Trashion Team Spotlight- Evy of Thirdhand Designs!

Shop name: third-hand designs

Shop address: www.thirdhanddesigns.etsy.com

Other sites: www.myspace.com/thirdhanddesigns



Trashion materials: I use second-hand clothing and other fabrics to create my designs. Thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets & swap meets are all my favorite haunts.

What do you transform them into? Fun, unique & stylish clothing & bags!



How do you do it? With lots of coffee! No, but yes, I guess that does help! My process starts with the hunt for unloved items with lots of potential. For example, a skirt with a tiny hole, but is in amazing shape otherwise. I lift it up, run my hands through it, hold it in front of me to study it a bit, flip it inside-out, then usually I've got an idea of what I will do with it. Most of my designs require complete deconstruction of the seams, and then, I sew sew sew. With the trusted help of Lucy (my dress form) & a few friends, I adjust to make sure my measurements & dimensions are logical, then voila... the garment has entered its third life!

Do you remember the first thing you made using the
trashion concept? I do!

What was it? I used to take old t-shirts of my dad's & turn them into pillows. Unrelated to my sewing, I also used to take old bottles & melt candle wax down the sides to make flower vases for my mom.

What are your current projects and what is on the horizon? Currently I am working on a couple of aprons for my cousin. She works in a cafe & they allow her to choose whatever style apron she would like to wear, so she gave me free rein! In the near future, I am looking to make more dresses. I love the iconic ideal of the dress! So feminine yet so versatile.

Why should people buy handmade and from trashion? Because we LOVE the earth! It is apparent that we all need to pay a little more attention to the environment and how our actions affect it, and Trashion is a wonderful way to do that. Waste is bad, but we as a society still consume at amazing rates, producing massive amounts of waste; shopping Trashion is one way to satisfy that desire to consume as well as help the environment. We are a group of like-minded creators that produce unique, handmade, eco-friendly items with lots of love... what more could you ask for from a seller!

Anything else you'd like to add? Yes! To all my potential customers, please don't be discouraged to buy clothing on the internet. I am more than willing to help anyone with sizing questions, just send me a message/convo. And no... you don't even need to own a measuring tape, just know your current size! Keep buying handmade!!!

Thank you for sharing your beautiful reconstructed clothing/bags with us Evy!

Trashion Team Spotlight- Eladesign!

Shop address : www.eladesign.etsy.com




Trashion materials:
I use mostly fabrics that are left over from other designers in the retail
industry. Those fabrics have never been worn or used, but would
normally be thrown since they are too small or not suiting another
pattern needed.

I transform them into:
In my work I try to design Eco-Fashion. Using these recycled cloth
pieces means creating mostly one-of-a-kind items, that can not be mass
produced. I make everything from clothes to bags, accessories
and art.


How do you do it?
In any way possible, and changing all the time

What inspired you to do this and why are you involved in trashion?
Now days we are all starting to understand the importance of eco-friendly consuming and mass producing can be far from that. I love and respect our planet, and want to create with that in mind!




What was the first thing you made using a trashion concept?
Painting on unwanted photographs. That project was awesome!


What are your current projects and what is on the horizon?
continuing working on my clothes, creating a yoga line.
I believe the clothes we wear should expand our borders rather then
restrict them, and therefore I use mostly stretchy and soft fabrics.
I'm looking for the shapes, dividing the surface into its possible
ingredients.
I focus on complimenting the body and creating an interesting dialogue
with the garment. Each design I make is filled with love and
inspiration, and I wish it to be worn with the same intentions



Why should people buy handmade, and buy from trashion?
Since there is so much talent, so many lovely products that are one of
a kind, so many special artists to encourage, and only one planet that
needs to be taken care of!


Thank you telling us about your inspirations Ela! We're excited about your new yoga line!

DIYthing Interviews Etsy Seller Lorimarsha - Trashion team member

See the article in The Storque - Story by diything, TeenAngster - Photo by lorimarsha

Published on September 11, 2007 in Spotlight

We can't get enough of DIYthing -- the flyest blog this side of paradise. Check out DIYthing for lots of up and coming indie designers, home fashion, DIY crafts and one of a kind products.

