Summer Shimmer

Introducing (drum roll please) 3 new Recycled Sail bags:
The Big Dipper Tote:



Guess I'm dreaming about warm summer nights spent star gazing.

The Silver Streak:


And The Prefect Beach Tote (Because that's what people kept saying when they saw it.)



All available in my shop on Etsy!

Reclaimed and Upcycled

Here's another 'new' tote.





The handle material was reclaimed form a local belt factory that went out of business. The same place where the red patent leather bands on the 'Look at Me' tote came from in the previous post. Both totes are available here.

Good news, the old belt factory building was reclaimed and upcycled, too. It's been restored and revamped into The Invisible Dog Art Center. They always have interesting events going on: art openings, plays, open studios. Definitely worth a visit if your in the neighborhood.

Have a great weekend!

Sunshine Harnessed

Today is about as grey as it gets.

But, remember those fantastic bright sunshiny spinnaker sails that I posted about last week? Well, here is the sail upcycled and transformed into accent throw pillows. They are light and fun. Flip them over and you've got a different color combo.
Available in my Etsy shop.

The Fish That Got Away

As mentioned in yesterday's post, there were several nautical decor items that didn't make it into the Shopping With feature that ran in the Homes section of the New York Times yesterday.

I like nautical decor when it's not hitting you over the head (with an anchor). But instead suggests the sea in subtle, yet graphic ways. Here were my additional picks:

OK maybe the wallpaper by isn't very subtle - but it sure is fun! ‘Shore Leave’ Wallpaper ($150 per roll) by Brooklyn based Flavor Paper.

Haus Interiors in Nolita has a lovely selection of modern nautical decor. So much so that it was hard to choose. I can easily picture the Feed Stripe Throw ($178) slung over a couch and I love the Sea Grass Cube ($72), too.

Made from re-purposed fishing line woven with vines around a strong metal armature this Fishing Sphere Chandelier ($410 – 630) from Seaside Inspired evokes a images of sand dunes and surf for me.

Hand-printed organic linen tea towels ($18 each) by Madder Root available on Etsy. I love the graphics and the fact that they are made with organic materials and thread as well as solvent free water based inks.

I chose this octopus pillow ($60) by Utilitarian Franchise, another Etsy seller, also for the great contrasting colors and graphic plus the white eco friendly water based paint that they use in the process.

Down East Doormats by Maine Float Rope Company. Above is a medium hand-woven stripe doormat made from reclaimed float rope formerly used by Maine lobstermen $49.95. great background story on their site - worth a visit.

Barmaid cast iron bottle opener ($30) by Nauti and Co a NY based company looks like an artifact that you might find while beach combing ... if you're very, very lucky!

Nautical Bride

I had the pleasure of working with another nautical bride last week to create this very special custom ring pillow made from recycled sails. The grommet and reinforced square of sail around it are authentic to the sail it came from - a real and unique, eco friendly, nautical touch for their wedding.

New Designs

To celebrate Earth Day, I am introducing several new recycled sail tote bag designs in Reiter8's Etsy shop that are nature inspired.

They are fully lined in 100% organic cotton canvas, a fabric was produced from environmentally friendly materials and fabrication methods using sustainable fibers and low impact dyeing methods preserving the Earth's precious resources.

Happy Earth Day.
Enjoy!

The Plastiki Adventure

The Plastiki is David de Rothschild's mission, dream, expedition and boat made entirely from recycled plastic. Rothschild and crew have recently set sail on a 100 day, 10,000 mile journey from San Francisco to Sydney to raise world awareness to reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink more of the planets natural resources.

The mission's philosophy is:

"... about recognizing that waste is fundamentally a design flaw (it does not appear in nature) It’s about re-thinking waste as a resource. It’s about cyclical ‘cradle-to-cradle’ philosophies rather than linear thinking when it comes to how we design our world. It’s about a better understanding of the lifecycle’s and materials used in our everyday lives."

Good luck, Plastiki! Track progress and view video blog entries here. Additional videos and more on Plastiki's You Tube Channel.

photographs courtesy of Luca Babini, illustration by Andrew Rae

Eco Friendly Holiday

Get ready, get set ... go?

I do like having Thanksgiving BEFORE Christmas, but there's a whiff of Christmas holiday in the air so I thought I'd get these upcycled sail stockings out there for you early birds. (OK the real early birds were shopping in August along side my mom.)

I had so much fun photographing them in Julia Mack's lovely home. Julia is an interior designer - be sure to check out her very friendly and tip filled kitchen redesign video. Her dog Trixi (aka The Trixinator) was a lovely assistant and once the lens was pointed her way, she knew exactly what to do.




Recycled sail stockings in two sizes with red stars or stripes currently available on Etsy.

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.

Newly Listed

New in Reiter8's' Etsy shop:






This is a great group of bags with so many authentic sail features. Enjoy!

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

Booked

Thanks to all who braved the indoors in lue of the beautiful weather outside on Saturday and made sail covered books with me at the Brooklyn Museum. I had a great time and thought your creativity and stick-to-it-atness was wonderful. (Those grommet pliers are ... uh... challenging at best!)

What a setting! To be in the Rubin Pavilion was better than battling the crowds at the nearby Botanic Gardens. Big thanks to to Alisa and the education staff for all their cheerful support. They donated posters from past exhibitions for us to use in the books - fun! I would definitely recommend these classes - keep your eyes on the Brooklyn Museums Calendar page for upcoming classes and events!