Tell Us About You

[Eric the Green]

Let's get to know each other. Tell everyone about your art and a bit about your green side

[moni]

Hi everyone,
My name is Moni and I live in Boise, Idaho. My primary artform is paper mache. I work in all recycled materials except occasionally I use polymer clay for eyes and of course my tape isn't recycled. I make lifesize (usually) animals that can be either realistic or whimsical. I also write how to e-books that I sell on Etsy and on my website. I look forward to meeting everyone.
Moni
www.paintedpawstudio.com

[krecklo]

Pleased to make your acquaintance!
I'm Jessica from Toronto, Canada and I've recently started an Etsy shop called KRECKLO DESIGNS. I mainly sell purses and pouches made from second-hand fabrics, but I also have paintings and scarves in my shop. By day I work for the Toronto Parks' waste diversion program and this fall I'll be starting a program in urban planning where I hope to focus on making cities more sustainable.
I'm looking forward to meeting my fellow Recyclers!
Cheers,
Jessica
http://krecklo.etsy.com

[LeChatCrochet]

Hi everybody!
I'm a yarn girl and so I recycle discarded knitwear. Though I still have a lot of leftovers to use up, all my new yarn comes from unraveled knitwear that I find curb side. I occasionally make simple jewelry with old beads from leftover stock and deconstructed pieces and sometimes I even offer straight curb finds (repaired if necessary) in my shop.
I also blog about my curb finds (perfect to use stuff in great condition, it's not a t2t blog in the true sense) to show the world how careless a lot of people (unfortunately) still are. I sometimes weave in my creations to show you don't even need shops to be creative, but the meaning of my blog is wider than that.
I hope you enjoy both viewing my shop and reading my blog:
Shop: http://lechatcrochet.etsy.com
Blog: http://trashcollector.blogspot.com

xxx
Astrid

[blueboxstudio]

I'm Sue, a.k.a. Blue Box Studio. By day I'm a part time administrator with the Environment Agency, here in the UK. By night, (and the other days of my week) I'm a jeweller and textile designer. I've just opened my Etsy shop and have been really encouraged by the response I've had so far.

Whilst the textile side of things isn't probably very green, I use chemical dyes and Indigo because I found natural dyes faded in time, the jewellery side of my business is far greener. After many years working my way through gemstones and sterling silver to make jewellery, I finally settled on making jewellery using sea glass collected from the beach. We had run out of window ledges to put the jars of glass on! This has proved to be far more popular than I could imagine and has taken over as my main line. I use the glass as it is found on the beach, except for washing it of course, and drilling or mounting.

Collecting the glass has now become a bit of an obsession and holidays are often centred around likely strips of coastline and chosen more by map reading than brochure browsing. Fortunately my husband is equally keen in collecting although not in the slightest bit practical so doesn't make. We always have far more sea glass than I can practically use so I often spend a quiet evening with a glass of wine sorting through what I should keep and what shold have a new home. This means I can sell some of my sea glass to support my buying of 'rare in the UK' colours from other Etsians and fellow sea glass collectors. If anyone is looking for sea glass for a project, get in touch or look in my Etsy shop.

As a little bit of fun on the side, I make tote bags from old discarded fabrics which I sell through my craft fairs, encouraging people to use something more sustainable than a plastic bag. Most of the fabrics have been lingering in my attick for years and original projects long forgotten so I am least now putting them to good use.

I look forward to meeting the rest of you.

Sue
www.blueboxstudio.etsy.com

[retrogee]

My name is Greg, and I'm into vintage clothing (thus my nickname "retro"), motorcycles,and animals. I live with my wife (a transplanted Canadian) and misc. dogs and cats. My Etsy shop is named "SalvagedBeauty", and I sell my welded scrap metal and found object sculptures. All of my work is 90% or higher post-consumer product, and all scrap, slag and filings created in the welding and cutting processes are captured and recycled. By day, I work in a warehouse.

