Garbage of Eden Design

Mac Folkes- I like this guy!

2011-10-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Just read an interview with Mac Folkes on the JC Report.

I wholeheartedly agree with this quote:
"There’s far too much of everything—too many brands, too many seasons, too much fast fashion. I strongly endorse the creed: “We don’t need more things, we need better things.”"

exactly Mac! slow fashion, slow design of all kinds, slow, thoughtful considered living....

I need to remind myself to slooowww dooowwwnnn sometimes.

think I'll go make myself a cup o' tea, perhaps watch an episode of mad men...while making a bracelet...but slowly! I promise! lol

Olek!

2011-05-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

I was in the neighborhood today so I got the chance to check out the installation: Knitting is for Pus*** by fiber artist Olek, at the Christopher Henry Gallery.

In this installation she made a replica of her bedroom, including bringing in some of the actual furniture. The text knitted into the walls etc are random phrases from notes and text messages she's received or sent.

Compare Phillips' new AmbientLED Bulb to CFLs

2010-12-31T07:09:00.000-08:00

vs.

Just read on Inhabitat about the new Phillips AmbientLED light bulbs. They last way longer than CFLs, and with no mercury to worry about! Excellent!

I wanted to compare the energy and lifespan specs on The AmbientLED and an equivalent CFL bulb:

CFL
Light output: 900 Lumens
Energy used: 14 watts
Life hours: 10,000 hours

AmbientLED
Light output: 800 Lumens
Energy used: 12 W (consumes a little less energy)
Average Life hours: 25000 hours (lasts way longer)

See for yourself:

CFL

AmbientLED

Alice Wu of Feral Childe talks about Chinese manufacturing

2010-12-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

Check out this article on EcoSalon. Alice Wu of the sustainable fashion company Feral Childe, sounds off about the way manufacturing in China is viewed in the environmentalist community.

Degenerate Craft Fair Dec 11th & 12th

2010-12-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

I'll be participating as part of the "Globular Booth". Stop by and say hi! :)
http://degeneratecraftfair.com/

Garbage of Eden Design Featured at Kaight in BK

2010-11-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

Check out our new Skinny Twist Bangles at the Brooklyn location of Kaight!

Maker Faire NYC 2010!

2010-10-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

Garbage of Eden Design was at the NY Hall of Science for Maker Faire NYC last weekend! Cassie and I gave workshops on making flower shaped magnets from recycled plastics and hats from newspapers. We got some great candid shots of our visitors in crafting action. Check them out!

Don't forget to add us on Facebook and Twitter to get first dibs on all our upcoming recycled craft workshops!

Park(ing) Day 2010!

2010-09-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Park(ing)Day is Friday Sept 17th!
Garbage of Eden Design will be participating with Sustainable Flatbush at the corner of Cortelyou Rd near the library. Stop by and say hi! :)

Help Protect NYC's Community Gardens!

2010-09-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the law protecting NYC's community gardens from being taken over by developers is about to expire?

City officials are working on new rules to protect the gardens, but unless we speak up, those rules may not be strong enough.

I just signed this petition calling on Mayor Bloomberg and City officials to make sure that the new rules PERMANENTLY PROTECT our community gardens from development. Can you take a moment to sign, too?

http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/communitygardens?tag=comgardtaf

New Favorite Blog! :)

2010-09-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Just found about about this blog: www.EverydayTrash.com
Love it! :)

The Mermaid Parade and BP protests

2010-06-20T01:49:00.000-07:00

I checked out the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island yesterday with friends. It was great!

This year there were also several somber (and necessary) reminders of what's going on with the BP oil spill in the gulf:

Rev. Billy

Beautiful, Eco-Friendly Shelving by Amy Hunting

2010-05-23T20:19:00.001-07:00

Just saw this here on Inhabitat. Love it!

Value Exploration Series by Lauren Vanessa Tickle

2010-05-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Just saw this on Inhabitat. Ms. Tickle showed her series called "Value Exploration" at the Model Citizens Show. Great concept and really beautiful piece!

Trashy Chic Thursdays at Linger Cafe & Lounge!

2010-05-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Please join us Thursday, June 3rd for our first Trashy Chic Thursdays!

Opening Reception; 7:30 to 8:00 pm follow by a Fashion Show at 8:00 pm of Haitian designer Catherine E. Charlot of HIMANE and me, Stephanie Huffaker of Garbage of Eden Design. We'll be introducing our apparel and accessories designs made from recycled old clothes, discarded umbrellas and plastic bags.

Trashy Chic Thursdays is a monthly party/exhibition series introducing the work of local artists and designers who focus on recycled materials while supporting an important cause (www.chfoundation.org). Come check out the excitement (and the excellent food!) at Linger Cafe & Lounge, located at 533 Atlantic between 3rd & 4th Ave.

All items will be on sale, 30% of your purchase will go to support the Collective Hands Foundation (www.chfoundation.org) in their effort to promote recycling program in schools and to help build and sustain a unique art and design school in Haiti.

Check out this event on facebook.
Stay tuned for more "Trashy Chic Thursdays" and other eco-friendly events.

See you there!

Embroidered Bread Art by Catherine McEver

2010-05-15T16:08:00.001-07:00

I think this is a clever idea! More info here.

12 reasons to Bike to Work! :)

2010-05-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the article here.

Brooklyn Man Brings Hasids and Hipsters Together

2010-05-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

I love this article from the Mother Nature Network: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/blogs/brooklyn-man-brings-hasids-and-hipsters-together

Check it out!

Materials for the Arts

2010-01-03T16:15:00.001-08:00

My friend Kerrie and I volunteered at Materials for the Arts on New Year's Day. Great place and we met several interesting people!

Holiday Ornament Workshop

2009-12-19T16:13:00.000-08:00

I taught a holiday ornament workshop at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, CT earlier today. We had a lot of fun making an ornament from recycled cardboard and pages from discarded books! :)

Highlights from the 3rd Ward Holiday Market!

2009-12-15T11:09:00.001-08:00

Last Sat my friend Keka Marzagao shared a booth with me at the 3rd Ward Holiday Market. Good times! :)

Keka was selling prints of her mother Regia's beautiful paintings.

My studiomate Kerrie Yeung (right) was also there sharing a table with Samantha Wu (that's Samantha's sister on the left).

Beautiful jewelry by Kerrie Yeung!

Awesome jewelry by Samantha Wu!

My friend Amanda was also there selling "make your own light sensor theramin" kits! she's in a band called the Drunkard's Wife which is playing tomorrow Dec 16th at 9pm at Trash Bar.

And continuing with the electronics theme... check out some of my friend Luisa's awesome cross-stitched video game buttons! I bought one of the space invaders buttons shown here. :)

Holly Slayton of Artikal was at the Market showing her gorgeous handmade hats.

I got to meet Alicia Piller who makes beautiful suede jewelry.

And I also got to meet Kat from White Haus who had a great display of beautiful one-of-a-kind cuffs

and this is my fiance meeting the Panda! :D

Holiday party/Jewelry Sale at Studio 11!

2009-12-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

Come on over for Studio 11's Holiday Party & Jewelry Sale! We'll have complimentary wine & food and 6 local jewelers/artists/designers will have their work on display.
Check them out!
Abbi Stern of Brooklyn Heavy Metal
Kerrie Yeung (ring above by Kerrie Yeung)
Jackie Tse
Kareen Fagan
Bridget Stein
& me!

75 10th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215

Pics from the Dec 6th Craft Workshop!

2009-12-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome group for the "Green Crafting" workshop with GreenEdge yesterday! It was at the Brooklyn Creative League, which I highly recommend checking out. They have a great set-up!

All of the projects I demo-ed involved recycled plastic bags. The first one we did was the Upcycled Plastic Bag Bangle.

Next we tried a few yummy locally produced wines.

And we finished up by making two styles of barrettes made from recycled plastics. :)

Green Crafting Workshop!

2009-11-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been busy getting ready for this super fun craft workshop I'm putting together with GreenEdge on Dec 6th! I'll be demonstrating two fun projects: barrettes and bangles made from recycled plastics! Participants get make their own to give as gifts for the holidays or keep for themselves. And we'll also enjoy a wine tasting of locally produced organic wines! :) Here's the details:

Green Edge NYC presents: Green Crafting for the Holidays

Location: the Brooklyn Creative League
540 President Street 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY
map

Date & Time: Sunday Dec. 6th 1-5pm

Price: $30

Register on the GreenEdge website, space is limited.
Reserve now!

Flatbush Open Studios- Zane Treimanis

2009-11-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I got to check out the Flatbush Open Studios in Brooklyn. It was great checking out the artwork and meeting all the artists! :)

I'm going to do separate posts for each of the artists I saw. Today's focus will be on the work of fine artist Zane Treimanis.

I love this! Her wall pieces remind me of micro organisms. Beautiful!

She makes gorgeous sculptural pendants too!

Legos in the Kitchen!

2009-11-06T05:36:00.000-08:00

I love this. :)

NYC Greenest City?

2009-11-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

Check out this post on Treehugger, according to one study NYC is the greenest city in the US!

some new designs....