This interview is an excerpt from a series profiling Etsy seller lorimarsha.
This week at DIYthing we will feature lorimarsha, a textile designer. I fell in love with Lori’s work a couple of weeks ago when I discovered her on Etsy.

Lori reminds me a lot of myself, except Lori lives the life that I only dream of…I have spent several hours looking over her site and her photos on flickr. I love to look at photos because you can tell so much about how a person sees the world through their camera lens.

So I hope you take a little time this week to get to know lorimarsha as we feature her here on DIYthing. Visit her blog to get a small look at what inspires Lori.

diything: Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
lorimarsha: Primarily through visual stimulation. I am inspired by color and interesting mixes of texture. I love walking through areas like Chinatown in San Francisco and eyeing the layers of satin shoes, plump pincushions and paper lanterns. Or driving through East LA and seeing the vibrant murals and hand painted signs. I love store windows and on a recent trip to Paris was treated to an Hermes’ display of orange that is seared into my memory. So, travel — day trips especially — provide inspiration to set my own creative wheels spinning. On those days, I can’t wait to get back home and get to work.

diything: Do you have any inspirations?
lorimarsha: My favorite designers are John Galiano, Christian LaCroix, Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood. I also love… Graffiti. Architecture. Random imagery. Robert Rauschenberg. Andy Warhol. There’s a long list.
I work primarily with recycled materials, enjoying the idea of redefining the lives of discarded objects. My jewelry combines seemingly incongruent elements such as vintage copper sports medals with natural crystals, Bakelite buttons and sterling findings. My one-of-a-kind handbags — reconstructed leather skirts — bear little resemblance to their original form.

diything: How do you decide on color for your designs?
lorimarsha: Since 90% of my raw materials is recycled, I try very hard to keep things organized by color. For example, all of my silk scarves are laundered, pressed and layered on hangers in color groups. That way, if I’m in an orange mood, I just head toward orange.

diything: Where do you sell your wares?
lorimarsha: I have on online store on Etsy. It’s a venue dedicated to all things handmade. I used to wholesale my work to galleries and boutiques but two years ago I transitioned to one-of-a-kind pieces only and backed out of the large handmade markets. I also do a few local shows each year. Two of them are held in my home with several other artists participating. It’s fun to be face to face with people who enjoy what I do and get their feedback. It makes the solitary days worthwhile.

For more lorimarsha, head to her Etsy shop, her website, lorimarsha.com, or check out her flickr pool! And for just more good stuff, head to DIYthing!

Trashion Promos + A Recycled Fashion Show

A big thanks goes out to Liz of eco-blog Great Green Goods for giving our team a write up! She had some wonderful things to say about us. Read more here.

I've been so busy during the last month that I've barely had time to sit down at my sewing machine, so I've spent the past two days trying to remedy that. First, I started working on some Etsy Trashion promo items to put into our gift bags, which will be given out to the first 25 people through the door at our trunk show at Etsy Labs on July 27th.

Denim is my favorite fabric to work with, so it was a given that I'd want to incorporate some denim scraps in my project. And since orange is the Etsy logo color, I thought I'd dig through my fabric stash for something orange. I found this bright orange terrycloth cover-up dress - I think it came from some fabric donations I received after Hurricane Katrina. I'm making little hearts with the orange terrycloth and the denim, and stitching "ETSYtrashion" on each heart. I'm planning to turn them into keychains!

Next, I got started working on my designs for the Worn Again Fashion Show. Basically each designer gets a bag full of random old clothes and other materials and then we have two weeks to create 1-2 new and fabulous outfits from it! It’s like a total Project Runway challenge! I was originally planning to do just one piece, but the bag of stuff I got has way too much in it for just one outfit. See below:


The event will be held at The Green Project on June 30th and proceeds will benefit Recycle for the Arts. They're going to auction off all of the outfits to raise money for R4A too.