Upcyclers Shop feature: Mulberry Whisper

Happy Halloween Upcyclers!

We held an Upcycled Halloween Treasury Contest earlier this month.  Team leaders voted on their favorites with one overall winner, Mulberry Whisper for her "Hand me that Pumpkin Please" treasury.  All the upcycled listings featured in all the treasury entries can be viewed on our special Pinterest Board.

a mother and daughter Etsy shop located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Upcycled Oriental Rug Pillow Covers

Mulberry Whisper's handmade items are created by a talented mother and daughter duo. They offer clothing, pillow covers and accessories made of natural silk and cotton. Eugenie and her mother have a sweet spot for ikat fabrics handwoven in Uzbekistan. This fabric adds a very unique design to this beautiful handmade shop.

Mulberry Whisper makes custom clothing orders simple with vintage fabric selections and easy communications.  

My personal favorite is this gorgeous scarf...

Vintage Fringed Silk Scarf Shawl

FOLLOW this Upcyclers Shop:

BLOG: Mulberry Whisper

SHOP: Mulberry Whisper

PIN: Mulberry Whisper

LIKE: Mulberry Whisper

I personally follow this shop and I love the giveaways, sales and articles that are published and shared throughout their social networks.

Hope you have a green Halloween!

Thanks, Bee

The Wooden Bee

October Shop Features

At the beginning of October, we had a surprise treasury contest. We selected five team treasuries that were made with no knowledge of a contest, and we asked our audience to vote on their favorite handmade and UPCYCLED collection!

First place went to... Strawspinnings for her Olive You Forever treasury!

 "I love to find unloved, unwanted items and re-imagine a new use for them in my jewelry."

~ Erin, Owner of Strawspinnings on Etsy

 

Strawspinnings is a new upcycled jewelry shop located in Saskatchewan, Canada. Erin opened her Etsy doors in August 2012. She is friendly to work with and has been enjoying her new shop.

Strawspinnings has a good eye for upcycled jewelry pieces and offers a very fair price for her handmade creations.  I love how she gives a new look to old style. Strawspinnings is a well done Etsy shop, but you can have a look around and see that for yourself...

You can find Erin contributing to our Pinterest boards as well!

The second place treasury was... Verdant Violet for her At this Moment treasury!

Verdant Violet offers handmade eco-friendly baby books in their Etsy shop.  Gena from Verdant Violet started out her career in developmental neuroscience research and then took a break to start a family. Having children has made her follow her creative passions and she started creating these awesome baby and toddler books.

Baby's First Nuclear Physics Book!  

 

We love that Verdant Violet uses eco-friendly and upcycled materials for her books.

You can find Verdant Violet on the Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Thank you to everyone that entered and voted! This was a fun treasury contest. Maybe we'll have another one?! Who knows? ;)

Bee
The Wooden Bee

Demystifying T Shirt Yarn Series: What the Heck do People Make with T Shirt Yarn?

Last month we discussed what t shirt yarn is, how to properly use it, and what to look for in quality.  So what do people make from it?  Well, this month let's look at some of the team Upcyclers shops and see what they are doing with it.


Rose from Sew Ecological likes to knit with it.  Rose also makes many things from upcycled sweaters, as well as working with handspun yarn.  I really enjoyed browsing her shop and admiring her work.  She has a cowl up in her shop that is a wonderful example of how you can knit and crochet with t shirt yarn to create one of a kind items.

This pretty cowl is available for purchase here.

Mike from Mike's T Shirt Yarn has many lovely items made from t shirt yarn in his shop.  Of course, Mike also makes fabulous t shirt yarn so he has a wonderful inventory to work with.  You can find knotted bracelets and some fun crochet pieces in his shop, as well as t shirt yarn.  I personally know that Mike has a strong commitment to eco friendly products and supplies and am grateful for the support and encouragement he has always given me.  I would recommend his shop to anyone.  Here are just a few examples from his shop.  

This stylish and earthy bracelet is available for purchase here.

This bright and cheerful pencil (or crochet hook) holder is available for purchase here.

