Sustainable fruit and wegetable grosery bags

More and more cities (San Francisco, LA, Modbury in Devon England,...) have banned plastic bags from super markets and shopping malls. Still waiting for your hometown to follow suit? Do your part by implementing your own personal bag ban: Stock up on reusable shopping bags (hit up Envirosax to purchase a well-designed set of five, or go the DIY route and sew your own). Avoid leaving stores with new bags at all costs, and find a way to re-use the ones that have made their way into your home. One method of keeping them out of the landfill: Crocheting another plastic — but reuseable — bag yourself.

Taking your own tote shopper with you gives you something to carry your shopping home, but what to do with those small vegetable and fruit bags? You have to pack your veggies somewhere to weigh them! A few Etsy sellers have an exellent alternative - tulle fruitbags. The see-through material means the cashier can read the produce number/barcode, and the bags can easily be washed and reused. A few dollars gets you a variety of sizes and colors from fabrik.etsy.com and ficklefaerie.etsy.com.

ReadyMade magazine Re-fashion issue

ReadyMade magazine Re-fashion issue feature this trashion decor project, using belt buckles as crafty storege solutions. ReadyMade also features other cool DIY projects, "MacGyver" challenges, gallery for your DIY project pictures, discussion forum and designer features. Plus of course they blog.

Rolling socks with Sabrina Melis

Sabrina Melis of Alghero Sardegna Italy sews jewels from old socks and other materials. Her soft jewelry is 100% recycled and gorgeous! Like candy. Her rolling-technique is very god to use when doing crafts from woolsweater scrap pieces or other thick fabrics for clothing details, home decor (like pillowcases, floormats) and soft toys.


Via HauteNature blog.

Attention Trashion bag ladies!

(bag made by Post Scriptum)

Are you an upcycler? As in, are you into making stuff from things that others cast away? Now is your chance to show the world your trashy treasures. The Compai ladies — Justina and Faythe Blakeney (authors of 99 Ways To Cut, Sew, Trim And Tie Your T-Shirt Into Something Special) — are working on a new book about bags made from recycled materials.

Submit a hi-res image of an original bag (or bags) that you have made from old tires, nuts and bolts, candy wrappers, seatbelts, old clothes, plastic bags, vinyl records, etc. to justina@venuszine.com. Bags can be any shape, size or style so long as they are made from recycled materials. Along with the images, send us your name, occupation, age, URL (if you have one), location and a short paragraph explaining what the bag is made of and your design philosophy.

You could be chosen to be a featured designer in Compai’s upcoming publication (to be published by Potter Craft, a division of Random House), plus win two free copies of the upcoming title. The winner also will be featured on Venuszine.com.

Deadline: August 20, 2008, at 5 p.m.
Submit to: justina@venuszine.com with "Bag Book" in the subject line.


(Lace glove bag made by Flymissy)


(sweater bag by Brenda's bag)

Trashionista group in Flickr

As you know I´m admin of a group called TRASHIONISTA - Sustainable style and recycled fashion in Flickr. We have over 1000 members so far! I created this group to support sustainable fashion thinking and all you crafty trashionistas out there. If you have made, sewn, knitted, reconstructed fashion pieces, clothes or accessories from recycled materials or eco-friendly materials, this group is for you. Come and show us your talent! Thank you for all who have contributed so far. Below some of my favorites. Reduce Repair Reuse Recycle - TRASHION!

Dress and hat by Sunshine Loves You



Recycled fabric bunny called Betty by JunkerJane.


Patchwork dress by eviegreenpixie.


Reconstructed dress and zipper corset by LoriMarsha.



Knit reconstruction by -astronette-


String scarf by psarokokalo.



Converse belt by rachelyra.

Trashion light fixtures

My latest finds in trashion lighting fixtures made from recycled materials. I just wish I could do metalwork or electrical work.

Coffee filter sconce lamp


Propaine tank lamp by fringecollection.etsy.com


Tincan light fixtures by MariposaAvenue


WASTE NOT lamps made from recycled plastic utensils by BVBCollective





MILAN 2008: Fethi Atakol’s Functional Artwork


Lamp shade from recycled and melted plastic bottles by ThisGallery.

Jackson Pollock jewelry with nailpolish

Bits and Bobbins tips us off to re-vamp your jewelry with colorful nailpolish Jackson Pollock style. The tutorial is made by Fops And Dandies. Love this! Fantastic re-use idea, that is also very trendy considering all the paintstained fashions we´ve seen this summer season. And you can make these in one evening. If you do not have any extra nailpolish at home, you can find some for sure at your local thrift store or fleamarket. I´m also quite sure that this same technique can be applied to other accessories like bags, belts and shoes (maybe not not textile covered..). So you will have a matching set!!



Dolce & Gabbana SS2008 collection:

Discarded to Devine 2008 runway show pics

Discarded to Devine 2008 recycled fashion show was held in SF in April (previous post HERE). The organization has now released some runway and entry images of this fantastic event on their site. Click to "Design & Designers" and 2008 images. Definately worth checking out! Also keep in mind that Discarded to Devine 2009 is coming, so check back to the site for more info. Maybe some of your designs will make it to the 2009 show!