2009-10-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

So here's a few of the latest pieces I've been working on....
I'm planning on holding a workshop demonstrating the barrette with the little circles sometime soon.

Open Studios and craft workshops!

2009-10-24T07:25:00.001-07:00

Kerrie Yeung and I participated in the A.G.A.S.T. Open Studios this year.

We just moved into our new studio space on Oct 1st, so we're still settling in. I get to share space with some amazing jewelers! Check out some of their work here:
Abbi Stern of Brooklyn Heavy Metal
Kerrie Yeung
Jackie Tse
and more!

Also, just a couple days ago I hosted a Free Craft Workshop in our studio. preppin' the plastic:

workshop time!

Free Craft Workshop- Thurs Oct 22nd!

2009-10-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

Come hang out in my studio this Thurs Oct 22nd for an evening of free crafting, pizza and wine! :) I'll be demonstrating a fun way to decorate old bangle bracelets with plastic bags!

Please RSVP at garbageofedendesign@gmail.com :)

Next up: Barrettes! Date to be announced...

Living Libraries

2009-10-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

Interesting concept I just read about: "Living Libraries"
So they set up at a library, instead of signing out books you sign up to talk to different people about their beliefs ect. The idea is that it's a non-confrontational way to be able to ask questions and understand different points of view.

Free Craft Workshop Sunday Oct. 18th!

2009-10-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

The A.G.A.S.T. Open Studios are this weekend all over Gowanus, so it's the perfect opportunity to check out tons of great art in the area! ANd..you can swing by my studio on 10th street for a free craft workshop! I'll be demonstrating a fun technique using plastic bags to glam up some old second hand bangles. Get there early and you'll get to make one to take home! I will also probably have some cookies to offer. :)

P.S. The entrance to the building is almost in the Lowe's parking lot.

Awesome Japanese Craft Club Exhibition

2009-10-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

Before and After, an exhibit for Ossu! Shugeibu is going on at Gallery Hanahou in NYC (611 Broadway Suite 730). How cute is the little birdie made from an umbrella??

Fred Tomaselli- Magical Surrealism

2009-10-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

I just read a bit about this artist on Flavorwire: Fred Tomaselli. His psychadelic paintings are made by assembling all kinds of different objects. He's best known for assembling pills and herbs but more recently he's been making new works assembling "flowers, feathers, anatomical illustrations, and other ephemera..."

BK Skillshare!

2009-10-11T11:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I got the chance to check out the Brooklyn Skillshare. It was great! I got there in time to take the Fiber Arts Workshop and Natural Jewelry Casting Workshop, both very inspiring! They'll be holding more Skillshare events soon. :)

Jacqueline Schmidt of Screech Owl Designs taught the Fiber Arts workshop. It was a great introduction to knitting and she also showed examples of other techniques such as wet and dry felting, weaving ect. She makes a wide range of beautiful objects, knits, notecards just to name a few, check her out: www.screechowldesign.com

Timothy Gasbarro taught the Natural Jewelry Casting Workshop. This was a cool unusual technique, he pours natural objects such as beans, sand ect. into a can and casts the space around the objects. There's a lot more involved but thats the basic idea. The results are these beautiful abstract shapes. Check out the images on his website to see what I mean, especially images #18-21:
http://www.timothygasbarro.com/

Studio Share in Brooklyn!

2009-09-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

A few friends and I are looking for studio mates to share an artist space in Gowanus for Oct 1st move in, rent hinging on how many people will be sharing the space. Rent is $1,000 total and currently there are 5 artists/jewelers who will be renting but we would like to get at least 7. Lots of storage and shelving, high ceilings and natural light with one wall of large windows, space is roughly 500 square feet. Close to the Smith and 9th street stop on the F train and the 4th and 9th street stop on the F, R, and M.

The attached pics are of the space, the supplies ect shown in the pics will be out by the 1st.

If interested please send us a note at garbageofeden@gmail.com letting us know what you'd like to use the space for. Thanks!

Crate Man!

2009-09-25T07:10:00.001-07:00

Check it out! Recycled milk crate art! Apparently, Crate Man even has his own facebook page. Fancy that!

Van Jones Resigns

2009-09-06T06:06:00.001-07:00

I was so psyched when Obama appointed Van Jones as his "Green Jobs Advisor". He's one of my heroes! He has been well known in the green community for finding innovative ways of tackling both environmental and social issues at the same time. He has helped make the green movement more accessible to all. He says he resigned due to controversy.

Anyways, here's some of the awesome work Van Jones has done, check it out!
http://www.greenforall.org/splash
http://www.vanjones.net/
http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200904-omag-van-jones

In the end environmentalism really is a social issue, it's about improving people's quality of life. Check out more inspiring people working on both human rights and environmental issues in one of my past blog posts.

Gugger Petter- Newspaper Weaving

2009-09-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

I just noticed this artist on Artlog, Gugger Petter. I love this idea, she weaves newspapers into "paintings". She has a show coming up in San Francisco.

Marriage Equality in NY

2009-05-21T13:51:00.001-07:00

Calling your senator is pretty painless it turns out! I just called Senator George Onorato of Queens, NY to show my support for Gov Paterson's Marriage Equality Bill. Wouldn't that be great if NY state finally allowed gay marriage with all the benefits afforded to straight marriages? Here's Senator Onorato's #'s:
Astoria office 718-545-9706 Albany office 518-455-3486
Give him a call! It only takes a few seconds!

DIY Mother's Day card!

2009-04-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

Show some love to all the Mamas in your life!
This card was made from a mac n' cheese box! I made the pin from part of a plastic bag but you could also use sculpey, old buttons, or whatever you want!

First, cut out the front and back panels on your mac n' cheese box. Then put them together, blank sides facing out. Next measure lengthwise to find the middle and score it on both sides with an exacto blade. Next fold it and put a few pieces of double sided tape in between the two layers. Then you trim the sides a little to even it all out. I like to use a corner rounder to finish off the corners.

After the card was made I wrote my message leaving a blank space for the "<3" pin. Then I punched a couple holes in the space to make it easy to take the pin on and off the card.

Have lovely Mother's Day! (in advance ;))

Shmeat?!?

2009-03-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about Shmeat? What do you think, is it amazing or does it give you the heebie-jeebies?

Atlantic Yards Petition

2009-02-26T06:27:00.000-08:00

Even though I recently moved to Queens, I'd still hate to see the proposals for the Atlantic Yards go through. DDDB (develope don't destroy brooklyn) have sent out a new petition to Gov. Paterson opposing the idea of using stimulus package funds to give the Atlantic Yards a boost. They've gone way over on the budget all ready and changed the design and scale of the whole project since the public referendum.

Spanish Word of the Day!

2009-02-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to improve my Spanish skills so I can talk to my boyfriend's family, and we're hoping to take a trip to Peru, un dia! Sooo... I'm going to try doing a Spanish Word of the Day with my blog. Today's word is:

Viajar- to travel!

present tense
yo viajo
tu viajas
el/ella viaja
ellos/ellas viajan
nosotros viajamos

future tense
yo viajaré
tu viajarás
el/ella viajará
ellos/ellas viajarán
nosotros viajaremos

past tense
yo viajé
tu viajaste
el/ella viajó
ellos/ellas viajaron
nosotros viajamos

Nosotros viajaremos a Peru! : )

Inspiration Saturday-Carol Cole's Paper Sculptures

2009-02-14T14:47:00.000-08:00

I love these sculptures by Carol Cole. She makes them by embedding found objects in paper pulp! I find it interesting that she spent quite a bit of time studying history and anthropology, I think it really shows in her work. They're like modern relics. Find out more about Cole and her work here.

Rug Treasury!

2008-12-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

Snagged a treasury today! : ) I've been feeling inspired by all the cool handmade and vintage rugs on etsy. Check it out!

Recycled Art- Harry Anderson

2008-12-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

I love these lighting/sculptures by artist Harry Anderson. Yay for found objects!

Check out more great sculptures at his site.

Friday DIY- Vegan Bagels!

2008-12-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

This recipe is so yummy! I found it here.

Vegan Bagels

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons baking yeast
6 tablespoons sugar
2 cups warm water
6 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup sugar
Additional flour for kneading

METHOD
Dissolve 2 tablespoons baking yeast and 6 tablespoons sugar in 2 cups warm water. Add 2 cups unbleached white flour, beating it in with a whisk. Let rise as a sponge for about 10 minutes. Beat in 1/2 cup oil, 2 teaspoon salt and about 4 more cups flour (use a whisk until it gets too thick - then just use a spoon).
Turn dough out on a floured board and knead for about 10 minutes. Add only enough flour on the board to prevent sticking. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Roll lumps of dough between your hand and the work table into rolls 3/4 inch x 8 inches (0.7 x 20 centimeters). Take one end of a roll and wrap around your first two fingers into bagel shape, sealing the two ends by rolling them together between your fingers and worktable to make a smooth seam. Let rise 5 minutes on a well floured board. Repeat until you have about 30 bagels.

