upcycle infatuation.

"little pieces to make a big difference"

Posts tagged upcycle

6 notes

An Interview with Renae from Trigo!

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I joined the ARMY right after high school, and after six years I decided to do something completely different with my life. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to study apparel design and development at UW-Stout. I graduated from Stout in 2009 while the country was in the middle of a recession. Unable to find a job, I decided to create my own job. That is how Trigo got started.

2. Why did you choose Upcycling?

I chose upcycling because I found a non-profit shop called Artscraps (www.artstart.org/) that sells unwanted materials from companies and individual donors and uses the profits to promote arts in the community. I found myself incredibly inspired by the random items that I would find in that shop. My first monsters were made out of upholstery swatches from that shop.

3. What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned from Upcycling?

Upcycling has been great for my problem solving skills. If there’s something I need, I don’t automatically rush to the store to buy it. I take a moment to pause and try to solve my problem with what I have. This can also extend to the kitchen where I figure out more creative ways to prepare left overs.

4. What’s your favorite product you make?

My favorite product is my tire keychain because it’s the one monster I use every single day. I love it because I can have my cash, cards, and keys all in one small item. It’s helps me to avoid carrying a purse, which is good because for some reason a purse is an open invitation for you to carry everyone else’s stuff.

To see more work from Trigo, head over to their etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Trigo?ref=pr_shop_more

Filed under Trigo upcycle upcycleinfatuation tire keychain

3 notes

Well as you can tell from my lack of posts (oops!), 2012 has been a little busy but what a better way then to start out the year with a COMPETITION!!! 12x12 Competition Check out this competition in NYC!  The 12x12 Competition is calling for furniture designers (including students!) from New York City to apply by January 31 with a sample of their work.  The 12 designers that are chosen will be given wood from one of 12 historic sites in the city.  Those designers will then build a piece of furniture with that wood. The new pieces will be displayed at Design Week 2012.  I can’t wait to see what the designers come up with!  Check out the 12x12 website: http://www.12x12nyc.com/

Well as you can tell from my lack of posts (oops!), 2012 has been a little busy but what a better way then to start out the year with a COMPETITION!!!

12x12 Competition

Check out this competition in NYC!  The 12x12 Competition is calling for furniture designers (including students!) from New York City to apply by January 31 with a sample of their work.  The 12 designers that are chosen will be given wood from one of 12 historic sites in the city.  Those designers will then build a piece of furniture with that wood. The new pieces will be displayed at Design Week 2012.  I can’t wait to see what the designers come up with!  Check out the 12x12 website: http://www.12x12nyc.com/

Filed under 12x12 Competition upcycle NYC upcycle infatuation

10 notes

What a Beautiful Gift!   Skip the traditional gift wrap and wrap your gift in newspaper and top it with this beautiful handmade bow!  Thanks to the blog How About Orange for this great tutorial on how to make a bow from a magazine page! From: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html

What a Beautiful Gift!  

Skip the traditional gift wrap and wrap your gift in newspaper and top it with this beautiful handmade bow!  Thanks to the blog How About Orange for this great tutorial on how to make a bow from a magazine page!

From: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html

Filed under upcycle upcycle infatuation gift wrap bow

5 notes

WOW! Check Out This Place! I came across this place recently from the blog Scissors and Spatulas.  As I scrolled through the pictures I became more and more excited with every picture of every piece of well, JUNK!  It is an upcyclers DREAM!  This is one of the reasons that I love to take road trips through small towns because you stumble upon great places and adventures like this one!  To see the rest of Jen’s pictures, head over to her blog at: http://www.scissorsandspatulas.com/2011/11/little-piece-of-junk-heaven-and.html

WOW! Check Out This Place!

I came across this place recently from the blog Scissors and Spatulas.  As I scrolled through the pictures I became more and more excited with every picture of every piece of well, JUNK!  It is an upcyclers DREAM!  This is one of the reasons that I love to take road trips through small towns because you stumble upon great places and adventures like this one!  To see the rest of Jen’s pictures, head over to her blog at:

http://www.scissorsandspatulas.com/2011/11/little-piece-of-junk-heaven-and.html

Filed under upcycle upcycle infatuation junk scissors and spatulas

1 note

Upcycle Infatuation Featured on Another Blog! I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Adrienne Peirce from Busines with a Porpoise and discuss Upcycling. The conversation was very interesting as she looked at upcycling from the business side and myself from the art and green side.  I think it was an eye opening and learning experience for the both of us. To see the full article go to: http://porpoise.mn/upcycling-recycling

Upcycle Infatuation Featured on Another Blog!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Adrienne Peirce from Busines with a Porpoise and discuss Upcycling. The conversation was very interesting as she looked at upcycling from the business side and myself from the art and green side.  I think it was an eye opening and learning experience for the both of us. To see the full article go to: http://porpoise.mn/upcycling-recycling

Filed under upcycle upcycle infatuation business with a porpoise

10 notes

My Latest Purchase!

Yesterday I went to a Sample Sale with a few of my female family members and was pleasantly surprised to see many upcycled products including a bag I purchased for my MacBook.  The carrying case was made by Open Hands Design which is a Fair Trade company.  The case is made of a billboard that was upcycled into holding my computer!  To see more from this company go to: http://openhandusa.com/

Filed under Open Hand Design upcycling upcycle upcycle infatuation laptop bag

8 notes

OLD Tshirts Made NEW!

I stumbled across Julie Ann Art, a great blog with some fabulous projects, yesterday and couldn’t help but share this blog and a project that I fell in love with: Tutorials for Recycling Tshirts (or upcycling them!)  To see the tutorials for the scarf, headband, shirt rug and many more visit Julie Ann’s blog: www.julieannart.com/2011/09/tutorials-for-recycling-t-shirts.html  You can also find Julie Ann on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/JulieAnnaEtsy?sk=wall

Filed under tshirt Julie Ann blog scarf headband rug upcycle upcycling upcycle infatuation

12 notes

Cool Store/Blog in St. Louis A friend of mine that lives in St. Louis recently told me to check out Perennial located in St. Louis.  So, I went over to their website and found it to be AWESOME!  They offer classes to all you lucky folks living/visiting the St. Louis area, check out the website at: http://perennialstl.org/index.html  but for those of us that don’t, they have a fabulous blog called their Project Notebook, check it out at: http://perennialstl.org/notebook/

Cool Store/Blog in St. Louis

A friend of mine that lives in St. Louis recently told me to check out Perennial located in St. Louis.  So, I went over to their website and found it to be AWESOME!  They offer classes to all you lucky folks living/visiting the St. Louis area, check out the website at: http://perennialstl.org/index.html  but for those of us that don’t, they have a fabulous blog called their Project Notebook, check it out at: http://perennialstl.org/notebook/

Filed under Perennial St. Louis upcycling upcycle upcycle infatuation blog store classes