[fluffnfixings]

I'm Stacy. I'm a raging plant addict currenly stranded in the great Altanta metro area with my mini zoo.

I try to be as green as possible and have a tendency to 'adopt' things from people to keep them from throwing things away. I hate to throw away things, which explains the opening of my newest shop and the few glass containers in my older shop. I don't consider myself an artist, but I do love to create things from old, abandoned, disposable items.

Can't wait to see where this group goes!

[Admin]

Hi Fellow Greenies,

I'm Theresa, the Administrator and Founder of the Recyclers Guild. I am crazy about recycling. I even go through our home garbage to take the recyclables out. I guess my family doesn't share in my passion. I am also an avid organic gardener. Other hobbies are camping, hiking, volunteering, thrift store shopping, and I love spending time with my kids who are 15, 17, and 24.

I have been making things out of other things since I was a child. My Grandmother and I would build doll houses out of cardboard, fabrics, household items, and magazine pictures. When my own children came around, I taught them the same things Grammy Bertha taught me. I have made so many things out of other things, I can't begin list them all. While a Girl Scout Leader I taught the girls in my troop the same principles. I even ran 'The Craft Shack' 2 years in a row at Summer Camp. We made everything out of recycled materials!

Three years ago I found out that I have Hepatitis C Virus. The liver biopsy showed that I most likely became infected during a routine operation when I was 12. It is usually fatal and there is no cure. There are treatments and it takes a long time to kill you (yay for that). Most of the time people die from old age before the Hep Cdoes the job. Unfortunately, I've had it most of my life. Anyway, because of the Hep C, I am no longer able to work a steady job. So, I decided to work for myself and here I am.

My Etsy store began by making a bag for myself. My roommate liked the bag so much that I gave it to her and had to make another one. One thing led to another and I was making bags for a lot of people. A friend told me about Etsy, I started a store, and the rest is history.

Now, enough about me. I want to know more about all of you.

[zappyturtle]

IT's nice to meet all of you!
My name is Nikki I'm a stay-at-home-mom who seems to do anything but stay at home. I have two children ages 4 and 6. Once school starts I am very active with the school.
I've been recycling for years but recently started creating new treasures out of recycled items. I started by making a bracelet out of a gift card that I got for Christmas. People seemed to respond to that more than my fishbowl purses so I started putting my efforts into recycling crafts. I've gotten my children to even put the recycables in the proper can, now if I can train my husband to do the same. I've gotten all sides of my family into what I do. They save plastic bottles they think I'll like or save thier plastic grocery sacks for me to use to finish my outdoor cushions. I also love to sew, cook, decorate cakes and to practice organic gardening.
I recently started a blog and that has truly been an adventure. I started my blog so I could share what I do with others and hopefully help someone else.

http://zappyturtle.etsy.com
http://zappyturtle.blogspot.com

[1spinsterknits]

I love to reuse and recycle! I am also a knitter and spinner. I openned my etsy shop recently to market my line of girls' dresses which are upcycled adult dresses...I deconstruct, "downsize", knit a bodice, embroider a button. Viola! An upcycled party dress. I made the first one for my daughter out of my maternity dress. Then I thought "hey, wouldn't other moms love this idea too?" I like the idea of custom making these dresses, but so far have only sold my ready-made dresses. I have raided my closet of all those prepregnancy dresses which I don't think I'll ever wear again. I have accepted "recycleables" from friends and family. I also go to the local thrift store to find great old dresses to deconstruct.
I also make a variety of other items from old clothing, curtains, etc. These include bean bags, handbags, and sachets.
Tina
www.1spinsterknits.etsy.com

[krisamels]

Hello everyone,

Nice to meet you all!
My name is Kris and I am a recycler. I've been recycling & repurposing for years, picking up nifty things out of the trash, at yard sales, thrift shops, you name it.
I do mostly assemblage work, using bits of broken jewelry that otherwise would end up in a landfill to embellish mirrors, frames, and vessels. I dabble in a lot of techniques; I sew, weld, solder, work in hot and cold glass, and basically just like figuring out how to make new useful stuff out of old trashed stuff.
My newest project has been making corsages from old millinery bits, vintage fake flowers, and more broken jewelry. I recently scored a few bags of cast off fake flowers from a local cemetery (with permission!) and have been making some fun things with them.
For me, green has always been the only way to go. It's fun, good for our world, and keeps me thinking. I'm so glad to be a part of the Recycler's Guild!
Have a great evening!