Have ready a 4 liter (4 quart) pot two thirds full of boiling water. Add 1/3 cup sugar. Drop 4 or 5 bagels into the rapidly boiling water, risen side down, and put on a lid. Boil 30 seconds on one side then 30 seconds on the other, keeping a rapid boil all the time. Remove bagels with a slotted spatula and place about 1/2 inch / 7 millimeters apart on a well-oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 180C/375F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yay Obama!

2008-11-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

So it's been awhile since my last post, we have a new president! Yay! I'm very relieved that Obama got elected and looking forward to the inauguration. A bit before the election I was getting into this show on Air America, the Young Turks. It's a liberal good time! www.theyoungturks.com.

And on another note, this past Tues I checked out Ladies' Lotto over at Brooklyn Adorned, the Brooklyn version of NY Adorned. Ladies' Lotto is this group of women entrepreneurs that hold these events for networking and they always have an inspiring speaker talk about how they grew their business/project ect. They have them in several different cities once a month.

Halloween & Voting!

2008-10-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

I'm almost done making my costume, this year I'm going as Princess Leia! Yay sci-fi geekiness! : ) I'll post a pic of my outfit later, when my camera's finally fixed.

And on another note, I was looking up info about Tuesday's election. Usually I have no idea what's going on for the Senate and House of Reps races so I end up doing eeny meeny miny mo for everything besides the presidency. : P This year I can actually make a somewhat informed decision on the local stuff. If you're in NY you can find good links about who's running in your district ect here.

Also, I found this site courtesy of No Impact Man's blog, it's the League of Conservation Voter's site. You can find out about candidates' positions on environmental issues there.

The Latest on The Atlantic Yards Proposal

2008-10-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Atlantic Yards Proposal is this crazy idea developer Bruce Ratner has been trying to push through for years now. It's a huge stadium/shopping complex that he wants to plop down in the middle of one of the most traffic-heavy neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It's nuts! The pic above shows a computer rendering of what it would look like.

The following is the latest from www.developedontdestroy.org

Atlantic Yards: A Lot of Changing Facts

The facts have been changing a lot with respect to Atlantic Yards. But our “dogmatic” Mayor hasn’t wanted to change his mind and leave the mistake behind.

Our economy changed; not the Mayor’s mind. . . . The megadevelopment’s schedule changed by decades: The Mayor seems to like parking lots which might conceivably be there until he is six feet under. . . . . The project’s cost is up (Beyond what the New York State PACB approved.); by more than 50%. . .. . We’ve gone from a hypocritical Governor Spitzer to Governor Paterson, who has a history of opposing eminent domain abuse. . . . .The flimsy theory of the arena’s tax-exemption was blown.- But the Mayor is willing to embarrassingly have the city unconscionably lobby the IRS to grandfather loopholes and fake real estate tax appraisal figures to try to salvage it. .. Remember: There is no legal or binding obligation for the city or the Mayor to go through relentless gyrations to prop up the project against the public’s interest.

What does it take to change the Mayor’s mind about an acknowledged mistake? Is there no line that the Mayor would not cross in pursuing such a mistake?

Is the Mayor’s inflexible conduct in the face of change what the Mayor means when he talks about `dogmatism’ that makes a person “not very practical or effective”?
...

sign the petition! Visit http://dddb.net/php/petiton.php

DIY Friday- Fused Plastic Bags!

2008-10-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

So after a good couple years of having a blast playing with plastic bags I finally got around to fusing them! I don't know what took me so long I guess just having too much fun weaving them. The tutorial on the etsy blog is great, you hafta check that out.

This time around I tried a super simple coin purse. It's convenient to use the plastic sleeves newspapers come in if you're making a teeny little bag like this.

Once you cut the sleeves open and lay them flat you can fold it into little rectangles 8 layers of plastic thick. I tried using less layers like 3 or 4 and it ended up shriveling up and getting holes in it so I'd say go with the 6-8 layers they recommend in the etsy labs how-to.

Another possible reason why my first one shriveled up is I had the iron set too high. I changed the setting to nylon, folded it a few more times and voila success! : )

Recycled Art Series- Joel Spivak

2008-09-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

I had a booth at Greenfest Philly earlier this month and had the good fortune of being located next to the booth for the Please Take Materials Exchange. Michael from Please Take was manning the booth and he gave me a list of really great artists who have been connected to the whole Please Take project. (It used to be called C.A.R.P. and i totally forgot what that stood for) So I'm going to do a series of posts on all these inspiring artists. I got to meet Joel Spivak at the fest that day so I'll start with him. : )

Here's some of Joel's latest pieces. They were up at the Bike Part Art Show put on by the Spokes People. This piece is called "My Favorite Shirt"

"Boy Meets Girl"

Friday DIY- Yummy Choclate Chip Zucchini Bread!

2008-09-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been awhile since my last post! Since then i got a new job, had my booth over at Greenfest Philly and helped out with my friend Tiffany's (she has a company called RePlayGround) recycled crafts booth among other things keeping me super busy. : )

My new part time job is pretty exciting, I'm working for the 400 Showroom. It's a showroom for several really great sustainable clothing and accessories designers including Bahar Shaphar (one of my bosses :) ), Del Forte, Lara Miller and Ashley Watson just to name a few. I mostly work with the materials library so I get to find out about how all these amazing sustainable textiles are made, including some really innovative materials such as Ingeo and Milkofil. This weekend we're getting ready for D&A so it's been ca-razy busy over there.

Oh and in other news, I'm trying make a shift to being vegetarian. It started out as a bet with my boyfriend to see who could go the longest without eating meat. It wasn't quite fair because he went to visit his mom and grandma three days after we started and his grandma (abuelita Goya :) ) cooks some amazing and meaty dishes. So he lost right away. I haven't had the chance to visit them in awhile, I know when I do it'll be tough to pass up her awesome lomo saltado!

So anyway, let's get to this week's Friday DIY: Choclate Chip Zucchini Bread!

I got this recipe through a link on lime.com.

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup sugar
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 large eggs
* 1 cup applesauce
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
* 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini (about 1 medium)
* 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed until well blended. Stir in applesauce.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating just until moist. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 161 (29% from fat) Fat: 5.1g (sat 1.6g,mono 1.4g,poly 1.7g) Protein: 2.9g
Carbohydrate: 27.3g Fiber: 1.4g Cholesterol: 27mg Iron: 1.2mg Sodium: 145mg Calcium: 12mg

Yield
16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Saturday Inspirations- Light!

2008-07-19T10:30:00.001-07:00

Stuart Haygarth has been designing lighting from colleted and repurposed objects since around 2004. It took 1020 pairs of prescription spectacles to make "Spectacle".

And the "Tide" Chandelier was made from man made objects that washed up on a certain bit of coastline in Kent. http://www.stuarthaygarth.com/

Michael R. Parent makes interesting art pieces involving steel, fiber optics and encaustic paint.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5683524 Night Sky Fiber optics

Sunday Inspirations- Knit, Crochet, Tat

2008-07-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

You can buy a crochet pattern for this fun bento box set from www.amigurumisweet.etsy.com

This skirt is one of my favorite pieces by Juliet Hone of Smith & Hone. I love the color combination and the stripe pattern.

Knitwear as performance art! This piece is by Krelwear.

Cotton tatting art by Icelandic artist Hildur Bjarnadóttir.

Saturday DIY- Quick Wrap Skirt

2008-07-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Look Ma! No pattern!

I've had this pretty fabulous vintage fabric hanging around for awhile and I finally decided it needed to be put to use. I didn't have any patterns in my size/that I really liked so I made this really simple wrap skirt by trial and error.

First I laid out my fabric on my cardboard project board. This thing is so useful, it has a grid of 1 inch squares all over it which helps simplify rough measurements and you can make your fabric stay in place by pinning it to the board which is AWESOME!

Next I cut my fabric to be a nice even rectangle. Oh, and I ironed it.

I then measured from where I wanted my skirt to sit on my waist to where I wanted the hem hit. I decided to make it 17" long. To that amount, I added 3/4" + 1/2" on both the top and the bottom. (that's a pretty standard measurement for a hem) This comes to 19.5". So next I cut my big rectangle of fabric across the long way ( I think the length was around 60") so the height was now 19.5"

Next I measured 1/2" from all of the edges, folded them down and pinned them. Then I ironed the folds. from there I folded the edges over again, this time 3/4". Ironed that too and stitched the hem. After this I forgot to take photos, so I'll just describe it.

So at this point I had a big rectangle with hemmed edges. I wrapped it around so it was snug around my hips, knowing I'd be putting in darts to make it taper in at the waist. I marked where it should overlap and where I wanted to put snaps with pins. Then I did some crazy experimenting with darts. I'll skip the ideas that didn't work. ; ) Here's the one that did end up working: hold your "skirt" in front of you, pinned in place using your markings of where it should overlap. Measure the top edge not including the 2nd layer that is overlapped. Then measure your waist where you want the skirt to hit. Subtract the measurement of your waist from the fabric edge measurement. The number you get is going help you figure out your darts.

