Shopping Local on Etsy

While I don’t really love to shop, when I do need to buy things I prefer to a. shop online, b. shop local, and c. buy used. Why? Well, I’m lazy, cheap and concerned about the environment. I also love hand made or artisan objects if a suitable vintage piece can’t be fuond, but I usally stick to pre-owned (see previous comment about beign cheap). Etsy is a great place to browse, buy and sell and I especially love their “Shop Local” button that narrows down my search to those items in the area that I list. You can even expand the search terms to narrow it down further. In my general browsing/shopping I just type in Baltimore, MD and from there I can just click on the “vintage” choice to find all things once loved, but now waiting for me. So, if you too love to shop online and want to save some dough and a little petrol, then buy local and if you need help finding some good vintage in your neighborhood try Etsy.

PunchFork: Recipes made beautiful and easy

I love the internet for many reasons, but one of my very favorites is the access to an impossible number of recipes, often with user reviews and pictures so that I know that even I can do it. This has meant countless apps, blogs, feeds and searching to get just the recipes that I want. Then, along comes Punchfork, with its wide screen, full color, magazine-cover-worthy photos. So tempting, so convenient, so user-friendly. Recently I began using Pinterest to keep all of my favorites in a single location, which is engaging and attractive, but it’s not nearly as easy to capture my recipes as Punchfork. And let’s face it, I’m a sucker for good looks and on that front Punchfork can’t be beat. In the “About” section of the Punchfork web page the mission is clear:

Punchfork makes it easier to find the best new recipes from popular sites like 101 Cookbooks, The Pioneer Woman, Epicurious, Serious Eats, Food Network and The Kitchn. We use conversations on social networks to bring you high quality recipes that passionate cooks are talking about right now.

Even more interesting is the explanation behind how the site is powered. They use some social media wizardry to serve you up the most popular recipes from blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

These real-time updates capture the images and cooking instructions and post them on the site where users can save, by clicking a little red heart, and share by email, posting to StumbleUpon, Tweet, or even capture your own link for embedding into your personal blog and other sites. I love, love, love this concept. While I may occasionally continue to “pin” recipes that I find interesting, I’m likely to do my real searching no Punchfork.

Are you using Punchfork? If so, share your opinions in the comments below.

Stuff I Love: Paper Made from Poo!

Yes, you did read that correctly. I am referencing paper recyled from excrement. Ewwww…. Well, The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company has a cute little slogan that reads, “We take the OO out of Poo”. This paper has been crafted from the undigested plant fibers left behind by elephants. It’s allowed to dry, cleaned and then made into paper. According to their website, they can make 25 large sheets of paper from a single elephant dropping. In addition, their website gives great elephant facts, including this one:

Did You Know? – Surprising Facts About Elephants

~ Elephants eat 300 – 600 lb (130 – 270 kg) of food per day – 60% of that food leaves the elephant’s body undigested.

 I love this product because it’s unique, sustainable and helps endangered elephants while creating a useful and attractive final product. The line of safari and sea life paper products are adorable! The best thing is that by developing the recycled poo paper industry they are contritubting to the welfare of elephants:

 

Basically, our sustainable cycle works like this: as with all creatures on our planet, elephants need a clean environment and a good diet. With these needs met, an elephant produces a lot of dung, which we collect and use to make our products. We work with various conservation parks (and mahouts) to gather the dung (which is full of fibrous material and makes great paper). We then process the dung into paper sheets from which our productsare made. The more we sell to customers like you and to stores across the country and around the world …the more we can contribute as a portion of the profits from each item you buy is contributed to elephant welfare and conservation programs!

What a great cause! They also offer fundraising for clubs, associations and environmental groups. So, embrace the poo, it may just be the paper of the future.

