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!

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

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

Record Deal

I love the genius behind these custom upcycled record necklaces from Junk Prints. How cool is that!?

$34 will buy you 9 letters and a choice of 3 typefaces, but Chanel from Junk Prints will also quote you a price for longer custom names or phrases.



Think of it as you're very own record deal!

This Ain't Your Mother's Sail Bag!

Oh, Yeah. I'm loving this new limited edition upcycled sail purse made with this lining material which is visible though the clear mylar and kevlar recycled sail.


Two of them will be available at noon today in my Etsy shop.

It's a Jungle In Here

I've received a rather large backdrop of printed vinyl to upcycle!



My first projects are being made from a great big green jungle backdrop- perfect to work with on grey cold winter days. This vinyl has been saved from the land fill after it was used on a studio set.

Close up:


The first completed messenger bags will be photographed and listed soon.

.... Later that day ....



Listed!

Happy Friday.

Clever

Lindsay Pemberton's (pictured below) tea bangles are a perfect example of clever upcycling.

"My products are designed to challenge our thoughts of our everyday objects and rituals. By reinventing traditional rituals and domestic objects they take on a new reading in each of our lives."

Available through here through Clever Bastards of NZ