Thight fashion - Päivän sukkahousuvinkki

Pantyhose or thights are a big no-no for the eco-concious fashionista since they are made nylon (= polymere plastic). They brake easily and therefore are often thrown away after just few uses. I prefer to use only fish-net thights because I have noticed them to be more durable and therefore I buy maybe 5 pairs a year. Maria Lau makes jewelry and other werables from thights and other recycled material by braiding and binding them together with beads and luxurious pearls. She has worked with fashion houses like Michiko Koshino and DKNY to name a few.






In case you did not know, re-using pantyhose in new ways is a bit of a joke in Finland. A local food market chain K-Kauppa used to publish "today´s pantyhose tips" (Finnish "sukkahousuvinkki") in their magazine Pirkka. Hilarious stuff like "Slip a champagne bottle in a pair of pantyhose when popping the cork. This way the cork will not fly to anyones head and hurt them". People claimed to use thights for almost anything and I do not doubt that some meant what they wrote in. The magazine actually paid for good tips... Anyway, if you do make something from recycled thights and want to wear them in Finland, make them so well that people don´t realize them being thights and don´t advertise the original material... Some people just wouldn´t get the trashion aspect. I´m sure this is not the case in the rest of the world. We are a funny nation sometimes.

How to make a thights necklace, a tutorial by Smaggle Style. Made from thicker winter thights.


Thight dress in Discarded to Devine fashion show in San Francisco.




I remebered seeing this dress in the inside cover of Destenys Child´s album. Look at the middle dress. I think it looks exactly the kind of design I would go for when using recycled thights. Although nylon can be a very "hot" material to wear, since it´s plastic, the dress has to be lined with jersey. Even the pearls are not a problem! I have a box full of wooden beads at home. The beads were salvaged from a dumster, a thrown away driver´s wood bead seat cover. They have been waiting for a project like this. I think the worn down wood beads and skincolored granny thights would get a major facelift on this kind of a project. Now I wonder what metal zippers (canvas part cut out) would look like mixed and bound up with thights....? My friends will propably think I´ve gone insane if I ask them to give me their cast off thights...? Have to think of a diplomatic approach.

Maria Lau´s link found via Style Bubble fashion blog.

Junk Beautiful interior design book

I love my local bookstore Hobboks. Every time I go there I spend at least two hours just reading craft books and having the complementary(!) coffee cup and cookies while sitting on a very comfortable couch. This is why small books shops kick departmentstore ass any day. You are able to spend time in them, talk with the expert staff and READ before deciding what to buy. I bought three wonderful books today: Junk Beautiful, a interior design book inspired by junkyard finds and repurposed materials, Workspaces by Martha Fay, an interior design guide for working spaces and Denim Mania, a jeans refashioning book. I´ll post about the two later but now to the most inspirational one:

JUNK BEAUTIFUL by by Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer
Website: www.junkmarketstyle.com (sign in to see the good stuff..)

This is the best book on recycled and repurposed interiors and it is propably the greenest interior design book on the market. The Junk Market girls Sue and Ki have an impecable taste in decor style and original (and humoristic) ideas in their projects. All the projects, instructions and designs are very clever and presented beautifully. There is nothing boring to be found, even the layout is pretty. If you're into interiors made from repurposed materials (or if you just like thrifted old wood and metal things in your home) this is the book to buy! I also love the fact that this book costs half of all other interior books on the market (23 euro in Finland). Thank you so much for the authors! 5 stars. I´m so using this as my new home decor bible. I had to order also their first Junk book, Decorating Junk Market Style: Repurposed Junk to Suit Any Decor.

Trashion fascinators and flapper hats from neckties

I´ve been obsessed lately about fascinators and flapper hats. You know, those artistic looking brooch-type-fabric-thingies girls wear on their heads to parties. Apparently it is a trendry thing to rave about since StyleBubble is writing about this as well. Thelma Design has inspired me to start doing my own.




I´ve had a huge box full of neckties just waiting for a project like this so here I go! Here´s a few pictures of the first tie-fascinator versions I sewed yesteday. See my Tie-feather tutorial to see what I have done to the ties before rolling and handsewing them together.

Trashion lunch

I love bagels. And here you see the perfect trashion-way to take your take-away lunch with you to work. Idea and instructions from Acorn Studios.

Geek-ware Trashion

Technology has gone supersonic in the past ten years. Our electronic devices expire faster and recycling centres are stuck with mountains of old computers, tv´s, dvd´s, phones, printers, VHS casettes and so on. Anyone who uses these discarded technologies as material for their projects or products is my idol. Geek-ware blog ("adventures of an e-waste recycler") is dedicated in finding new ideas and the people that gid through piles of computers and other tech-stuff to give them a new purpose or look. Artists have also come up with fab new inventions when studying our relationship with these everydaymachines. Recycle-retro-tech rocks!

Customizing your computer screen: Instructions HERE
How cool is this.. And did you notice the keyboard??


Recycling computer disks:

Floppy disc notebooks

Disc notebooks

CD-case:


Privacy-laptop sweater and other Body-Technology Interfaces.