Etsy Shop Feature: Interview with Lola’s Jewels

I enjoy handmade craft for many reasons as you may already know from previous posts. The benefits of purchasing handmade are many, you provide living wages to someone that you can get to know rather than supporting a faceless corporation who may be purchasing from abused workers overseas, you can ensure quality and customer service are a premium and help the economy by ensuring that hard working, creative and entrepreneurial designers can practice the craft of their choice. You can purchase items online, at a craft fair or even your local farmer’s market. However, every so often I would like to take the time to feature and help you get to know some of the handmade artisans who have setup virtual shops on Etsy. This is the first shop feature that I’ll be promoting here and it’s an interview with Lola’s Jewels.

I’ve decided to start with this shop because it’s local to me. Lola’s Jewels hails from my home town, the lovely Charm City, Baltimore, Maryland.

ICouldSewDoThat: First, tell me a little something about yourself.

Lola’s Jewels: I am a mother of three wonderful children. I work full time and love to design jewelry in my “spare time”. This actually relaxes me. I even have my 7 year old daughter making her own jewelry. I love to read and enjoy lots of time with the family.

ICouldSewDoThat: So what inspires you?

Lola’s Jewels: My inspiration definitely comes from my family. I named my shop Lola’s jewels after my daughter and I hope she will design and create jewelry to add to the shop one day. She has a great imagination and an eye for design, so we shall see.

ICouldSewDoThat:As you may know I love eco-friendly design and have been trying to “green” up a bit for a variety of reasons. What about you, do you consider yourself environmentally conscious?

Lola’s Jewels:I am definitely eco-friendly! Waste not want not! My scrabble tile jewelry is made from upcycled game pieces. The shell items in my shop are made form actual sea shells found while on vacation with my family in Florida. There will be more upcycled jewelry coming soon!!

ICouldSewDoThat:Have you found any other shops that you really love to shop in or are inspired by on Etsy?

Lola’s Jewels:I have many favorite Etsy sellers. There are so many talented people on Etsy.

ICouldSewDoThat:“I love it when….”?

Lola’s Jewels:People love my creations! There is no better compliment.

ICouldSewDoThat:For Baltimore locals is there a way where we can shop local and catch you outside of your Etsy store?

Lola’s Jewels:I will be at local craft fairs in the Spring and you never know where else…… keep your eyes open for Lola’s Jewels!

ICouldSewDoThat:What’s are some totally random facts about you?

Lola’s Jewels:Dessert is my favorite part of the meal. I see the beauty in everything. I love Sunsets!

ICouldSewDoThat:Thanks so much for taking the time to share a little bit about yourself and your craft.

Be sure to check out the shop and look for Lola’s Jewels locally in Baltimore. You can follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.

Remember to shop local and buy handmade!

What I’ve been up to on Etsy

Hey, here’s a peek at both my personal shop (Serendipit) and my team’s shop (Fashion:Remix). Please keep us in mind for your personal wardrobe updates and gift giving. We all make and sell eco-friendly refashioned or recycled clothing and accessories.

Bio-couture: The Future of Fashion?

photographer Santiago Arribas Peña from the Science Museum

I stumbled upon a link to the BioCouture research project and was intrigued by what I found there. From what I’ve found by looking through the various photos on the website is that the goal is to radically change the clothing industry to address the ecological impact and the sustainability of fashion in the future. There have been a number of movements in the last few years to reduce the environmental impact of the immensely destructive chothing industry. Recycling and Refashioning have challenged the way that fabrics are viewed and used. Organic and Fair Trade seek to address the economic and ecological devastation visited upon developing countries. However, this BioCouture movement may just be the most radical yet. They have created and are using a new type of fiber, bacterial-cellulose combined with natural fruit, vegetable and spices to dye the material. Their website, which seems unfinished, does show some completed pieces including a “Veggie” Biker jacket decorated with and a “denim” shirt stained indigo with natural colorants. What I’m most surprised to see if that most of these materials are dated 2007.