Kris
www.krisamels.etsy.com
www.sillylittlekids.com

[fairytalefibers]

Hello everybody!
My name is Drew. Pleased to make your acquaintance! I am a born and raised recycler. It’s always been a family value to buy consciously and reuse wherever possible. The maker in me was nurtured by my great grandmothers ability to turn anything in to art. When I was wee she would stroll me around her little town picking up “trash”. Then she showed me how to transform coke cans into chairs, and milk jugs in to butterfly ornaments. My family was “green” in part from necessity and in part because they can’t understand why anyone would create something with planned obsolescence. We make things to last. We buy things that will last. I reuse other folks refuse to create functional art!
Now that I am a mother I feel an even great urgency to follow my family values.
Etsy has been a great gift in my life. It allows me to do business with my own ethics to guide me. It also allows me to work from home so that I can raise my daughter myself.

I am currently upcycling selvage material to make furry hoods. Which I sell at http://fairytalefibers.etsy.com
I am excited to be part of this guild. I can’t wait to see where we go!

[briannamlund]

My name is Brianna and I am fairly new to crafting. I work as a bar manager/bartender in Minneapolis but hopefully would like to work for myself some day. (sooner that later!) I am going to become a new mom in about 7 months and would like to learn to sew in order to make clothes/toys/blankets ect... I am pretty dedicated to recycling and being green. My boyfriend just sold his car so we bike a lot to work or the grocery store or wherever. I try to only drive when I work late nights or have to go somewhere far away. He bikes all through the winter (MN winters are COLD!) We recycle and reuse everything that we can. I have a very large collection of glass bottles and fabric scraps and junk mail! I save bottle caps from work to make some of my crafts and recently started a paper recycling program there as well.

I think I learned to become crafty (my mom calls me very resourcefull) due to the fact that when I was growing up everything we had was broken. I learned to modify or repair toys and used old wood scraps at our family cabin to make "cars" that were actually 4 pieces of wood nailed together with 2 pieces of rope attatched so that we could wear our cars like suspenders. I think it is a lot of fun repurposing used items into new treasures and that is what I try to do in my etsy shop.

That's all for now!

Brianna

[canoo]

Hi everyone,

My name is Krista. I'm part fiber artist and part clay artist. I'm looking for ways to combine the two, but until then, I'm upcycling junky Goodwill sweaters and fabrics into little stuffed monster dolls. I'm also working on getting a ceramic tile business going, but that's just barely getting started. It's my mom's fault I'm like this - when I was growing up she made clothes for us, reused the plastic produce bags instead of buying baggies, and collected bits and pieces of everything craftable.

I live near Asheville, NC, with 6 cats and a boyfriend. We're too far from town to walk to the businesses there, but we try to compensate by driving one hybrid and one biodiesel car. Now if I can find a way to harness the vast power resources generated by sleeping cats, I'll be all set...

Glad to be here!
- Krista
canoo.etsy.com

[MixMasterJeff]

I'm Alice, aka MixMaster Jeff. MixMaster Jeff is my dj name, which I use to make sweet mixed tapes. I love love music and am pretty much searching for new/kooky/obscure/awesome tunes all the time.

I have harnessed my huge resources in the "useless scraps of paper" department and make collaged composition books and post cards out of old magazines, calendars, receipts, parking tickets, crossword puzzles, fast food wrappers, napkins, envelopes, and pretty much anything else that I found around my house. I have also been an avid crochet-er since I was little.