Mac-jewelry:


Sheeps in technology heaven: Original post HERE

Suits you Girl! A reconstruction by LauPre

Crafster hosted a challenge last December to buy something under 20$ and reconstruct it to something new. The winner of the "Super Ugly to Super Awesome" challenge is Sad Suit to Ruffle-y cute by LauPre! Once a sad, sad over-sized frumpy business suit, LauPre transformed it into a super cute and funky outfit! Fab job girl!!




Mens secondhand suits make perfect material for clothing reconstruction projects since they are easily available, usually cheap but very good material to easy to sew (most are wool and wool-mix) and work with. I have also made a dress from a suit (+ corset) and found it to be one of my favorite projects. LauPre also has a blog (and Etsy shop). Check out her tutorial on making buttoned spats/legwarmers.

Altered Couture magazine

Altered Couture is a 160-page publication dedicated to altered and embellished clothing and accessories. It is filled with gorgeous photographs of altered jackets, t-shirts, sweaters, jeans, skirts, and more, accompanied by easy-to-understand techniques and endless inspiration. You’ll find new ways to transform your own garments and accessories into fabulous works of wearable art. This magazine shows you creative ideas on how you can add a twist to your attire with just a few resources: dyes, paints, bleach, rubber stamps, threads, buttons, beads, and more!

The 5th (Summer 2008) issue is out now. You can order your copy online.

Necktie dress by Post Decadent Trashionista

Post Decadent Trashionista made a beautifull dress and stole by using my tie-feather tutorial. Well done girl! I´d definately wear this to a party :)

Fashion Reconstruction collective called Andrea Crews

Meet the Andrea Crews design collective. Creative, un-expected, fun. I love it.

"Andrea Crews's project bases on the use and the reinterpretation of the second-hand garment, it is a social, economic and ethical choice. Andrea Crews transforms tons of secondhand clothes into unique pieces, chic and trendy. Within the workshop, around the heap of clothes, the raw material, Andrea Crews settles sewing machines and creates experimental collections.Beyond a simple craze for the vintage, the concept " post-vintage " of Andrea Crews is more than ever of current events. More than a simple appropriation, she proposes a reinterpretation.

Each piece is treated one by one according to the potentiality of the clothe and the stylist desires. The results are indeed unforeseeable, strange, tempting and daring. Dipping into several sources of inspirations, Andrea Crews uses fragments of a sub-culture counting comics, mystic rastafary frescos, fanzines, scribbles, cut-up porn, electro rhythms, punk flyers … GranPa trousers are transformed into mini overalls, a rotten T-shirt into a sexy docker, a baggy sweat into a night dress…"

Quote from Andrea Crews website.

Margaux Lange handcrafted Barbie couture jewellry

I have a love-hate relationship with Barbie. It has become the symbol of dumb blondes and it reminds me of the insanity of extreme plastic surgery. If I see Barbie dolls I just want to hurt them (I know I need therapy...). On the other hand Barbie dolls have been a mirror of women´s role in society in different decades. Funny I still have not seen "President-Barbie" in the shops... In any case Barbie is an icon as much as Mickey Mouse and that just makes her fascinating.

Margaux Lange, a crafty gal from Brooklyn NY, makes jewellry from Barbie and Ken dolls. "Wearing the body, on a body" as she describes her art. Since I´m not going to NY soon, I´ll just have to pop in at her ETSY shop. I love humoristic jewellry and these are just too incredable to wear. They are beautifully executed technically and design wise. In fact I’d love to own a piece one day... Plastic fantastic!

Also this shop carrys MargauxLange:
FACÉRÈ.com

My trashion skirt from mens trousers in episode of Kirppis (Finland TV1)

Finland YLE TV1 approached me a couple of months ago to apphear on their show called KIRPPIS. This show is being filmed live every Sathurday morning from my favorite weekend flamarket Valtteri in Helsinki. They have a short feature in the program where visiting designers turn something old to new. In my first episode (aired 23.2.2008) I sewed three men´s suit pants to a skirt. You can find the instructions from Kirppis website, but unfortunately they are only in Finnish. I forgot my camera home the day we shot this, so I do not have any good pics of the finished skirt. I´ll be doing a second show later this spring.

Discarded to Devine denim wedding dress

I´ve seen a few denim wedding dresses browsing through the net, but they all have looked sort of funny in light blue... Then I stumbled upon this... A natural white dress reconstruckted from old jeans and bleached to natural white.. Stunning.

See Flickr user St Vincent de Paul Society SF (San Francisco) Discarded To Divine 06 Set. This set had some amazing trashion dresses and jackets all made from reconstructing old clothes including ths denim wedding dress.





Discarded to Devine is a recycled clothing design competition hosted annually by this charity organization. Unfortunatly the 2008 entries have closed on January 31st but the designs will be displayed in various locations in the San Francisco area. They will be auctioned at the end of April.

More than 100 one-of-a-kind stunning fashions and accessories created by student and professional designers were auctioned in the Discarded to Divine 2007 event to benefit the Vincentian Help Desk, a place where the poor and homeless can “shop” for a fresh change of clothes in a safe, respectful environment, free of charge. See the event images HERE.