Say you got 3" difference (I think that's around what I got), if you're making two darts in back like I did, it makes sense that at the top of your darts they should each measure 1 1/2". That way the top edge measurement is equal to your waist. I ended up figuring out the length of my darts by trial and error, but later found out from my sister (she's a fashion designer) that most of the time when you're doing the old two darts in back trick, that they're usually around 4" in length. I made mine 3 3/4" so it was close.

Here's how you figure out the placement. Hold up your skirt, fold it flat so the front is laying face down. measure across the top edge. Take 1/4 of that measurement. whatever # you got, measure in that much from either side and mark it. Those two marks are the center of your darts.

After sewing my darts, I stitched a couple snaps on for closure. And a few vintage buttons just for looks. And that's it!

feel free to comment or ask questions! : )

Sunday Inspirations- Biking!

2008-07-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

ID magazine reviewed this new helmet in their annual design review recently. I love it! I want one! : ) They have two layers: the EPS core and a fabric cover for comfort and washability. yes, washability. I don't know if that word exists but it sounds good right?

They're designed by Yves Behar for the NYC Dept of Health. He has also recently designed the NYC Condoms for them as well.

And here, for your viewing pleasure, is a clip of Judge Judy layin the smack down and defending the rights of a biker.

Saturday Inspirations- Art & Machines

2008-06-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

I read a little tidbit in Selvedge magazine that mentioned Schiffli embroidery machines and that set me off on my mechanical art tangent this week. These days most of these Schiffli machines have been computerized, but they have an old fashioned one at the Manchester Metropolitan University in England. They had this neato video on their website that shows the machine in action. It replicates what the artist/operator does in embroidery.

I thought these machines were a fun idea: Artomats! They're refurbished old cigarette vending machines with art inside. According to their website they have them all over the place.

Rebecca Horn uses simple motors to create movement in her elegant sculptures.

Jean Tingluey became well known for his drawing machines back in the 1950's.

You can find out about more artists who create mechanical artworks here

Inspirations- Guiseppe Arcimboldo

2008-06-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I came across this artist Guiseppe Arcimboldo in a magazine and jotted his name down. I finally looked him up again. How awesome are these paintings?! I wonder if Jan Svankmajer was inspired by his work at all when he made his Dimensions of Dialogue shorts. Arcimboldo painted these way back in the 16th century. Read more about him and his work here.

here's a clip of Svankmajer's Dimensions of Dialogue.

Interview with Artist Ren Weiner!

2008-05-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

name; ren weiner

shop name. firefliz

site- laurenweiner.com

location- New york

me. (bio on the website) in 22, i dropped out of art school where i was a crafts major because i wasnt learning anything new.. unfortunatly ;( so now i do my own thing. i work mainly in ceramics and recycled materials i can pull outta the trash and put to another use.

apart from creating i work with the westchester coalition for the hungry and homeless and with a community gardens program i started with local high school kids growing veggies for local soup kitchens.

materials.... anything i can get my hands on! mostly clay and bike tubes at the current moment

my design process... function! i belive art should be useful and made just for you! everyone uses things differntly whether its a bag or a mug

what inspires me? dame... when i see something broken, or that could be done better, have a better personal function (which is why i prefer to make custom pieces for folks) though i want to bring everything down to its most natural form, i don't like to hide things in my work and i like to bring out the process in the finished product

how did i get into my craft.... i grew up in the woods with no internet, tv, or video games, so i had to DO something ;)
advice... stop doodling and just do it- you will learn more diving into a project then u ever will sitting in a classroom or racking your brain for the next big thing. lock yourself up with materials and no distractions. how can u improve the space around you?

do i have anything to add? get out in your community and make a difference! you'll feel better i promise.

on the horizion... right now im doing alot of custom bike bags and getting them in bike shops around my area, in the near future looking to open an eco organic cafe with my best freind. i cant wait till i can just make cupcakes and listen to punkrock all day.

Thank you! : )

2008-05-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say thank you to my etsy customers! Because of your support I was able to make my first donation to Just Food! : )

www.justfood.org

Inspiration Saturday- Pattern!

2008-05-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Pattern yay! I don't know about you but I'm constantly inspired by beautiful patterns in illustrations and textile design. I love that pattern has come back into style lately in such a big way, in clothing, wallpaper, upholstry and all kinds of other things. This guy commented in an issue of ID magazine awhile ago that he was upset that they were covering designs with so much pattern because he saw it as being "frivolous" in a time when we should be making things in more efficient and eco-friendly ways, sans extra embellishment. I whole-heartedly agree with the idea of making things using efficient and eco-friendly methods, but hey, no need to assume pattern and embellishment will always hinder that. Feel free to comment!

Anyway, here's some of the beautiful patterns that have been inspiring me lately.

The pic above is from Dries Van Noten's Spring /Summer line.

This one's from British illustrator Marta Munoz. Love it!

Check out what this company Life Is Suite is doing with old furniture, they refurbish and reupholster old pieces and give them a fun modern look! Just look at how awesome this loveseat came out once they got hold of it.....

You can still catch this exhibit by Tara Donovan over at the Met. It's made of mylar, I love the organic shape. : ) Check out her website to see more great organic patterned sculptures. Some are made from recycled materials!

Interview with Rachael Patton of Jarac Rogovima!

2008-04-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Name: Rachael Patton

Shop Name: Jarac Rogovima

Shop Link: www.judithskiss.etsy.com

Location: Humboldt County, California

Tell us a bit about yourself: My partner and I moved to the west coast about two years ago from Asheville, NC. I loved the DIY scene there and have grown accustomed to the various styles of my new home. Three other designers and I recently produced a fashion show to showcase our work.

Apart from creating things, what do you do? In the fall, I'm going back to school to study ethnobotany. I love gardening, when I have the time. I'm obsessed with music as well. A friend of mine, and I, have plans to do a radio show later this year too.

What materials do you use? I find all kinds of wonderful fabrics from garage sales, old clothing, even bedsheets. Most of my clothing and accessories are made from these second-hand materials and made soley by me. The thought of people being exploited in other countries to make things cheap and convenient for us saddens me.

Tell us about your design process: It takes a lot of time to come up with and draft patterns. For my hodge-podge calico-looking pieces, I gather some scraps that go together. Once I have the pattern, I plug in pieces of my favorite scraps so they fit the pattern piece. Though very time consuming, the result is awesome. I've been told by past studio-mates and costumers that I seem to make really beautiful things from what they had considered to be hopelessly tragic fabrics or clothes. I'm attracted to really bizarre things.

What inspires you? As far as style, the folk costumes of Scadinavia and eastern Europe appeal to me. Having worked for other people my whole life, the drive to be a sole business woman is great. Also, knowing that my clothes are a closed circle operation (meaning no overseas construction, very few resources used) means a lot to me.

How did you get into your craft? Honestly, I have no idea. I've loved arts and crafts since I was a kid. Making clothing was probably one thing on a list of many to accomplish. When I realized that it's subtle finishing techniques were a dying art, I lept into it. I love a crafty challenge. Due to learning more about clothing construction and pattern drafting, making clothes becomes more challenges and interesting.

Do you have any advice for fellow artist/designer/crafters? Ha! People love giving advice, so take it into consideration but do what you truly feel is right for your art. And DON'T SELL OUT!!!!!!! That's my personal mantra. I can't say how many people have tried to convince me that I need to be bigger and have my clothes made overseas and market by obscene methods of commercialization. Unless you feel that that is worth doing, don't sell out.

What are your current projects and what is on the horizon? An avant garde show featuring some Louis IVX style costumes made from trash.

Anything else you would like to add? Because, I'm on the warpath: Be aware of where your materials come from and where they go when they're disposed of.

Thanks for sharing sharing the concepts and inspirations behind your awesome work Rachael!

Inspiration Sunday- Recycled Rubber!

2008-04-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

I keep running into great stuff made from recycled rubber lately.

These coasters are pretty cute:

...and I love all the awesome bags and jewelry made by malinb
She makes them out of truck tires!

Believe it or not, this jewelry by Christiane Diehl is made out of recycled rubber bands!

The Worn Again line by Terra Plana is full of awesome reuse, especially rubber. The soles of these shoes are made from recycled bike tubes.

Check out these tips on how to recycle extra foam rubber pieces: http://www.ehow.com/how_2145648_recycle-foam-rubber.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

Friday Book Review- The Crafts Business Answer Book by Barbara Barbec

2008-04-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

This book was the second one I got to in the huge stack of books I picked up at the Brooklyn Business Library a little bit ago. The cover was second cutest. haha ; )

By the way, this is THE book to get if you run a craft business! It's set up like an encyclopedia with all the terms you're wondering about in alphabetical order. Say you have a question about doing consignment, look in the c's, there's sections entitled "Consignment Agreement" and "Consignment Laws" ect. The format is so easy and I found out exact definitions of some technical accounting terms I had only "sorta kinda" known, or just had never even heard of. I'm definitely going to have to buy this one. Also, this one is the second edition which is 60% updated from the older version according to www.barbarabrabec.com.

I would recommend buying this one over Craft Inc., the book I reviewed last week, because this one has info you'll need at all stages of your business and it's just a more utilitarian book overall. It'll serve you well over several years. Craft Inc. is great if you're just beginning to think about going into business and need more general and inspirational advice, while The Crafts Business Answer book is getting down to the nitty gritty.

