Trashion at Home - auclairdelalune

I've got a "work in progress" that uses trashion at home. My eleven year
old daughter starts middle school next fall and wants to transform her room from the little girl princess look to the pre-teen boho hippie room of her dreams. She's using our favorite vegetarian restaurant/café as her inspiration.

We started by painting the walls in the sky blue of her choice. I'm happy
to report that my first experience with low-voc paints was a good one. We didn't notice any difference in quality, result, or price than any other paint we've bought in the past (and years into owning an old house we've had our share of painting).

Our next project was making a banner out of fabric scraps and recycled
fabrics from clothing. We chose colors to coordinate with her room (white, blue, and celery) and made a triangle pattern (using scratch paper, natch).
We appliqued our shapes and letters onto the triangles, backed them with a second triangle, then sewed them onto a very long bias strip (we had already chosen the location for the banner, so we just made it to fit). Now her banner proudly proclaims "Chez Aida" or Aida's place (perhaps in case her siblings mistakenly find themselves going in her room?).


Our artist friend also got into the recycling spirit by painting over a
pre-used canvas to create a work of art for Aida's new space. "Be nice or
leave" pretty much sums up the room's motto and fits in perfectly with the décor, thus far.



Of course, hippie boho eclectic perfection isn't achieved overnight, so we are continuing to decorate trashion style. The next project is to paint the details on the furniture, and we have a fabulous chair that we got on freecycle that is just begging to go boho. I also see quilts and rag rugs in our future. Aida's going to camp at a local folk art gallery - 1st week is "Junk Art" -- so I'm sure she'll be bringing home trashion masterpieces to complete the look.

Adrienne
au clair de la lune

Interview with Steph of Renegades Designs

Shop name: Renegades Designs

Shop address:  http://www.renegades.etsy.com
Other sites:  http://renegadesdesigns.blogspot.com

What draws you to using trashion materials? 
Pop culture has always been such a fascination for me.
I think that by using pieces of that in my handmade items
keeps it alive.  I also feel such a responsibility
to minimize my carbon footprint.  The older I get, the
more hippie mentality I get.


What trashion materials do you use?
In my created items I use previously loved dresses for
fabrics.
In my packaging, I use recycled paper for tagging and
shipping.


Where do you find your Trashion inspirations?
I have always been resourceful. If I didn't have something,
I would just search my closet and mom's closet to find
things to make what I needed.  It's always been there for
me.

Do you remember the first thing you made using the
trashion
concept?
When I was in school I remember making note card sets
and envelopes for friends' birthdays out of magazine
pages.


What are your current projects and what is on the
horizon? 
Currently I am intrigued by 30's and 40's romantic style.
I am figuring out how to incorporate that with my style of
pins and jewelry.  I'm so obsessed with this style that
I'm thinking of opening a second shop for vintage wedding
items from this era.


Anything else you'd like to add?
Trashion is the greatest Etsy team I have been a part
of. We can't do it all alone, but together we can do
anything we want!  Thanks for your support. 

Trashion at Home - loneweever

Here are a few home ideas from Laurie of Virginia, USA - Loneweever on Etsy.



When life hands you old potato mashers, weave baskets! I use these baskets all the time for soaps, craft supplies, vitamin bottles, coasters .... they're a great size. I'm thinking of weaving a few for my Etsy shop.



Even storage should be fun. I've got a LOT of buttons, and I've been organizing them into subsets, so using them is easier. Filling random bottles and jars makes me smile. Here are a few of them.



This thrift store lamp matches my kitchen backsplash. Hurray for leftover tiles! And hurray for old bowling balls turning into yard art. This one looks great among my blooming daylilies.


What's in the loneweever Etsy shop? Click photos for details.

Palchemy 2009: Trashion Artful Media

Carolyn, aka cowgirlrosie is inviting Trashion Team Members to take part in a new palchemy!

Trashion Artful Media

Deadline to enter is June 30th

Anyone interested in taking part please contact Carolyn via convo at http://www.cowgirlrosie.etsy.com/

She will need your:

NameShop Name

Mailing Address (to match you with a pal)

Will you ship International (yes/no)?

Special Requests (vegan)?

~Carolyn will match you up with a Pal.

~Goodies" should be shipped to them by July 18th.

~Completed pieces should be listed in your shop by August 16th

~ Tag each item Trashion Artful Media

GUIDELINES:

Trashion Artful Media: Send articles that represent Media, any channel of communication. This includes, but is not limited to : advertising, print, books, magazines, labels, tags, letters, cards, music (sheet music, cds, lps, cassettes), photos, maps, diagrams, signs, tickets, words on something I have not listed. And of course are by now trash.

When you receive your goodie box use a fair representation of these items, enough that the sender will feel that their offering was appreciated. But you may add from your stash to do your own thing!Upon completion you will list your Trashion Artful Media on Etsy using Trashion Artful Media as a tag.

If you would like to give the proceeds from your sale to your favorite cause/charity and announce that in your listing. One good cause that was used before is the HOST Street Team www.HOST.etsy.com I just found out about this and was impressed by what they do. So give this a look see.

So... join in the fun and convo www.cowgirlrosie.etsy.com with your mailing address to enter. The more artists that take part the more fun, we may just raise some funds for a good cause, and stretch our thinking skills to boot!

Interview with Little Shiva

Shop name: The Visible Trash Gift Shop
Shop address: http://littleshiva.etsy.com
Other sites: http://www.littleshiva.com, http://www.visibletrash.net

What draws you to using trashion materials?
I love trash. My mom got me started with thrift shops and dumpster diving as a kid and I haven't stopped in 45 years.