Under the “links” section is the equivalent of an “About” page that lists information about the project team members. These include an author, Suzanne Lee, and a Dr. who serves as co-director of a Biotech firm funded by a grant from The Research Centre for Fashion, the Body and Material Cultures. You can purchase a copy of Ms. Lee’s book, published in 2005, on Amazon: Fashioning the Future: Tomorrow’s Wardrobe. Unfortunately, there are no excerpts, comments or descriptions of the content of any kind. The Biotech firm Cellucomp, lists as their vision, “To be the World leader in th e provision of products based on high performance composites derived from sustainable sources which utilise green production methods”. I belive this to be a lofty and commendable goal for this Scottish start-up. They are known for materials such as Curran, a biocomposite made from carrots. This materials has been used to create everyday items such as fishing poles and tennis rackets and is said to be as strong as carbon fiber. Curran received an honorable mention for the MEDIUM Award for Material of the Year for 2009:

Curran by Cellucomp (UNITED KINGDOM) is a high-strength biofiber formulated from degraded carrots with a stiffness that rivals carbon fiber. The material is remarkable for its capacity to enhance sustainability in a wide range of applications where lightness, maximum performance, and durability are crucial, from consumer products to aeronautics.

In poking around the internet a bit more, I was able to locate the new, updated website for The Biocouture project website.  An update on the homepage indicates that the new BioCouture jacket is on display at London’s Science Museum in the Wellcome Wing. The jacket will appear in a new exhibit titled, “‘Trash Fashion: designing out waste’” beginning June 2010 through February 2011.

I’ll continue to follow the exciting developments of the BioCouture project. I love the idea of growing fabric from bacteria using environmentally-friendly manufacturing practices. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to buy new clothes without damaging the earth. Until then though, I’ll just keep refashioning the clothes I recycle from Goodwill.

Recycle-A-Bicycle

Looking for a bicycle this summer? Even if you need parts, safety gear or accessories I always recommend supporting your local bike shop. I was so excited to come across these bike shops in NYC. These retails stores take in bicycle and gear donations, refurbish them and sell them to the public. Best yet, profits from the retail sales go to support youth programs around New York City. 

Recycle-a-Bicycle is an innovative, fun youth training and environmental education initiative that has taken root in New York City public schools and respected after-school youth programs.

These youth programs are actually based in the public schools where kids can sign up to learn bicycle mechanics as an elective. Body do I wish I could’ve taken that in school! What a great way to get kids interested in biking early, who may not have had the opportunity. Bicycling is great for health and the environment and and caring for your own bike, which can otherwise be an expensive endeavor, is a great life skill to learn. For kids who don’t have the resources to buy a bike from the retail shops, they allow students to drop in after school and work in the shop to earn a bike. Additionally they sponsor summer programs focused on arts and the environment. All of these programs help teach these kids responsiblity, ingenuity and proof that good things can be achieved through hard work and volunteerism. So, if you are in the NYC area, you can donate a bike, volunteer your time and spread the word. For the rest of us, check out more about the program here and donate what you can. Help support a great program that supports the recycling and kids. Hey, maybe you could even start a movement like this in your own city…

Enter the Inhabitat Spring Greening Competition

Inhabitat, a blog devoted to sustainable design, wants you to make something awesome out of old junk and share it! They are hosting the Spring Greening Competition, where you can compete for praise, recognition and $250 gift certificate to be used in the Inhabitat Shop. The Inhabitat shop has everything from worm composters to fashionable pumps, so you’ll have no problem spending your new loot. So…find some old junk, make something rad, take a bunch of photos and enter the competition already!