Ridiculous new legislation could hurt artists & designers

2008-04-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is what's going on: there's new legislation in congress that would take away your basic rights to copyright your work. Find out more about it here: http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html

There's a lot of big companies with lots of money to push around on this including Getty and Corbis (they're big image databases). It's important for us little guys to stay on top of this. We can't write to our senators yet, not until it becomes an actual drafted bill, so stay informed by emailing the Illustrator's Partnership: illustratorspartnership@cnymail.com. Just say you want to be updated if anything new develops on this issue.

http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/march2007/patterson07.cfm

This is the guy behind the crazy legislation: Peter Jaszi.

“Through his testimony before the Congress, Peter Jaszi has helped my colleagues better appreciate the importance of fair use to consumers, libraries and universities, technology companies, and society as a whole,” said Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA). “He has been a real inspiration to those of us fighting to restore balance to our copyright laws. With the intellectual support he has provided us, we ultimately will prevail.”

Notice the guy didn't mention anything about being fair to the people who actually create the artwork? One of their arguments is that they'd be protecting high school kids from being sued for using somebody else's images in their reports. That's actually already protected under the current copyright laws. What a useless bill, right?

Thank you to Pamela of "Uniques" for letting us know about this!
Feel free to comment.

Saturday Inspirations- Cool Packaging

2008-04-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Enviroarc makes these cool biodegradeable flower pots, wouldn't it be awesome if the plants you buy for your house came in these instead of plastic?

Made out of recycled paper and cardboard pulp, this Ecopak packaging is sustainable but also allows for a wide variety of shapes to be formed.

This packaging for jewelry by H. Sterns-Pas-Deux isn't eco-friendly but I think it's inspiring design-wise. It's made from imbuia wood with velvet on the inside.

Book Review- Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco

2008-04-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week i picked up another huge stack of business books at the Brooklyn Business Library.

Of course I read the cutest one first! : )

I wish I had read this book, oh about 5 months ago : ) It would have helped so much! That's when I really began working on starting my own craft business. It would have been perfect timing then. Still, even if you've already got the basics figured out, this book will be worth your while. It's a very quick, easy read, everything's very well organized and in the order of when each bit of advice would be useful as you build your business. I also enjoyed Ilasco's chatty writing style. If you are just beginning to think about starting your own craft business this book will be your new best friend. If you've been in business for a few months you may be ready to check out the "hiring a publicist" section or "how to be a good employer and boss". Personally I was most interested in the section on press kits.

P.S. Last time i picked up a huge stack at the Biz Library the best one I read was "Minding Her Own Business" by Jan Zobel. It's great for learning to keep records for a small business. The fact that it was marketed to women as "the self-employed woman's essential guide to taxes and financial records" seems a little silly to me since it would obviously be just as useful to a self-employed guy. But whatever, it's pretty handy. The formats for records are pretty good, and some of them I use all the time.

NYC Congestion Pricing Plan Dropped

2008-04-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

I was so hopeful that this plan would be passed! So many politicians were getting behind it and I read some poll somewhere, or maybe it was on the news, that said an overwhelming majority of NYC residents were supportive of the plan. Here's a link to an article about why it was dropped, without even a real vote!!! http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/nyregion/08congest.html?ex=1365393600&en=5baaf441138500c2&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

"the mayor’s plan was strongly opposed by a broad array of politicians from Queens, Brooklyn and New York’s suburbs, who viewed the proposed congestion fee as a regressive measure that overwhelmingly benefited affluent Manhattanites." NY Times

Excuse me members of the State Assembly, are you kidding? This plan would have put more money into the transit system, which is really the transportation method of choice for most non-affluent NYers.

Here's a quote from Bloomberg:
“It takes a special type of cowardice for elected officials to refuse to stand up and vote their conscience on an issue that has been debated, and amended significantly to resolve many outstanding issues, for more than a year,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “Every New Yorker has a right to know if the person they send to Albany was for or against better transit and cleaner air.”

Please feel free to comment.

Sunday Inspirations- Recycling Tips

2008-04-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

There's a few websites I keep finding myself referring to in order to figure out how to recycle stuff.

One really practical one is http://www.lime.com/features/limes_guide_to_recycling/story/11485/how_to_recycle_everything
They tell you how to recycle anything and everything!

One I just stumbled on today is http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ This website is really fun, it's full of diy projects as well as a few recycling tips. Some of the tips I didn't get because they're British, any Brits wanna translate? They suggest using a bread bag to wrap your "sarnies" in? maybe it means sandwiches?? ; )

Some good recycling projects on the site include making seedling pots out of newspaper, http://www.selfsufficientish.com/newspaperpots.htm

The afore mentioned 66 uses for a bread bag
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/breadbag.htm

They also have info about how to recycle stuff in the UK http://www.selfsufficientish.com/recycle.htm

I found this link on the Self-sufficientish site: http://www.recycling.moonfruit.com/ This guy takes recycling plastic containers to a new level by using them as planters on a large scale.

Another great recycling website is Freecycle http://www.freecycle.org/ that's how I get a lot of the plastic bags I use to make my jewelry ect. You can post items you want to get rid of there and if someone wants it they'll pick it up. : )

Also ReadyMade Magazine is offering a free issue viewable online this month, so take advantage! There's a great recycling project for turning old plastic soda bottles into pendant lamps. http://www.readymade-digital.com/readymade/20080405/?pm=2&zin=164&u1=texterity&pg=34&z=82

....and while checking out that ReadyMade issue I happened upon this site:http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/ Those Brits have got recycling down to an art!

New Bangles on sale at BTCElements.com

2008-04-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

I have some stylish new upcycled plastic bangles that just went on sale exclusively on www.BTCElements.com : ) This site is full of beautiful eco-friendly items and I'm excited to have my pieces shown there. http://btcelements.com/products/?view=sub_product&sid=2470&cid1=1&cid2=357&cid3=358

Saturday Inspirations- Inspiring People

2008-03-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

A few people doing awesome things. : ) Click on the links to find out more about them!

Wangari Maathai
She started the Greenbelt movement in Nigeria.

Burners Without Borders disaster relief in Pisco, Peru after the huge 8/15/07 earthquake.

Alex Steffen Started www.Worldchanging.com, which is full of thoughtful articles about anything from toxins in kids toys to plans for future growths in population.

Firday DIY- Happy little home for your shoes

2008-03-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

....or you could just call it a shoe organizer, but I just think my shoes look all snug and comfy in my new diy shoe holder. They used to be in a big pile at the bottom of my closet- blah!

I wanted to use up some of my fabrics leftover from craft projects ect. to make this so I chose the 2 strongest, largest chunks of fabric I had. The dark grey/black fabric is denim and the green patterned fabric is vintage upholstery fabric my boyfriend's grandma gave me.

Inspiration Saturday- Lace!

2008-03-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because spring's almost here but I've been finding lots of cool lace stuff lately. Actually come to think of it, it was the official first day of spring the other day wasn't it?

I noticed this one because it was in a blog on DIY City.

It's a new textile called Eternal Lace made by Laura Anne Marseden of the UK. It's made out of recycled plastic grocery bags and then treated with "secret processes" : )

This necklace was made from laser cut acrylic. The pattern is beautiful! It's by Lauren K. Roberts.

I love the way Bayousalvage collages vintage lace and old photos onto clothing.

Sunday Inspiration- Textile Designers with Cool Digs

2008-03-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

I love decorating! but even more so I enjoy just thinking about decorating hahaha. I may have mentioned this before in this blog but I have a "cozy" little studio apt that I share with my boyfriend (who would never have bothered unpacking the moving boxes when we moved in 2 years ago if it wasn't for me ; ) ) So on rainy days like today when I'm working in the antique shop and no one's coming in, I tend to oogle cool decorating stuff online and in magazines quite a bit, it's decorating vicariously.

Lately I've read a couple features about the homes of textile designers and hey, textile designers have super fun houses! So check out these pics from the Metropolitan Home's Feb issue, they're of Rita Motta's house. Her brother designed the cool floating bedside lamp.

I couldn't get any large pics of this one but in the Mar issue of Readymade they also profiled a cool textile designer's house: Talla Wesley's. I love the wallpaper in this pic.

Friday DIY- Spring Cleaning!

2008-03-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful spring day today in Brooklyn! : ) and it's my birthday! yay!

anyways, lately I'v been cleaning my apt like crazy, so I felt it was appropriate to to do a DIY cleaning blog. I've been trying out recipes for eco-friendly cleaning substances, because what good does a cleaning spree do ya if your house ends up smelling like clorox in the end? It just seems counter-productive to use something as unhealthy as bleach to "clean" up.

I found this website: http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm and it's full of recipes for eco-friendly cleaning stuff. Here's the recipes I've tried so far:

Drain Declogger
Pour together:
¼ c baking soda down the drain, followed by
½ c. vinegar
Cover drain and let sit for 15 minutes. Follow with 2 qts. boiling water.

