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6/20/2007

Meet the big guns of the Trashion Street Team

The trashion street team has several dozen members, but who are the organizers of all this? Here is a glimpse! Get to know the folks who are volunteering to lead some Etsy Trashion team projects.

The team itself is the brainchild of Pauliina, of http://pauliina.etsy.com/. She's an activist and artist who's made wonderful items out of reclaimed materials - broken zippers are reborn into beautiful jewelry. Last year, Pauliina knew that lots of other people on Etsy were emersing themselves in the same aesthetic that she was - taking old, found, used, and otherwise discarded items (trash) and making them fashionable again by revamping, recycling, reclaiming, recreating! From this trash + fashion, came trashion, and therefore the trashion street team on Etsy.

Another early member is sharing the admin duties. Catherine, of http://sweetyprize.etsy.com/, created a yahoogroup to unite members and facilitate discussion of new projects. Since she began crafting, Catherine took care to use the most of what she had, often thinking of creative ways with old or broken things. She makes jewelry out of them, or crochets with them. After leading some smaller group projects, Catherine was ecstatic to see the street team flourish by suggesting new projects and helping organize the trunk show the team is having, July 27 in EtsyLabs in Brooklyn. She also helps oversee the team shop and contributes to the team blog.

But with the trunk show and promotion in general, team member Mallory of http://dismantled.etsy.com/ has been invaluable! Mallory is making the long haul from New Orleans to attend the trunk show, and is overseeing the swag bags early attendees will score. She is kicking butt promoting the show and the team, netting the trashion team untold exposure on well-viewed sites! Besides all the beautiful brooches and other articles she makes from reclaimed fabrics, Mallory is digitally talented, having designed some great banners and animation for the team, too.

Another key member is Drew of http://fairytalefibers.etsy.com/. Drew, besides her own shop of well crafted clothing made entirely of selvedge, manages the street team shop at http://etsytrashion.etsy.com/. In a matter of days, Drew has not only set up the team shop, but motivated members to increase their exposure by posting their items to the shop. The shop is more alive and kicking than some sellers' individual shops!

Guylaine, of http://tomatedepingles.etsy.com/, is the creator of this very blog you are reading! Without her, we'd have no real avenue to show the world what makes Trashion so great! This blog will feature our members, our projects, our events and trashion in general. Blogs are an essential tool, and we have G to thank! Besides this, her shop newsletter focused on trashion in its latest issue. G makes beautiful jewelry out of scrap fabrics, vintage buttons and other itty bitty things. It's all eco-chic ;-)

Pat, who has the shops http://yieldtowhim.etsy.com/ and http://trashionmode.etsy.com/, is helping to spread the message of trashion in an important way - showing people how easy trashion can be. A unique part of the Trashion trunk show at EtsyLabs July 27 will be a donated workstation to learn how to make paper beads, a craft that recycles junk paper into jewelry components. Plus, she is creating supply bags, but unlike the supplies bought at the craft store, these bags are filled with trashion! It should inspire lots of new people to create, or re-create with Trashion!

We're adding new members all the time! These are just some of the folks who have stepped up in a major way. We wanted to let you know more about the folks behind these initiatives, but we have lots of great team members who are both unique crafters and artists but also wonderful teammates. Look for more features on street team members here soon!

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