Posts with tag upcycle

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there and we wanted to find out more about what makes these creative types tick. If you do too, check out more of our Indie Designer Interviews.

Just in time for Halloween, we'd like to introduce you to the quirky, sometimes spooky creations of designer Jennifer Ellison. Her shop, Jen Ell's Revenge, is full of wonderfully kooky finds, like these awesome skeleton hand barrettes.

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there and we wanted to find out more about what makes these creative types tick. If you do too, check out more of our Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's featured indie designer is Kandyce Perez of Waste Not Whimsy. This Las Vegas based designer creates goregous one-of-a-kind jewelry using all recycled and reclaimed materials.

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there and we wanted to find out more about what makes these creative types tick. If you do too, check out more of our Indie Designer Interviews.

We have great respect for clever artists who can take something old and create something new and beautiful with it. So of course we love the reconstructed clothing designs of Evy Godwin, creator of Third-Hand Designs and today's featured indie designer.

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there and we wanted to find out more about what makes these creative types tick. If you do too, check out more of our Indie Designer Interviews.

If you long for the days of the mixed tape and prefer a well-loved boombox to the ubiquitous iPod, then today's featured indie designer is right up your alley. Meet Debbie Kelly of Custom Ink, an Edinburgh, Scotland based line of cassette tape belt buckles, kitschy accessories and original artwork perfect for the 80s child in you.

By this point we've all heard how important it is to buy eco-friendly products, and that includes fashion. But is it all just hype? Just another marketing gimmick employed by corporate America to try and get us to spend more dollars but feel less guilty about doing it? Many companies have been accused of greenwashing, and it's certainly true that buy buy buy is not the way to help our environment.

No matter what though, people will always want to dress in a way that makes them feel good about the way they look. We shouldn't have to compromise style in our quest to save the planet. Sure, we need to adjust our habits, but that doesn't mean that we'll all end up looking like a bunch of dirty hippies. Here's our list of the top 5 ways to really green up your wardrobe.

The following is part of an ongoing segment I call Indie Designer Interviews.

Tell me a little about yourself and your company. I'm Wendy, the owner, operator, designer, model, seamstress, copy editor, accountant, ad rep, pin pusher, house keeper, material sourcing researcher, etc. of Moop. Moop is a small company (myself and my husband) devoted to well designed and fabricated handmade bags. We're working really hard to grow Moop into something that will last a long long time. I feel like I'm in a unique position to take advantage of the attention and energy surrounding Moop to keep this going with a focus on sustainability (80% of every bag comes from up-cycled materials left over from major manufacturers and fabric wholesalers) and fair labor (as we grow we're committed to keeping things here in house, not outsourcing to fabricators).

How did you get started as a designer? I started this business before I knew it would even be a business. I was a teenage single mom looking for a way to make clothes for my kid that didn't look like every other kid on the block, so I bought a sewing machine and taught myself to make things. 10 years later, armed with two degrees (a BFA and an MFA), a husband, a lovely 10 year old girl, a cat named Mouse and a really big sewing machine, I started Moop with one pretty alright bag. That bag has since become a really great bag..refined, honed, modern, understated and really well made.

Who are your favorite designers? I love Built by Wendy (there's no relation). Last season she had this cotton ripstop shift dress that I was completely in love with. I finally decided to order one, only to find they were sold out in my size and every size close to it. I've been thinking of it ever since. So, maybe in a weird way, that dress influenced some bags. I work a lot with ripstop. I love the subtlety of the grid.