Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.
Megan Nolton, of Art Shark Designs, created this awesome print representing her hometown – but her shop also includes many prints representing other cities, including Philly, Venice, and Portland. Trained in graphic design, Megan also fancies printmaking and painting. Her “city love” prints are created using a Gocco printer and the red umbrellas are delicately added with watercolor. [Read more…]
As a child of the 80s, my formative years were spent watching John Hughes movies, crimping my hair and hanging out at the record store. I had an unquenchable thirst for new music and, even with my tiny allowance, I managed to collect a couple hundred albums. Although I’m still hanging-on to a few favourites, I have since replaced most of my collection with compact discs and MP3s. And, judging by the overflowing bins of vintage records at the thrift-store, I’m not the only one. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (pun intended), when I think of the thousands and thousands of records languishing in such bargain bins, I can’t help but wonder how many thousands more went straight into the garbage.
Sharing my concern are Lorie and Tom of Rock and Roll Coasters. In their four years selling albums online, they’ve literally had to throw away hundreds of scratched and unplayable copies. Frustrated by all of the waste, they came up with a clever reuse for otherwise unusable 45s.
Each Rock and Roll Coaster is not just a nostalgic spot to rest your drink; it is a little piece of music history. Tom and Lorie take the actual record (not a copy) and, using their own perfected technique, embed it in 1/4″ of High Gloss Acrylic. They’ve even included the little yellow spindle adaptor for even more retro-cuteness. Love it!
One of the records that I have carefully tucked-away in the back of my storage room is The Go Go’s 1982 release, Vacation. I must have logged about a thousand hours in front of my dresser mirror, hairbrush in hand, singing along to “Our Lips are Sealed”. It’s no surprise, then, that I was instantly drawn to this purse by Brinda K Design. Making use of the album cover, inner sleeve and the record itself, these upcycled handbags are as durable as they are eye-catching. Hardboard backings, vinyl fabric and tubing, rivets, varnish and coordinating ribbons are all part of the construction of each unique piece, and evidence of Brinda’s impeccable attention to detail.
Another spin on album upcycling is this awesome tray, also by Brinda K Design. Made from an unplayable album and its cover, with leather-like riveted tabs at the corners, this catch all will make itself useful in the bedroom, hall or office. At just over 7” square, it is the perfect size to hold keys, personal electronics, stationary, jewelry, change, mail and more.
Finally, do you have an earring collection worthy of Cyndi Lauper herself? Here’s the perfect storage solution for “green” girls (that just wanna have fun):
Karen, of Retired Records creates her way-cool earring stands (above) from unwanted records and makes sure to include plenty of spots to attach your treasures. Each one-of-a-kind table-top display will hold up to 52 pairs of earrings or can be used to show off photos, artwork and more. Turn it around and you’ll see the support that Karen has smartly fashioned out of the album’s sleeve. Conveniently hinged, it holds the record upright when in use and allows it to fold flat for storage or travel. (Just in case you decide to get the band back together and head back out on tour.)
I find that one of the most difficult things to organize is my never-ending pile of jewelry. A jewelry box is functional, however, I have found that openly displaying your jewelry can be even more beautiful and can even serve as a piece of artwork within your home.
The handmade jewelry organizer pictured above is from a wonderful shop called BlueBirdHeaven based in Louisville, Kentucky. The artist, Jessica, is a sustainable architectural designer who is the original creator of these jewelry displays made from vintage printer’s drawers. She is passionate about finding ways to reuse the distinctive and beautiful things that surround us. Visit her shop to see all of the different colors and styles available to fit any decorating scheme.
This whimsical little butterfly jewelry display can be found at Hook and Line. The idea for the artist’s designs came from her daughter’s growing love for jewelry and the need for a place to store it all. You can display all sorts of earrings styles on this simple picture frame style organizer. What I love about pieces like this is that you can see all of your earrings at once, so it makes selecting a pair that matches your outfit incredibly simple. No more digging through jewelry boxes, no more searching for that missing earring.
This last jewelry display helps you to organize not only your earrings, but your necklaces as well! Frank and Marla of New Dimension Wood Design have a jewelry display line called Jewelry Holders For You where they specialize in their one of a kind, elegant displays suitable for home use or in a boutique setting. Frank is a professional wood craftsman with forty years of architectural woodworking experience and creates truly beautiful works of art.
Find these and many other jewelry display ideas online, or have fun coming up with your own unique designs! As always, feel free to share your ideas with us!
My name is Jennifer M. Brown. Under The Root began for me almost ten years ago with the intention of moving fabrics across the body to capture the essence of movement.
The ideas and dreams were growing like grass on my brain and fingernails. The skillset with textiles had just began to develop and continues to lighten my grasp with the human body and deepen the desires with running fabrics across the skin.
The Company, Under The Root, began in Chicago while designing and producing pieces for performers, clients, and necessity. It has continued, since 1998, to create delicates with sustainable and reclaimed, repurposed textiles.
The structures are designed to connect wearers with their personal charm, burlesque nature, conscious responsibility, and utilitarianism character. Each pattern has the inclination to uncover an individual’s sensuality and playfulness. This discovery, then releases the humor and desire for textiles that overlay the skin and ‘turn on’ the needs of what breathes underneath.
Today, each handmade structure reflects the use of materials and the grace of the human body. The designs display the nostalgia of the vintage eras they represent and the functionality needed for the 21st Century.
The collection of materials being drawn from include vintage textiles, sustainable fabrics, recycled and reclaimed textiles from glorious, miscellaneous finds, and the ever-growing cutoffs. All the materials are hand-picked and laundered before the construction.
Inspired. That’s what I felt after visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery last weekend. My husband and I are members, so we’re free to pop in any time we like to check out the newest exhibition which is a great luxury. So much so that we may not even look into a new exhibit in that much detail in advance like we would otherwise, we’ll just head down instead to check it out in person. For some reason I wasn’t that excited about the WE: Vancouver exhibit. I figured, I live here already, and as much as I love it I’m not super interested in some kind of rah rah city pride type of thing. I found something very very different that encouraged me in more ways than one. (The Reclaimed Dress above is from Etsy shop, Adhesif.)
Seed Bombs from Visual Lingual
With the dawn of the internet, we’ve seen the rise of countless different types of sites – and I couldn’t help but wonder after visiting the exhibit, how this easy transmission of information might be changing our collective perspectives for the better. Now it’s altogether possible that the folks whose thoughts and work were on display came to these views without the internet’s helping hand, but there were three outlooks that I have heard expressed again and again by people online and by my own friends in the last couple of years that I can’t help but wonder if there is some kind of interplay there, and a really great one at that, that is making these types of views far more mainstream than they ever have been before.
Throughout this post, you’ll find handmade items that I feel fit the various themes of this post in one way or another!
Reclaimed Wood Vase from Peg and Awl
The first “manifesto” I came across in the gallery found it’s main focus in nature and architecture, and painted an enticing vision of individuals who find themselves deeply connected to the outside world in a sustainable way. If you’d like, read more here about Mari Fujita and Matthew Soules vision of a future where we commute by kayak and pluck tomatoes from our wallpaper, right here.
Next, a commentary on conscious consumption – reminding us to be in touch with what we eat and use in our day to day lives. Either by baking bread, or planting a fruit tree or any other number of things as Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon suggest here.
Reclaimed wood terrarium from Ecogro
Next stop – a display courtesy of Natalie Purschwitz, who for one year decided to wear only things she made herself. You can read more about her project here.
If you have a chance to read these manifestos or to peruse Natalie’s blog, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Are you inspired like me, or do you think these lofty ideas and ambitions are unrealistic or somehow unattainable?