Mildew Remover
Dissolve together: ½ c, vinegar
½ c. borax in warm water.
Apply with sponge or spray bottle.

I kept an eye out for borax and didn't happen to find any until I popped into a Met grocery store the other day.

I was most impressed with the the drain declogger. It worked just as well as regular draino and definately better than the CVS-brand rip off of draino I tried awhile ago.

The mildew remover recipe worked pretty well, I tried it on my shower curtain. I think I'll have to give it one more go for it to be really completely clean. On the plus side, it always takes awhile to scrub the whole curtain and I tend to get whatever cleaner I use for that all over myself and the entire bathroom, so it was a much pleasanter experience to be covered in vinegar, borax and water than the usual nasty chemicals.

...and now for something completely different. I cranked out a few new stud earrings, this time using a leftover netted fabric. I like how the yellow ones came out because the texture reminds me of honeycomb.

Saturday Inspirations-Design Inspired by Nature

2008-03-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday Inspirations- a day late! oops!

this week's inspirations are all designs that were inspired by nature.
If you haven't heard about it yet you have to check out this book:
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired By Nature by Janine Benyus. Biomimicry is all about taking inspiration from the natural world, whether it's the form, function or a process. My favorite parts of this book are when Benyus outlines several projects she's worked on (as well as others' projects) that are great examples of taking a natural design or process and applying it to a design problem. You can check out some of those projects here.

The "With A Little Help of the Bees" vase was made by Tomas Gabzdil Libertiny for Droog. They constructed a vase-shaped hive, and the bees did the rest! It takes 40,000 bees one week to make one vase.

I first noticed the Solio universal solar powered chargers when I was working at Habana Outpost as an intern doing random stuff like researching eco products for them to sell. I like that the design integrates so well with the use. They're so pretty!

The Trabecula Bench by Freedom of Creation is a rapid-manufactured piece inspired by the bone structure of birds.

The "Silence" rug is by Permafrost and is made to mimic a snowy field with the tracks of a rabbit running through.

The Cibola pendant Lamp by Dominick Bromley, evokes the form of an onion!

Saturday Inspirations- Electronics

2008-02-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

This week's Sat Inspirations are all about electricity and repurposed electronic stuff.

I spotted this toothbrush holder in the March 2008 issue of Dwell magazine. It's part of a series of projects by Scott Amron called "Die Electric". The concept is about using less electricity in order to cause less harm to our environment. So these ideas suggest other uses for our electrical sockets! Check out more of these projects at www.dieelectric.org.

This one is from one of my favorite etsy shops: www.debbyaremdesigns.etsy.com. It's a suncatcher made from reurposed electronic lithography film. It looks great as a suncatcher, awesome reuse!

Here's a great kid's project by Tiffany Threadgould from RePlayGround: suncatchers made from old CDs! (I'm on a cool suncatcher kick today ; ) )

Going back to the theme of reducing our energy use- a co-worker at my freelance photoshop-editting job told me about this cool energy-saving site: www.blackle.com. It's a search engine that's powered by Google's Custom Search and it uses predominately black screens because that takes less energy than the usual predominately white screens used on regular Google and many other sites. That's a way of saving energy that I've never thought about before! If you read the "About Blackle" section on their site it also mentions having less windows open at a time as a way to save energy. Intriguing!

The Bent Fest is coming to NYC this April, always a good time. It's a huge festival of artist and musicians who build and rebuild their own electronic instruments using circuit bending. www.bentfestival.org.

Also, if you're into electronic music, Vector Zero and several other awesome innovative electronic musicians are playing tonight at 10pm at the BPM in Williamsburg. check out their myspace page: www.myspace.com/mekatronics

Saturday Inspirations- Felt

2008-02-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

happy Saturday mi hente : )

Today I'm doing my inspiration blog about objects made out of felt, why felt you ask? because I FELT like it! (drum roll for cheesiness)

Here's some cool felt beads by Lusitania. They made the front page of etsy today. congrats!

I love felted slippers, there's so many cute pairs. Here's one of my favorites by Pawfelts:

These felted rings by Ottoman are a really unique take:

Felting can be a beautiful way to recycle old sweaters and left over fibers. Check out Fiveforty's recycled/upcycled felted rugs!

and check out these innovative felt vases by Joshua Stone:

DIY Friday- the Mac & Cheese Gift Box!

2008-02-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

This week's Firday DIY is the Mac & Cheese Gift Box! I often make these boxes to send my earrings or bracelets to my customers on etsy. It's pretty quick and cute!

Here's most of the supplies you'll need: cutting mat, xacto knife, ruler, pencil. You'll also need doublesided tape or rubber cement, whichever you prefer.

The first thing you do is find the seam on the side of your mac & cheese box and carefully peel it apart.

Next use the scissors to cut straight down the second side of the box.

So here's what you've got:

Next measure the length of your box. Most Mac& Cheese boxes are 7" long.

Next you mark a line straight across at the 3.5" point. Score the line by very lightly dragging the xacto across it. The idea is to cut about 1/2 through the cardboard.

Then you cut at an angle slanting away from the closed part of your box, starting at the corner you just scored.

Next measure the height of the box. Measure and mark a line that distance away from the first line you scored. The newly marked line should be on the side towards the open end of the box.

Here's what your box looks like unfolded at this stage:

You'll need to slice off a triangle on each side next to where you cut the angle.

The tab gets taped down using the doublesided tape.

I like to use the permanent double sided tape because it isn't smelly like rubber cement.

Here's what your box looks like. But it won't stay closed! So here's what comes next.....

...Find an extra plastic bag or packaging in a color that goes with your box. cut off a few smallish pieces and dress up your box with some recycled "tissue paper"!

...and here's how you seal the deal...with a nice bow made from the plastic bag/packaging!

Income Tax Issues for Individual Artist/Designers Ect.

2008-02-12T17:48:00.001-08:00

I just got back from a free seminar at the Brooklyn Business Library- it was very good! Now I'm kicking myself for missing the Organization for Home Businesses seminar a few weeks ago. It was a basic overview of how to do your taxes if you're an artist, designer and/or freelancer. I still have questions, but the good part is I found out about some of the correct wording and more questions I didn't even realize I had. So now I can call up the irs and know what to ask.

I wanted to post some links I found out about that can help other artist/designer/freelancer types like myself with their tax woes.

Free help for Brooklyn artists/designers
www.brooklynartscouncil.org

Info about using free tax return preparation by volunteers
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=107626,00.html

Link to free tax preparation sites in New York City & Brooklyn (where those volunteers are!)
http://www.nedap.org/FreeTaxPrepSitesNYC.pdf ....this list is from 2005 but probably some of these places still do it, it's worth calling them and checking it out

Here's one of the upcoming seminars at the Brooklyn Business Library:

Get on the Internet and Get Business!
How to use the Web to reach out to a wide world of clients

Your computer can be the key to selling success if you know how to use the internet effectively. At this seminar Liliana Blanco from the Business Outreach Center will give you tips to E-Mail marketing and Jennifer Stevens of Stevens Consulting will explain the secrets to selling on eBay. Join us to learn:

* The benefits of marketing via email
* Using Constant Contact and understanding its features
* Choosing profitable products to sell online and pricing them right
* Creating repeat customers

Tuesday, February 19
6:00 - 7:30 pm

There's another seminar having to do with small businesses coming up on Feb 28th, it hasn't been put up on their website yet. I guess we'll have to check back on that one.

I love comments so make sure you comment if you have some advice or questions, we can help each other out!

Saturday Inspirations- NY Gift Fair

2008-02-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

So now that I've had a chance to sift through the huge pile of business cards ect. that I acquired at the gift fair last Mon...

here's my favs!

Resource Revival! They make tons of cool stuff for your house: picture frames, storage and my favorite- the clocks! And you can send them your old bike parts for reuse: https://www.resourcerevival.com/about/recycling

Abteil

Check out their website: http://www.abteil-shop.de/ Really great bags all made from repurposed materials. There's the Soccer Ball Bag (which is literally a soccer ball turned inside out!), the Hot Water Bottle Bag, and tons more. Very creative reuses! The Lederhosen bags are adorable.

(wired)

Jewelry made from parts from electronics, diodes, resisters ect. by Melissa Kolbusz. It might be my computer being slow but I can't seem to get to their webpage: www.wiredresistance.com. But when I googled wired + Melissa Kolbusz a few other sites popped up with pics so check em out! She does a great job making electronics look gorgeous.

Beth Mueller

I love Beth Mueller's simple ceramics with their cute illustrations. My friend Tiffany got to talk with her once and she said when she's making her illustrations she' all about doing just enough but not too much. Simplicity!

DB Clay

DB Clay's wallets are good lookin' and eco friendly! They've developed a material called "Tope" that has a similar texture to vinyl canvas but contains no PVC and decomposes when buried. They print artwork and photographs on their wallets using environmentally friendly inks. www.dbclay.com

Tair Mercier

I love love these prints by Tair Mercier. They're printed on polypropylene and they're just really fun to layerover each other, you can't go wrong because they're all so pretty! I just checked out his website, www.tair-mercier.typepad.com, and I also happened to notice he put a pic up of his 2CV, and I'm not a car person I'm more of biking/public trans kinda girl, HOWEVER, that car is gorgeous so check it out.