What trashion materials do you use?
I'm really against the use of plastic bags and do my shopping with re-useable ones, but the stuff always seems to pop up somewhere. So while I encourage people NOT to ask for the damn things when they go to the store, I do offer to take their collections of wadded-up plastic bags off their hands, and make stuff with that. I just found the most awesome trick ever on YouTube for cutting a plastic bag to make one continuous piece of plastic yarn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESQbELunPZg


Where do you find your Trashion inspirations?
In all the crap lying around that I want to make disappear, the world at large, and my own imagination. If I can put it on my head, that's good too.

Do you remember the first thing you made using the trashion concept?
Yes, a plastic bag tutu. I was inspired after meeting Judith Selby-Lang at
Burning Man. I came upon her and her husband a day after their wedding out
there, and was blown away by their little pick-up truck covered in white
plastic objects they collected at the beach. Read all about it on the page
called "Little Shiva plays with trash" at http://www.visibletrash.net

What are your current projects and what is on the horizon?

I'm working on a giant spider web called THE WEB OF TRASH for my traveling trash expo which will launch in the summer of 2010 at a castle in the south of France. There's also a page about that on the site. The show is called VISIBLE TRASH, ART INTO ACTION.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Yes... I'm not crazy about the word "trashion" but I like people who make stuff from rejects and am happy to be on the team.

Visit the littleshiva Shop.

DON'T FORGET - Team Meetings

It's almost that time...

Sky Room Etsy Virtual Labs

Wednesday June 10th at 8pm EST
Thursday June 11th at Noon EST

We'll be discussing upcoming projects, looking for members to lead our Teams within the Team, and answering questions.

Please try to make it to at least one of these meetings.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Click here to go to Virtual Labs.

Upcycled Fashion In Italy by BehaveUrbanAtelier

A little update about the use of recycled materials in fashion in Italy.
by Guest Blogger, Susanna of behaveurbanatelier.

Maybe not everyone knows that Salvatore Ferragamo, aka “the shoemaker of dreams”, was one of the first designers to use recycled materials for his creations...he noted that candy wrappers were a strong material and braided them to create the upper part of his shoes in the 1940s. Due to the big economic crisis during the second world war, expensive materials were not available or affordable. I’ve searched the web for a picture of those shoes but did not find anything! One pair is visible in Ferragamo Museum inside his palace in Firenze (I bring my students there for a visit often and always stress the recycling concept inside that creation!)

And what about today? Italians always prefer quite classic styles and it is hard to market unusual looking products here, in my opinion, if not connected with luxury and properly marketed with expensive campaigns. Here are some examples of high market brands that are surprisingly producing recycled materials collections:

Moma Boma creates bags using vintage newspaper, magazines , measure tapes, and (my favourite) pages from kids school scrapbooks, with maths or other subjects assignments and exercises on.


Architect and fashion designer (like me!) Vincenzo De cotiis creates luxury collections using findings from vintage markets as pieces of lace, embroidery, furs.


Carmina Campus is a brand (designed by a previous Fendi designer) that creates really expensive bags all made out of pieces of different things as shower tubes, tapestry, bottle caps, crochets, all put together.


In the international school where I work as a fashion professor (Lorenzo de’ Medici International) the Fashion Department has organized this year's final fashion show using only second hand garments, to make both the public and students aware of the value of recycled fabrics…the final outfits were so cutting edge!


Recently a primary school did the same thing using plastic bags and , during a fair focused on clean energies in agriculture.


The students of Firenze College of Arts organized a fashion show featuring evening dresses made out of plastic bottles, playing cards, rubber gloves, etc.


In our local Fair Trade Shops (Altromercato) a new collection of dresses made out of recycled Indian saris (the traditional Indian dress) is available.

And then there is me with my little studio-shop in Florence center, supporting and promoting recycling everyday, explaining to people here how is it possible to have new garments from old garments and really feeling it as a mission!


Visit Susanna's shop for more unique upcycled Italian fashion: www.behaveurbanatelier.etsy.com

IMPORTANT - Team Meetings!!

A message to all members of Etsy Trashion Team

Hello!

Thanks to everyone that took the time to complete the team Meeting Survery! I've scheduled two meeting dates to try to accomodate as many people as possible.

Sky Room Etsy Virtual Labs
Wednesday June 10th at 8pm EST
Thursday June 11th at Noon EST

We'll be discussing upcoming projects, looking for members to lead our Teams within the Team, and answering questions.

Please try to make it to at least one of these meetings.

Looking forward to seeing you there!
Pam

Visit Etsy Trashion Team at: http://etsytrashion.ning.com

Trashion at Home - fisheye

Today's Trashion at Home is from Lori of fisheye and fishlegs.


I love to find old wood furniture pieces in the trash and fix them up into unique works of art. This bar cabinet is one of my favorite transformations.

It started out as an antique radio (!!) Someone had removed the works and had given it a coat of whitewash.

The radio cabinet had small sliding doors to expose the speaker. I had to enlarge the opening to make it a useful cabinet. I cut out the front and made hinged doors for it.


Then I just went to town with paint. The fish design was inspired by a restaurant sign. I filled it with fun patterns.


I added a fishhook with a worm inside one of the doors.


The knobs were made from big glass beads that came from an old candle holder.


For my paint, I use whatever I can get my hands on, leftover wall paint, acrylic craft paint, mistinted "oops" paint from the paint store, etc. And did you know you can tint wall paint with acrylic craft paint? This comes in some intense shades which you can blend with light colored latex wall paint to get the color you want.


So, if you're a little adventurous, save something from the trash and give it a new life with paint!