcycled dacron sailboat sails. But the inside, too! A lovely combo of hemp and organic cotton muslin blend with a wave pattern.



Available exclusively here

Halogen's Green Gifts list ... and more!

I thought it was pretty cool to see my upcycled sail pillow on Halogen's 25 Green Gifts for the Home list. I'm in good company with Alice Water's 'In The Green Kitchen Cookbook' and this "Ever-Green" Aluminum Holiday Wreath from Eco-Artware



But when I went to the site and saw this video, I was sold on something completely different. Check it out:

Spinnaker Chair

Spinnaker, a Norwegian company has incorporated new and recycled sail material into it's modern furniture line. Constructed to allow your body to rest in a natural position which promotes circulation, this chair is made for comfort.

'A cruising sailboat is a spectacular sight and confirms that mankind
is subject to the laws of nature. This was our design team’s source
of inspiration when creating the SPINNAKER chair.
'

These chairs are made to order with lots of color and material options. You can even choose the text and symbol for the back of the chair.
Pretty cool.

Trash or Treasure?

What do you do when your vinyl banner wasn't printed quite right?

If you're Michelle from Cloud 9 Fabrics, you email me. I'm not one for letting something fun like that go to waste; soon it was sitting in my studio staring me down with potential.

Here's a first glimpse at some of the treasure:




Be sure to check out Michelle's collections of organic fabrics. Her current collection is entitled 'My Happy Garden'.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the 'By the Sea' collection which will start shipping in March 2010.

High Line

We walked the High Line Park yesterday and it was a completely wonderful experience. And not just because it was sunny and 75! The park that has been upcycled from the elevated train tracks has been cleverly designed at every turn. With street view gallery, wheeled benches that move on the original tracks, landscape that weaves in and out of the walkway - it's a park that keeps surprising and entertaining. Currently, it runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th with exits/entrances on 14th, 16th and 18th streets. There are plans to extend the park further to the north.



We have vowed to return with our kids when they come back form their summer adventures. This would be a great outing day or night. If you do visit at night you might be able to catch High Line Park Renegade Cabaret held between 9 and 10 pm and hosted by Patty Heffley's fire escape on 20th street. Visible from the park, it's literally a stones throw away. Check here Facebook page for announcements of upcoming performances. See and hear a beautiful audio slide show by the New York Times here.

High Line Park Hours: Open from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily.

More pictures on flickr.

New Item: Billfold Wallet

Just in time for fathers day (although these are great for moms, too!) and in response to your feedback, I have created a great full size wallet.

Snappy, huh?

Details in the Etsy shop

Upcycle - Catching on Quite Well

First, a little background: A week or so ago Etsy tweeted:

"I love the word upcycle and what it connotes. Recycling uses something again, upcycling transforms it so it’s even better than before."

I responded:

"Agreed! I wish ‘upcycle’ would be considered a real word to the spell checker so it’s not always underlined in red when I type it."

Junkprints chimed in:

"We should submit ‘upcycle’ to the word Nazis and get it recognized as a real word"

and Etsy suggested:

"Everyone go make friends with someone who works on the OED"

And added this link to a blog post about a quest to get 'food coma' into the EOD.

Since I'm a little short on friends who work for the OED, I emailed the Merriam Webster people:

Hello,
I was wondering if there are any plans to add the word 'upcycle' to your dictionary? It is a term coined by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, authors of Cradle to Cradle. Upcycling is the process of converting an industrial nutrient (material) into something of similar or greater value, in its second life.

I actually heard back!!

"Upcycle" is one of the many words we're currently tracking, but our evidence for this use of it (the term is also sometimes used to refer to an upward trend in business activity) is quite limited. I'll add the text of your e-mail to our files, though, and will also do some digging to see what else I can find. The little bit I've seen in the Lexis-Nexis database so far shows that the word as used by McDonough and Braungart is catching on quite well.

Upcycle is a 'real word' to me and I use it often. Although I'm not holding my breath for inclusion in the next edition, it was nice to hear that it's on their radar and perhaps someday will be defined to a wider audience. Until then it's up to us. Spread the word about the word! Use the 'upcycle' today!