Melissa Borrell Design

She had these really awesome plastic "pop-out" earrings and pendants at the show. They come in fun packaging, a plastic sheet that you pop 'em out of to wear. There's a much bigger variety of beautiful jewelry on her site: www.melissaborrell.com.

Parametre

These screens/partions are pretty cool. They're a "3d textile" made from polyester. The shapes are really cool and the hardware to put them up is nice and simple.

Yomo

If you're a textile design junkie like me you're gonna like this one: www.yomony.com They've developed a process called "kemuri" in which their textiles are hand pressed in order to make them super light but still extremely strong.

Friday DIY- Earrings Update

2008-02-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

This week I tried the ol Fabric Covered Stud Earrings project out again. This time I used stetchy fabric and made smaller little fimo circles.

I think they came out a lot better than the last ones. And I didn't even burn the fimo this time! ; )

Next Friday I'll post a how-to for making a cute gift box out of a mac & cheese box!

NYGIF- Gift Fair Sustainability Talk

2008-02-05T17:02:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I went to the big gift fair at the Javits Center with my friend Tiffany from RePlayGround. She had an extra pass so she asked me if I wanted to tag along and check out the talk "sustainability: design for a better world: a manufacturer's guide to going green" super long title right?

The talk was really interesting, the speakers were Jaime Salm of MIO, Paul Murray of Herman Miller and Peter Strugatz from Ice Stone which is practically right around the corner from my house. The most important thing to note is that Jaime Salm is completely adorable! LOL I have a soft spot for Spanish guys....OK maybe not the MOST important thing.... anyways..

Let's seee... my favorite things about each presentation....

Let's start with Paul Murray from Herman Miller. He explained how they broke down all the materials they use in manufacturing their office chairs in order to find all the properties and environmental impact of each chemical that was involved. They wanted to make their newest chair, the Mirra (pic below) more eco-friendly. They had to write up contracts all over the place to convince their manufacturers that they weren't trying to steal the formulas, just trying to figure out what the hell goes into the stuff they make.

So once they figured out what was actually going into the manufacturing of their chairs they substituted the chemicals that were harmful with healthier alternatives. They also do a "take-back" system with old or worn out chairs. The Mirra chair ended up getting Cradle to Cradle certification because of the take-back system and the change in the materials. Which is pretty cool, apparently they were the 1st ones to get it for an office chair. If you haven't heard about the "cradle to cradle" concept you should totally check it out here.

Cradle to cradle in a nutshell is making new objects in such a way that they can easily be made into something of equal or higher value. It's the idea of designing objects that never really come to the end of their lifecycle and end up in a landfill. It's like recycling except that a lot of recycling, especially in big manufacturing situations, makes the old objects into something of less value. Like when we recycle paper, usually the recycled paper is of a lower quality than the original paper was.

Ok so back to the talk.....

Peter Strugatz from Ice Stone. Ice Stone is basically a mixture of recycled glass and concrete and it's this super durable surface people can use for tabletops, sinks, their patios ect. Coming up with a really durable pretty material that is eco-friendly is a big feat, most of the chemicals and materials that make things durable aren't eco-friendly at all, think about it all those nasty smelling sealers ect. So that's pretty cool that they've come up with something durable and attractive too!

One of my favorite things he talked about was in his words: "community-based urban environmental manufacturing" so basically they're really into creating new jobs and making their factories great environments for people to work in. They have "town meetings" with people from the community too, just to say hey what's up, how're things? And the best part is that their factories are lit naturally by skylights! I love that idea, I wish I could light my little 1st floor apartment that way! : D
Check out Ice Stone here.

Interesting and completely horrifying fact that Peter shared: 75% of glass in the US is thrown out. in Europe 90% of the glass is recycled! wtf? I'm living in such a backward country.

And last but certainly not least, hottie Jaime Salm from MIO. I 1st noticed MIO at 3R, this awesome eco-friendly shop in my neighborhood. They carry the 3d wall paper tiles which are made of recycled paper. Jaime talked about the whole design process his company uses and the ways they've had to talk manufacturers into using healthier inks ect. He also talked about how he pitches his eco-friendly ideas to people by highlighting all the positives and not going to much into all the negative reasons why someone would want to choose eco-frindly products. basically less talk about how bad it is if you buy non-eco friendly products and more talk about how beneficial it is to buy eco-friendly.

Ok kids, I'm pooped. more about cool stuff at the gift fair in this week's Inspiration Saturday.

Recycled Stuff Treasury

2008-02-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

One of these days I'll figure out how to do a screen capture, but for now here's the link to a treasury full of cool recycled stuff, organized by Flapi. My bracelets are in there and apparently it made the front page yesterday which is always exciting : )

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=27149

Make sure you check out the "Domestic Helmet" by Clementinemom. Hilarious!

Inspiration Saturday- Qubus Design

2008-02-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

This week I ended up finding out about a lot of neat stuff that was all designed by this one little young company in Czechoslovakia. I remember from the article I flipped through in Clear Magazine that it's a tiny design firm of just 2 young guys. I don't know how they managed to amass such a huge and varied body of work with just 2 people! This post is my reactions to their work and comparing it to other art/design. Please feel free to comment. Here's their website: http://www.qubus.cz

These pink pants by Qubus remind me of the Safe Clothes line by Rebecca Turbow. The green jecket is part of her line which was inspired by uniforms that involve safety. The pink pants also remind me of this collection of "Crazy Japanese Inventions" that was made into a book. Check out the video, hee hee!

this dress (also by Qubus)reminds me of...

this! yum.

I like the crazy grassy top in this picture most of all because they also showed a cross-section pic so you can check out how it's constructed. It's zip ties! This also by Qubus.

This knitwear (Qubus) is pretty interesting. I like the textures and proportions.

This somewhat bizarre church interior was designed by Qubus. I don't like it. It looks very cold and unfriendly to me. I really dislike the fact that the chairs are pristine white. What do you think of it?

I love the blue floral print on these ceramic vessels that were cast from the bottom of soda bottles. They remind me of Lorena Barrezueta's work because she casts take out dishes and dresses them up with beautiful glazes.

juxtaposing low brow and high brow, garbage and art, I love it! I actually interviewed to be her intern once, she's hilarious and a very friendly, happy person. This is her website: www.lorenabarrezueta.com

DIY Friday- Sweater Skirt Redo!

2008-01-31T20:33:00.000-08:00

This is one way to make a pencil skirt out of an old sweater!

Here's what my old sweater looked like:

First thing you wanna do is chop off the collar. I tried to cut as straight across the shoulders as I could. This is going to become the waist.

Next, I measured a 1/2" and folded that over and pinned it,all the way around the top part that was just cut off.

After the whole waist was pinned, I turned the whole thing under one more time and sewed all the way around.
I set the stitch width at a wide zigzag because that allows the stitching to stretch without breaking.

Then I tried it on in order to figure out what to do next! I realized it would fit well if I chopped off 1 of the sleeves. I put it on inside out and pinned it so that it would fit.

Next I sewwed straight down next to the pins. I used a smaller zigzag stitch so it wouldn't stretch quite as much as the waist, but would still stretch without breaking. I'm sure it wouldn't make a huge difference if you use a straight stitch too. After sewing along the pins I cut off the sleeve.

This next part I wish I had taken better pictures of, but hopefully you'll get the idea. Feel free to ask me questions by the way!

So next I held up the skirt, right side out, and it had only one sleeve left. This sleeve would be made into the pocket. I tucked it in so the sleeve was hanging on the inside. I pinned the sleeve in place and sewwed around the edges of it so it would stay in place intsead of flopping around. I also sewwed straight across where I wanted the bottom of the pocket to be.

Then all that was left was chopping off the end of the sleeve that poking out from under the skirt.

Texture Treasury!

2008-01-26T12:29:00.000-08:00

This is my latest Etsy Treasury:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=25486

enjoy!

Inspiration Saturday- Unusual Uses of Materials

2008-01-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

This week's Saturday inspiration is all about using interesting materials in unusal ways. The materials used are concrete, wood and rubber.

I stumbled on these awesome wooden bags in a magazine (I'm not sure which one) they're by Monacca. They're made out of Japanese cedar.

and hel-lo how cute is this calculator? Definately check out their website at www.monacca.com They do furniture too.

This jewelry piece was made out of silicone rubber that was cut with a water jet. It's part of a line of jewelry called Nervous System, developed by Jessica Eve Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg. The line came out of their mutual fascination with biology and math. Check out their website for more background info: www.n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com

I spotted these great concrete rings on www.supermarkethq.com the other day. That website's chock full of interesting new designers. The inside part of the rings are made of stainless steel. The rings were inspired by "architecture and urban life". I love it! it's like a little piece of a building on your finger.

Friday DIY! a day late lol ; )

2008-01-26T08:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I didn't get to it yesterday. maybe I should change it to "Sometime around Friday DIY" hahaha anyways, without further ado.....

This week I decided to try and make some of those cute little fabric covered stud earrings that you see on etsy lately. Here's an example of a really well done pair by Fluffington. They were on the front page the other day.

