recycled

If you’re in New Orleans, be sure to come check out the holiday arts market & green fair at the Whole Foods on Magazine Street this Sunday, December 14. I’ll be there from noon til 5pm along with some of my other New Orleans Craft Mafia members. There will also be people from some of the local green non-profit groups, plus beer & wine tastings and a green gift wrapping station. Don’t miss it!

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These recycled fur teddy bears by Bella Bear Company are such a neat idea.  Julie Lamarre started creating handmade heirloom teddy bears over 15 years ago, by recycling vintage fur coats.

I’m as much against the production of new fur coats as the next guy, and so is Julie, but what to do about all of those vintage coats that might be sitting in the back of your grandmother’s attic?  Fur takes years to decompose, and most people today don’t want to wear fur products, even if they are vintage.

Julie is a single mother who has turned Bella Bear Company into a family affair — her own young daughter Isabella is already involved in helping out and is used to speaking to the media about her mom’s business.  Julie’s business has grown so much since she first launched it that she now employs seven other seamstresses who all work from home so that they can spend more time with their own families.  Bella Bear Company also recently created their first-ever angel bear, dubbed Serendipity — $25 from the sale of each Serendipity Bear will be donated to children’s hospitals.

Bella Bear Company offers a unique solution to the problem of vintage furs by creating something that can build bonds between families: one grandmother, for instance, had bears made from her own mom’s coat and she gave these to her granddaughters.  Now, this grandmother hosts a yearly birthday teddy bear tea party for her granddaughters. I think that recycling vintage furs in this way could also give some families a way to explain the history and problems of fur practices to kids.  It’s definitely not for everyone, but for families who already own vintage furs it’s a unique way tackle this issue.

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Wow. Sometimes I really do think I have one of the coolest jobs ever. This morning, in just a matter of minutes, I was carrying two different letters: one written & signed by Abraham Lincoln and the other by Louis Armstrong. Earlier this week I helped transport one of Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpets. I’ve also carried Louis Armstrong’s first cornet and worked with original Audubon prints, antique weapons and medical instruments. Seriously - amazing.

While I’m on the topic of work, if you’re in or near New Orleans, you should really check out some of the Prospect 1 exhibits around town, including the ones at the Old U.S. Mint. I’m absolutely in love with the work of a few artists there, especially El Anatsui and Fred Tomaselli.

El Anatsui is an artist from Ghana who now lives and works in Nigeria, and he creates these amazing abstract tapestries from recycled found objects like metal foil, copper wire, and bottle caps, as well as other natural materials. These pieces are huge and they look almost like quilts from far away, but up close they’re even more stunning.

Fred Tomaselli’s pieces made me think of my friend Rachelle from greenKangaroo, because they both work with resin but in completely different ways. (Rachelle… you’ve got to check these pieces out in person!) His pieces really need to be appreciated from up close, because there is just so much amazing detail. The three pieces now at the Mint were created in response to Hurricane Katrina, and feature a variety of mixed media (images from books and magazines, leaves, and prescription pills) layered onto large wood panels and encased in resin. I could look at these pieces all day and never cease to be fascinated.

If you’re in NOLA, do yourself a favor and check out some of the Prospect 1 exhibits all around town. I’m planning to go see more over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Does anyone have any recommendations for Prospect 1 venues that are not to be missed?

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I love these earrings made from recycled vintage glass by Stevie of Truche, a Chicago-based jewelry line. Each piece of glass is hand cut and sanded so that there are no sharp edges.

I just think these are so simple yet really unique and interesting at the same time. They would be great for everyday wear, yet still totally eye-catching. There are also some beautiful pendants made from vintage glass at Truche as well.

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I’m really loving the work of Hayley Lau, the founder and designer of heidi and seek ethical clothing. Hayley creates one-of-a-kind women’s clothing using reclaimed materials - even the buttons and lace and most of the thread that she uses is second-hand.

Hayley is working to help raise awareness and provide an alternative to mass-produced, sweatshop made clothing through both her own clothing line and her fantastic blog. (I couldn’t stop reading it… she’s right on the same page as me with so many things.)

Hayley is based in Melbourne, Australia and her work is available at a number of different venues (listed on her website), each one carrying different one-of-a-kind pieces. U.S. shoppers should check out her Etsy shop, where I found this fabulous top.

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This has to be possibly the most amazing clipboard/corkboard ever.  This bad boy even comes with a glass test tube filled with pushpins!  I never would have thought to put test tubes and pushpins and clipboards all together in the same super cool device, but luckily designer Cat Ivins did!

Cat has two different Etsy shops featuring her jewelry and housewares made from repurposed, sustainable and recycled materials.  Check out polarity.etsy.com for all kinds of cool magnetic jewelry and gadgets, and uncorked.etsy.com for fun stuff made with sustainably sourced cork.

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Becky Wignell from Swank emailed me a few days ago to let me know about her new collection, made from recycled Lego baseboards.  I absolutely love this necklace of yellow and grey circles, created by Becky with a local school’s laser cutter:

There are matching earrings in Becky’s Etsy shop and more cool upcycled Lego jewelry at Swank.

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Earlier this summer Pedoodles launched their new eco-friendly children’s shoe collection made from recycled materials.

This new collection of adorable kid’s shoes is made from carefully selected quality remnant leather, leftover from furniture production. These scrap pieces would normally be thrown away, but they’re the perfect sizes to be repurposed for children’s shoes. The soft and flexible rubber soles of the shoes are made from recycled materials as well, and the packages that the shoes come in are not only made from recycled materials, but they have been purposely designed to be reusable. They’d be great for organizing things like socks and small toys.

Best of all? Pedoodles has offered up a pair of children’s shoes for a giveaway here on MissMalaprop! One lucky parent will receive a pair of shoes from the new eco-friendly line. The shoes come in sizes to fit infants up to age 4, and once a winner is randomly chosen, I’ll send an email for info on shoe size, whether it’s for a boy or girl, and where Pedoodles should send the shoes. All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment on this post.

I’d love for you to share something about your experiences in green parenting. (Why is it important to you? What makes it rewarding or challenging? Got a tip about a great resource for eco-friendly kid’s clothes or alternative toys? Let me know!) You’ve got from now until midnight on Friday, September 26, 2008 (Central Standard Time - go here to figure out what time that is where you are). One winner will be chosen at random from the comments.

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This is pretty cool… I just found out that Reware, a company known for its solar-powered Juice Bags, has released a new line of American-made bags made from recycled materials.

The bags in this new line, which includes messenger bags, hobo bags and attachés, are made from either their signature Rewoven™-brand polyester fabric (made entirely from recycled 2-liter soda bottles!) or their recycled cotton, which contains the highest proportion of guaranteed post-consumer cotton available anywhere in the world (75% recycled/25% new). Best yet, the prices are pretty comparable to similar styles you might find in a department store that were probably NOT made in the U.S.A. from recycled materials.

Personally, I’m still coveting their solar powered Juice Bags. They’d be great for people who hike or spend a lot of time outdoors… You’d never have to worry about your iPod running out of power: you could just charge it with the solar panel on the bag!

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