Target’s Eco-Friendly Page

I buy my household supplies at Target monthly and have always been satisfied with the number of eco-friendly products that they offer in terms of cleaning supplies, etc, but I always do my shopping in store. Today, when I received an email advertisement from Target I decided to check out their online deals. What I was really surprised to find what that they have a link to their eco-friendly products. Half-expecting to find a bunch of green-washed stuff for sale, I actually wasn’t disappointed by their offering. As always, it’s best to do without if you really want to help the environement by reducing your consumption of any raw materials, but I’m just not going to live that way because I live in reality land. So… if you are interested in learning more about some of Target’s eco-friendly alternatives you can find them here.  Everything from reuseable bags and organic cotton bed sheets, to furniture “Made of 100% formaldehyde-free birch plywood with eco-friendly, 100% nontoxic, water-based stains and UV-curved finish to minimize greenhouse gases”. I was pretty impressed with the selection of seemingly lower environmental impact products. While I’m certain that the most hardcore of environmentalists may not agree with shopping at Target at all, those of us in the moderate, just-trying-to-do-our-part category, this may be a useful way to investigate greener options to the products were were going to buy anyway. Just remember to try to combine shopping trips and don’t buy more than you really need; for the environment and for your own well-being (to be read as fiscally responsible) curb your shopping a bit and try to stick to picking up your basics once a month. Oh! Don’t forget; another important service that Target offers is recycling your batteries and cell phonesand donating the proceeds to charity. Just take your stuff to their Guest Services desk and they’ll contribute to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

The Coming Water Crisis

While listening to NPR on my way back to Baltimore yesterday I listened to a very interesting story about the coming Water Crisis. Essentially the guest speaker, Steven Solomon, was discussing how global water usage is increasing at a leve that cannot be sustained. In fact, some of the hardest hit regions who will be facing water shortages soon are areas in which terrorism has taken, or is beginning to take hold. The global consumption of our limited water resources may even spark the next major conflict. You can read the article on NPR here and listen to the broadcast for more information, “Will the Next War be Fought Over Water?“.

Immediately after hearing this story I was reminded of an article I read while back on Treehugger, where it lists the amount of water needed to produce a single new tshirt or pair of jeans. Fortunately I found that article here, “How Many Gallons of Water Does It Take to Make…”

Here are the facts straight from the article:

Pair of Jeans
It takes around 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to produce just one pair of regular ol’ blue jeans. [2]

Cotton T-Shirt
Not as bad as jeans, it still takes a whopping 400 gallons of water to grow the cotton required for an ordinary cotton shirt.

Now, if you think that just because you make your own clothes by knitting, crocheting, or buying fabric in the store that you are helping to reduce your water consumption, just look at what the article says about your raw materials:

One Pound of . . .
Wool: 101 gallons of water
Cotton: 101 gallons

In short, one great way to avoid consuming more than your fair share of water and starting on the slippery slope that will lead to famine, death, terrorism, and finally war is to stop buying new clothes! There are thousands of vintage stores, second hand and thrift shops available where you can purchase used, or as I like to call them, previously loved clothing. There are so many great resources online that can show you how to sew, refashion, and remake clothes, If you prefer to knit, but can’t find a sweater that you really like, buy a used one and recycle the yarn. If you can’t bear to take up sewing or knitting, but still want to do your part, but don’t want to dig through thrift stores, then buy online. Online sellers like Etsy have tons of shops selling recycled couture, so you can still look good and do your part to slow the damage to our Earth. I’ll include more links below to help you do additional research on the size of the issue at hand as well as places to purchase used clothes and links to groups of folks who have pledged not to buy any new clothes to help reduce their footprint on the Earth.

The Water Crisis:

The Coming Crisis: Water, Not Oil

Failing Wheat Crop Causes Afghan Food Crisis

Obscured By War, Water Crisis Looms In Yemen

We Use How Much Water? Scary Water Fooprints, Country by Country

Groups Embracing the Stop Shopping or Nused Clothing Movement to Recycle, Upcycle or Refashion Clothing:

Wardrobe Refashion

The Great American Apparel Diet

Great Places to Shop for Refashioned, Recycled, Vintage Clothing:

Etsy

ArtFire

Ebay

Goodwill

The Salvation Army

Rusty Zipper

Mod Cloth

Blu Vintage

So, maybe you can make one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2010 to stop buying new clothes? So go on, get shopping, just make sure it’s been previously loved. Maybe you can even check off two resolutions, by using all of the money you will save not buying new clothes to pay off debt…not a sermon, just a thought