I recently graduated from college and am interested in pursuing a career in performing and creative writing. I am hugely interested in politics, especially environmental policy and how sustainable policy promotes peace and stability. Needless to say, I think the earth is pretty rad.

Check out my shop at http://mixmasterjeff.etsy.com

[Karen]

I'm Karen and happy to be a member of the team.
I suppose I've been "green" since before green was popular because I have always loved vintage fabrics and hunting through thrift stores to find the good stuff. I am a professional seamstress and sample maker so I spend A LOT of time sewing, but I truly love it and have been sewing since third grade. I consider myself very lucky to have a job that allows me to do what I love and have the flexibility to be a stay at home Mom. I'm sending my oldest off to college soon, so I've been doing this awhile.
I consider myself a pretty green person in my everyday life also by recycling whenever possible, we drove a Honda Insight for 5 years (until it unfortunately got totalled) and by simply not buying things my family doesn't need.
Don't tell the Etsy buyers not to buy stuff though! I opened my shop in Feb this year and am amazed by the whole Etsy phenomenon. I can't wait to see what Fall brings and look forward to getting to know the team members.

www.karenmeyers.etsy.com

[rephilosophy]

Hi everybody!
I'm Paola from Italy. I'm happy to be a member of the team.

I've recently started an Etsy shop called Rephilosophy. I mainly sell journals, tags and cards made from reused paper, but I'm also working on some new items made from reused fabric and buttons.

By day I restore old houses and this fall I'll be starting a new project: create a sustainable bed and breakfast where people can spend their vacations in a greener way.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all Recyclers!

Ciao

Paola

http://www.etsy.rephilosophy.etsy.com

[PrairiePeasant]

Hi everyone:
My name is Laura, and I have been repurposing things destined for the trash for as long as I can remember. I love creating with paper and fabric, and make handbound books, cards, tote bags and much more. I find materials while thrift shopping, garage saling, and from cast-offs from friends and family. I do need to spend less time collecting, and more time creating! My Etsy shop has been open since May.

I love gardening, cooking and all things creative. My girls (9 & 11) love being creative too, so some days I spend more time working with them than on my own projects, but these are important years. My husband and girls have all the musical talent in the family.

I look forward to getting to know you, and hopefully working on some team projects!

Cheers,
Laura

Etsy shop: http://prairiepeasant.etsy.com
Blog: http://prairiepeasant.blogspot.com/

[ToxicEarthTM]

Hello all. So i am new, just joined today. I live in the small state of New york, where you are either a yank or a redneck =o)

Most of my jewelry is reconstructed, reconstructed, or natural. Most of my work is made out of soda pop tabs (Bottletabs up here) or hemp. I have had so many people want me to make them some of my tab necklaces and i wanted to be the only one who had them, but i finally gave up when i realized i could make money off my recycling, and i need it for college too. That and i got bored of making myself a new necklace every 6 month and finally wanted anyone to have them.

And you may have seen tab necklaces on the internet and everything, i do mine differently, and with different materials, it's an idea i came up with before i've seen people recycle them into jewelry, and i have my own methods of doing it =o)

[reneeanne]

Hello! My name is Renée and I live in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. I'm at home with my three year old ( who is off to JK in a few days) and will remain at home because I'm expecting another boy Oct. 2nd. I paint watercolour and make cards. My card and envelope paper is all 100% recycled and the card stock used for my prints are 10-30% recycled in order to get the best prints possible. It is surprising how hard it is to find recycled card stock and it also makes my cards more expensive than usual but I think it's worth it! Glad to be a part of this group! Oh...and of course I try to be as green as possible in all that I do. Recycling, eating organic, saving energy, reusing, saving water and trying to buy quality products that have meaning and will not easily be thrown out! I think Etsy attaches us to our stuff in the best way possible. We can meet who makes our stuff, discuss with them and work with them. All this is key, I think to making us put more value in the right place and less stuff in the trash!
Renée
www.reneeanne.etsy.com - cards and more...
www.reneeanneblog.blogspot.com

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