I didn't succeed in making my pair as clean looking but they're still kinda cute.

First things first: materials.

stud earrings with flat front
scrap of cool fabric
fimo clay
super glue
scissors

I got the glue at a jewelry supply shop on 6th Ave. It's a multi-purpose super glue.

First I made little circular disks out of the fimo clay. I made mine just slightly bigger than the flat part of the earrings.

Next I baked them. Apparently too long because they burned! : 0 haha Fortunately that doesn't matter because they're just getting covered with fabric anyway. I think they were in for about 15min so I guess you should try 5min or so.

After letting my poor burnt-beyond-recognition fimo disks cool I cut a little square of my fabric scrap that fit the whole fimo disk. I glued the front part first and let that dry by placing it face down on the table for a couple minutes. after the front was securely glued I started folding the rest of my little fabric square around the fimo clay disk. I continued gluing bit by bit, holding each fold in place for a couple minutes to let the glue set.

After the fimo clay disk was completely covered I glued the stud to the back. I held that in place for a few minutes too. I then let them sit overnight before I starte playing with them, just to make sure the glue was really strong.

And that's it!

I have some ideas for
improvements, so maybe next week I'll post an update on this one.

Public Space, Critical Mass

2008-01-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is a link to an article that "Yes!" magazine posted online and it struck a chord with me because Rev. Billy, the author of the article, is talking about the Critical Mass bike protests and all the arrests that have happened involving them.

http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2103

Personally, I'm usually turned off by his showmanship, but then when I read articles by this guy I'm always impressed. He always has an interesting take on our rights and freedoms ect.

I was arrested in the big Critical Mass protest that happened right before the Republican National Convention in 2004 and I felt like it was a pretty lame cause to be arrested for. I felt like if you're going to protest and risk getting thrown in jail it should be for something more worthwhile than rights for bicyclists in New York City. It was really random that I ended up in the protest in the first place, I just happened to be pedicabbing in Times Square that night, so I wasn't very informed and I felt stupid and naive for jumping in. I pleaded guilty, just so I could get my pedicab back. And that was the thing to do because it was rented! Props to the guy that rented me the pedicab!

I wish the circumstances had allowed me to fight it and plead not guilty because the whole thing was just wrong! The cops were wrong, Bloomberg was wrong, the courts have called the whole thing illegal and unlawful. I'm glad that so many people did fight it.

Rust Treasury

2008-01-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

My latest treasury! An ode to rust:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=24716

enjoy!

Saturday Inspiration

2008-01-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been thinking it would be exciting to keep track of my inspirations and projects all in one place- this blog! So this is the first of my Saturday Inspiration blogs. It'll be a weekly wrap-up of interesting art, design, ect.

This week I was flipping through the Jan/Feb issue of ID and they're doing profiles of artists'/designers' studio spaces. I love textile design and toy design so I was really interested in Donna Wilson's work after seeing her studio space stuffed with handmade textiles and plush toys.

How awesome is the red and blue Canibdoll? so cute!

Ok, so I also have some fashion inspirations for this week, from designers Hussein Chalayan and Balenciaga. I love the strong structural shapes in Balenciaga's collection from the Paris Fashion week in Oct. And Hussein Chalayan is just awesome! He uses a combination of big concepts and experimental materials but still makes clothes that look great on people.

....and how bout that giant floral print mixed with super structural shapes on the Balenciaga line? Sa-weet!

Simple Tank Top Re-Do Project

2008-01-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

So I tried out a little diy project idea I spotted in this month's Blueprint magazine. They did tiger stripes on a little black dress using a bleach pen and I said to myself, "Hey I have one of those bleach pens at home". So I gave it a try on an old tank top.

I put the shirt on my mannequin so as I was drawing I could see how it would look while being worn. If you don't have a mannequin, some large cylinder shaped object would probably work, maybe a tall bucket or an empty wastebasket.

I covered the mannequin with a left over drop cloth from painting my apt. a few months ago.

Next I drew one continous stripe using the bleach pen. I started at the bottom and worked my way up in a spiral until I ran out. I think my bleach pen was just a little less then full when I started.

When I was done drawing the stripes, I let it sit for about 30 min. because I wanted to make sure the bleach got a chance to really work and become pretty bright. After the 30 min. I slipped the tank off the mannequin by pulling on the plastic drop cloth. Then I washed it in warm water with a little detergent.

and voila! the finished shirt!
Now I'm eyeing all my other old tops for a re-do.... : D

My Etsy Eco Friendly Art Picks!

2008-01-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

These are some of my latest favorite environmentally friendly artworks that you can find on etsy.

Bill About Recycling Electronics in NYC- what you can do

2008-01-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great New Year's.

I'm reposting a post from the No Impact Man blog in order to help get the word out about recycling your gadgets and gizmos. There's a hearing coming up this month on Jan 14th about a bill that would "require manufacturers of electronics sold within the City to take responsibility for the "end-of-life management" of their products." The electronics companies are trying to beat it down so we need to let Mayor Bloomberg know that this bill has support from the public!

No Impact Man

An end to e-toxins just a phone call away (please make it)

Posted: 02 Jan 2008 02:00 AM CST

First off, let me ask you please to forward this post to every New Yorker you know, and ask them to make the calls...

Some say that e-waste--trashed computers, cell phones, printers and other gadgets--is becoming one of the biggest toxicity problems facing our culture. In the US, municipal incineration of e-waste is the largest source of cancer-producing dioxin and among the largest point source of heavy metal contaminations in the atmosphere. I've written about this here and here.

Good news around the country: Organizations like New York's Lower East Side Ecology Center stage free recycling events to collect our e-waste and make sure it doesn't end up harming us or our planet. In fact, LESEC will be collecting our old gadgets this Sunday, January 6, from 10 AM to 4 PM at Unions Square (see here for more details). If you live outside New York City, click here to learn how to recycle your e-waste.

Even better news in New York City: Municipalities around the world are working to make electronics manufacturers responsible for cleaning up their own e-toxic mess, including New York City. In fact, on January 14, there will be a hearing in the City Council Chambers about a bill that would require manufacturers of electronics sold within the City to take responsibility for the "end-of-life management" of their products.

The important thing about this legislation, modeled on systems already in place in the European Union and Maine, Maryland and Washington, is that it provides financial incentive for electronics manufacturers to make their products less toxic and design them with recycling and reuse in mind. In other words, this system greens not only the disposal but also the production of electronics.

You can read more about the New York City bill in the New York Times and Gotham Gazette. You can read the bill itself here.

New York City residents have to help: Needless to say, some in the electronics industry are presently trying to kill the bill. They want the financial costs of recycling to fall on consumers, which would leave manufacturers with no incentives to green their production processes. So, here's your call to action.

Please contact both Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Tell them that you "support Intro. 104 as written" and ask them to move it forward. You can contact Bloomberg's office online here. You can contact Quinn's office by calling 212-788-7210.

Fellow bloggers and journalists: Would you mind too much transmitting this call to action, too?

www.earthfriendlygoods.com

2007-11-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

A few of my jewelry pieces are on sale at www.earthfriendlygoods.com including my Recycled NY Times Bag Bangle Bracelets

It's a cool site, great for Christmas presents! : )

Isaiah Zagar's amazing recycled stuff mosaics

2007-11-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

I just stumbled on a link to the webpage of Isaiah Zagar on www.eco-artware.com
He's the guy who made the awesome sculpture/mosaic wall on South Street in Philly! He made it out of all kinds of stuff, old wall mirrors from a local gym, factory cast-off ceramic tiles, what a great reuse project. So any way here's the link to his page!

www.isaiahzagar.org

You can see a tiny bit of one of his mosaics in one of my pics from the Philly Greenfest in a past post.

2007-11-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been crazy busy, it's that time of year I guess! My boyfriend has been playing shows a lot, next weekend we're heading out to Philly for his gig at Incite HQ. This one is with the Mekatronics crew, which is an electronic music festival he helps organize. They had a show last night at the BPM in Williamsburg and I swear it just gets better everytime! It's all really creative underground kind of stuff, but at the same it's danceable, so sometimes people refer to it as IDM "intelligent dance music". They're on myspace: www.myspace.com/mekatronicsmusic

I've also been super busy because I'm getting pieces ready for sale online at www.earthfriendlygoods.com : ) So in a few weeks you'll be able purchase Garbage of Eden Design Jewelry there.

garbage of eden design at AuH2o!! : )

2007-10-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Totally psyched to have some of my jewelry items on sale at AuH2o in the East Village : D
This shop is so cute, it's run by Kate Goldwater (the name of the shop is her last name as it would be abbreviated in elements from the periodic table, Gold = Au, H2o = water)
Kate makes a lot of the clothes right there in the shop. All of the clothes are reconstructed from old clothes for a new funkier life. There's also some great vintage jewelry. Everything's priced very reasonably. Check it out! www.auh2odesigns.com

Also, new Garbage of Eden Design pendant necklaces and rings are on sale!
www.garbageofedendesign.etsy.com
www.tiltcraft.etsy.com