Katie Jo from Pink Poppy Seed has a variety of jewelry made from t shirt yarn.  Stylish necklaces and fun bracelets abound in her shop, as well as crocheted fingerless gloves and a wonderful selection of scarves for all seasons.  You won't be disappointed in a visit to this shop.  Here are just a few of her jewelry pieces:

This soft statement necklace is available for purchase here.

This beautifully braided necklace is available for purchase here.

This fashionable bracelet is available for purchase here.

Kristy from Scratch Made has a delightful shop full of bright and pretty jewelry made from t shirt yarn. She displays a variety of styles and colors that are sure to please the eye.  She only submitted one listing to me so that is all I will use, but you won't be disappointed by visiting her shop.  Personally, I think this bracelet is all you will need to want to see what else her shop has to offer.

This fabulous bracelet is available for purchase here.

Susana From Recosas tells us on her shop greeting that "'Recosas" are things which have been given a second chance".  Beautiful, isn't it?  She also told us that the spanish word for t shirt yarn is trapiño and it is used to make a kind of carpet called jarapa.  I really must learn to speak spanish because it uses the most lovely words.  Susana makes a lovely array of upcycled items and I encourage you to browse her shop.  What you see below is just a sample of what Susana has to offer.

This lovely necklace is available for purchase here.

This stunning necklace is available for purchase here.

These pretty hairpins are available for purchase here.

Last, but certainly not least, is Rain from Remaine Wicked.  Rain has a large selection of items for children and some adult items, like fabric cuff bracelets, cell phone cases, and beautiful bags.  There are also many soft baby blocks, upcycled clothes, and educational quiet/busy books.  I would encourage anyone to look through her shop, especially if you have small children.  She uses t shirt yarn in her quiet books for the braiding and God's Eye pages.  Below are a couple of examples of her quiet books.

You can see the t shirt yarn on the braiding on this book, which is available for purchase here.

You can see the t shirt yarn in the God's Eye in this book, which is available for purchase here.

As you can see, there are many uses for t shirt yarn.  Other popular uses are pot holders, rugs, coasters, and trivets.  I also know of people who use it in their gardens to tie plants.  Weaving with it is also popular.  I have seen many people use it in making baskets with great success.  The possibilites only end with your imagination.  What would you do with a ball of t shirt yarn?  Where would your imagination carry you?  I hope you will get a ball and find out because next month I will give you some tutorials on things to make with t shirt yarn.  I'll have some knitting and crochet projects, as well as braiding and weaving.  There will be something for everyone, from beginners to more advanced projects.  The perfect way to end the series.  So be sure to catch the next and last article in this series on August 20.

Love and Peace, 


Luci

The Re-Creations Project

I recently joined a new website that I found quite by accident.  On a previous shop feature I had done, I noticed that I was getting a lot of traffic from this site.  So I clicked on the link to see what this site was and it took me to her post in the forums.  Much to my delight, she was thrilled with her shop feature (whew!).  As I read through her thread, I noticed how supportive the members were and really enjoyed their comments.  So I poked around on some other threads and liked what I saw.  I decided to join and posted another one of my shop features and said that I was the one who wrote up the feature that had been posted previously by the shop owner.  At the bottom, I asked anyone interested in a shop feature to contact me.  Luckily for me, someone did.  A lovely woman named Stacy who, with the help of Jacqui, started not only an Etsy shop called ReCreationsProject, (they also do summer markets!), but a program for the developmentally disabled that enriches their lives, helps the environment by doing upcycled projects, and does community outreach in the form of workshops and demonstrations teaching people about upcycling and all of the nifty things they can make!  I honestly stopped breathing for a minute.  That is like the trifecta for me!

This item is available for purchase here.

Stacy's description of the group and their work blew me away.  I worked with people with developmental disabilities for several years, so what she had to say in her email tugged at many of my heartstrings.  Then I read the links she had sent me.  This is the first thing I read on the first website I visited; I took this directly from the Re-Creations Project website on the Home tab:

The Re-Creations Project consists of me (Stacy) with support from my fearless sidekick Jacqui Atkins, and some awesome freelance crafters who pitch in to help.  We started in 2011 in the hopes of creating a sustainable social enterprise for people with learning disabilities that would give them a chance to do meaningful creative work and help the environment in the process.

