Shop Feature: Instinctively Indie

Recently through the Upcyclers team on Etsy, I met a wonderful woman named Ann who owns an Etsy shop named Instinctively Indie.  Not only is this a beautiful shop full of treasures, but she has devised a way to recycle crayons into stunning jewelry.  That's right.  You heard me.  The girl recycles crayons into jewelry!!  I have never seen anything like it!  This jewelry is truly one of a kind.  See for yourself...

An example of Ann's amazing recycled crayon jewelry available for purchase here.

She advises not leaving this in a hot car or in any extreme temperatures like that, but it will stay perfectly intact with normal storage and wear.  So how do you decide to make jewelry from crayons?  Well, I was dying to know myself.  Ann said, "I have recently seen a lot of melted crayon art on canvas and was immediately inspired. Whenever I see something I like, my first thought is 'How can I make that wearable?'. The biggest challenge was coming up with a way to create them on a small scale. I won't go into how I do it, but the process evolved through a lot of trial and error."  I think the trial and error was well worth it.  This is most definitely not the work of a novice.  I asked Ann how long she had been making jewelry and how she got started and she told me she "started making jewelry when I was 10 yrs old. I started with fishing line, seed beads, and findings that were way too big! The older I got, the better my techniques became and the more I loved the results. I've only been good at it for a few years. Jewelry making is something I learned on my own and I didn't have anyone I could ask for helpful tips, so it took me much longer to master."  And master it she has!

Not only does Instinctively Indie make jewelry from crayons, they also many other fun items.  Their shop is like a carnival for me!  It is so bright and fun and you can find the neatest items, like the fried marble jewelry for instance.  And the pretty button decorated pillboxes that Ann's mother makes.  She has a fabulous eye for matching colors and textures!  And beautiful handbags too!  And many more things that I don't have the room to mention.  You really just need to look through her shop.  I asked Ann what inspired her.  She said, "There are so many things in the world that have the potential to be beautiful. I am most often inspired by things that other people would throw away. I don't purchase items in perfect condition very often. Items have meaning when you've taken the time to create or refurbish them. Flea markets are my favorite places to go and find inspiration. I carry a small notebook with me and write down or sketch ideas. I often buy something and have no idea what I'm going to use it for. That item may sit around for a year or two, but it becomes the perfect solution to a design problem I have!"  I just love Ann's approach.  

One of Ann's pieces of fried marble jewelry available for purchase here.

Ann's shop also has many wonderful button pieces, everything from pillboxes to jewelry, that I had to find out more.  I needed to know how she started working with buttons.  My enquiring little mind was on overdrive!  Probably because I also have a respectable button collection.  Ann told me, "My first passion is sewing. My mother made most of my clothes when I was young and taught me everything she knows. I loved going through her buttons and I've always been amazed at the detail that can be found in these tiny notions. I bought a mason jar full of them at a flea market on a whim. I had so much fun going through them. Unfortunately most of them were singles, so I didn't have much use for them in sewing. I experimented with turning them into jewelry and found it to be incredibly relaxing. I was pregnant at the time and needed to stay off my feet. When friends and family members found out about my button jewelry, I was given jar after jar of buttons as gifts. I started with one quart sized jar of buttons and now I have thousands upon thousands of them!"  And they are put to good use too!

Button embellished barette available for purchase here.

I love that Ann's mother taught her to sew, but now Ann is "taking it to another level" and teaching her!  Ann said that her mother was "also lured by the siren song of the buttons and wanted to create some things for my shop. I am constantly bouncing ideas off of her."  I love when the "student" becomes the "teacher"!  


Please visit Ann's Facebook and Twitter and show her and her lovely mother some love!  


Peace and Love,


Luci
Idle Hands Yarn Supply

Shop Feature: Re-Creations

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
Idle Hands Yarn Supply

I'm syndicated! Well, almost... :)

I have been a member of Team Upcyclers on Etsy for a few months.  This is an amazing community of talented artisans and upcycling geniuses!  Cat and Bee put out the call for help a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't resist taking my involvement with this team to the next level.

You will be seeing me a lot on the discussion boards, but you already did before so that isn't really anything new.  I will be helping out with the Facebook page and I will be contributing to their team blog Love2Upcycle.  Hence the title of this post.  :)  You can view the blog and the article talking about the new staff (let's not forget about Stephanie and Marcy!!) here.

Keep an eye on this team and if you have an Etsy account show your support for the Earth and for upcycling/recycling/repurposing by joining up!  All you need is a love of upcycling to join and everyone will be happy to see you.  We just love new members!  You can also like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for all of the latest news!  And be sure to check out the newspaper (yep, the newspaper!  Impressed?  I was!!) here.  Whew!  As you can see, Team Upcyclers on Etsy is growing by leaps and bounds and I am just thrilled to be a part of it.  Upcyclers unite!

Love and Peace,

Luci
Idle Hands Yarn and Supply