In October 2011, the Project received a Level 1 Millennium Award from Un Ltd, helping us to buy tools and materials for the group.  Off to a good start!  Since then we’ve been working with a small group in Cambridge, as well as delivering “roadshows” to schools, youth groups, and other social enterprises.  We’ve opened our etsy shop, and are preparing for the upcoming summer market season.  Along the way, we’ve met loads of inspiring people, and had a great time.  We’re always looking to connect with new people, so if you have fresh ideas, please get in touch!

I couldn't wait to learn more about this incredible group.  I asked Stacy how she got started.  She said, "In 2011, Jacqui and I were both facing redundancy from our job at a local disability charity.  Having been in the situation before, we wanted to try setting up a group of our own that could run without all the overheads of a large charity.  So we met with a group of people with disabilities to find out what was important to them and what kind of project they would like.  They said that their ideal project would a) involve arts and crafts, b) give something back to the local community, and c) help the environment.  So the idea for the Re-Creations Project was born".


By this point, my heartstrings were playing a concerto.  I was struck by the fact that the mission of this group was designed by the people it was meant to benefit.  The best way to empower a person is to let them make a decision.  I have always strongly felt that people with developmental disabilities should be as involved as they can be in the decision making process of groups whose mission it is to enhance their lives.  My experiences in the States have not been so completely inclusive and I was very impressed with Stacy and Jacqui for taking that approach.

This item is available for purchase here.

I asked Stacy about the size of the group.  She said, "Our existing group has six members, and we're currently recruiting more.  Jacqui and I also have support from several freelance artists who help us with specific projects, and many of the group members employ their own support staff to help them access the group".


They may not be a large group, but they get a lot done.  Stacy told me more about their community and outreach programs, "Our core group meets every Wednesday to process materials and try out new crafts (with lots of coffee and a good old natter in the process!).  But at our markets and public demonstrations, we realized that many of the passers-by were keen to try making our crafts.  So we started to offer private parties and workshops to help finance the core group.  So now kids (and adults) can have birthday parties with games that teach them about upcycling and make cool crafts to take away with them!".  I thought all of it sounded wonderful and asked about the what the community involvement had been like.  Stacy said, "The community support has been fantastic!  We've had support from several recycling champions around the city, and have held workshops and demonstrations for youth groups, fairs and other social enterprises to exchange ideas to provide mutual support".

This items is available for purchase here.

And they have some fabulous recycling champions!  Stacy describes where and how the acquire their materials, "We've had wonderful support from local youth groups, recycling champions and "being green" representatives from the county council, who have responded to our appeals for particular materials  We even have dedicated individuals around the country who post us certain items when they've finished with them!  It's inspiring to see so many people who are motivated to find better solutions for their waste packaging materials.


Some of our project ideas are motivated by the groups desire to practice a particular skill.  So, when they wanted to learn about jewelry making, we set about finding ways to make beads from upcycled materials and incorporating used inner tubes instead of leather.


Other times we're motivated by a random donation of a particular material.  Right now we work in a great community Centre, that's been inundated with donations of plastic bottle tops - so they asked if we could do anything with them.  Our stock response is 'Ummm....  Sure!' and then we hit the internet to work out what the heck we can do with them!


Our biggest appeal at the moment is for the metal ring pulls from drink cans.  One of our group members has an ambitious project idea, but we're going to need thousands of ring pulls to make it work."


This group is impressive in every way.  I am going to end this with Stacy's words summing up what this group is out to accomplish, "Our main goal is to help people with learning disabilities develop their skills and showcase the results of their hard work.  We're always looking for new members who want to connect with the local community, learn craft skills, or work on sales skills.  Each of our group members has the option of displaying a gallery of their work on our web page, so we love it when people stop by and offer feedback on their work!


Our second aim is to inspire other to try upcycling, by demonstrating that anybody can do it!"


Please visit their Etsy store, ReCreationsProject, and their website, Re-Creations Project, and show this group some love by leaving some feedback for these talented and hard working artisans.


Peace and Love,


Luci