May 30, 2013 by Designsquish

February 05, 2013 by Designsquish

Thia soft and delicate Autumn Willow Branch necklace is made from salvaged reclaimed leather. 

ON ETSY: https://www.etsy.com/listing/108442366/autumn-willow-branch-necklace-upcycled

September 13, 2012 by Designsquish

April 08, 2012 by Designsquish

“Long before the green-minded hip began toting these fishnet shopping sacks whilst touring organic foodmarts, the USSR had developed the archetype — the amazing avoska. Extremely long lines were commonplace and a score of good groceries was rare, so avoskas were essential, with their magical capability to collapse, unfold, and hold stockpile-bound bounties. Image Courtesy Michael Idov.” from Made in Russia: Unsung Icons of Soviet Design

- http://www.blog.designsquish.com/avoska-russian-net-bag/

- http://pinterest.com/designsquish/russia/

October 19, 2011 by Designsquish

Recycled jean fabric necklace by MAGICOVERACID

July 02, 2011 by Designsquish

Bloom Magazine launched by one of the most famous trend forecasters, Lidewij Edelkoort.  This blog posting is an excerpt from Bloom Magazine article “Newer flower Children”.  “The flower child is back.  The signs are around us: along with the rise of the musical genre known as freak folk and the nature-espousing counterculture that goes with it, we live at a time of defiance by hair. “

Everywhere you look you see dreadlocks, beards, and fantastical moustaches.  Hair is being employed as a tool of expression and rebellion, an assertion of values that go counter the status quo.

“Over the past several years we’ve seen a re-awakening of responsibility for the environment, a desire to live simpler lives, a revival of community, an appreciation for the handmade, the small-scale and the humble, all symptoms of an urgent realization that it’s time to seriously confront our more serious habits as a species. It’s if the flower-child ethos took a break for fifty years, re-emerging in a more developed form when the world had reached a new pinnacle of self-destructiveness and was particularly in need of its values”

“The flower-child spirit of our time has become a more savvy beast - updated, re-imagined, but familiar.  Could this be the decade where people finally get serious about turning things around?”

June 30, 2011 by Designsquish

Avoska, translated as “just in case” is a Russian net bag.  Avoska collapses to fit inside your fist and expands to hold 12 grapefruits. It is easy to wash and boxes edges do not rip it’s threads. Best of all, it prevents plastic bags from gathering in your kitchen corner or the world’s landfills.  With the popularization of plastic bags after the 90’s (after the fall of Soviet Union) avoska bags gradually went into disuse in Russia.

Above: Russia 1959. People carrying avoska bags. Photo: Carl Mydans.

Contemporary Russian folklore:  Once upon a time in Russia there lived a simple little net bag - Avoska. Everyone loved her.  People took her with them everywhere - to the store, farmers market and even birthdays. But then….plastic bags came and people forgot about Avoska.  To see what happens next watch this really adorable 3 minute film on Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/avoska

Above: Boy hugging avoska bag from short “Avoska” film (See above)

Read blog dedicated to Avoski:  http://avoski.livejournal.com/

June 07, 2011 by Designsquish

Materials upcycled:  bike chainlink, broken ceramic plates, hardware washers. 
Found on Etsy.

August 11, 2010 by Designsquish

December 16, 2009 by Designsquish

Reusing old buttons as fridge magnets. By Skin and Tonic Too.



Rings made with old vintage buttons. Found in Red Chair Antiques shop.

October 12, 2009 by Designsquish

Bags from re-purposed, recycled coffee sacks!  Lined with a soft unbleached cotton. by Mayamade. 

May 31, 2009 by Designsquish

Kaelyn Garcia’s Organic Cotton and natural silk sateen circle dress.

May 05, 2009 by Designsquish

Nadia Nour is a fashion designer based in New York City.  Nadia keeps manufacturing and sourcing supplies for her garments local and uses organics as much as possible - naturally dyed silks,  fabrics that are healthy for people and the environment.  Her clothing designs are sophisticated, high-end and chic but at the same time organic and sustainable. 

May 03, 2009 by Designsquish

I love American Apparel.  Their clothes are so simple and they always fit so so nice. Although, I wish they had more organic clothing selection because right now they have mainly shirts and underwear. Is it possible to make organic cotton leggings? If so, I want to buy them.

January 30, 2009 by Designsquish

Do you have a lot of old seaters that are unfashionable, uncool, shrunken or simply too old? Well, you can reuse them to make mittens.  These mittens by Baabaazuzu are made from old sweaters.  Each mitten is unique. Two images below are quilts made out of old wool blankets by Marlies Spaan, a textile designer from Netherlands.


Or, company called StitchT in New York City is making quilts out of old t-shirts for you.  You bring old t-shirts and they stich them together into a nice beautiful quilt.

      

January 26, 2009 by Designsquish

AuH2O is a sustainable clothing store owned by Kate Goldwater. All AuH2O clothing is made from recycled fabric from old shirts, dresses and ties.  Kate sews everything herself at her store which makes her garments sweat shop free, unique and less carbon-dioxide emitting shipments are invovled.  Kate alters garments you buy at the store free of charge to your liking - straps can be added to tube tops, skirt length can be adjusted and e.t.c.

December 30, 2008 by Designsquish

Have you ever felt bad for the numerous broken umbrellas during the storm? You do not have to anymore!
They all can be turned into a bag! Yes Yes.

taken from FIFTYRX3, a blog about style and sustainability by Jill Danyelle.
(“fiftyRX3 was a project in style and sustainability. It consisted of a photo documentary of what Jill Danyelle wore everyday for a year with a goal of averaging fifty percent sustainability based on the environmental mantra ‘reuse, reduce, recycle’. There was also exploration into the relationship we have with our clothing and how others perceive who we are through what we wear.)

November 17, 2008 by Designsquish

Vancouver based designer Ashley Watson handcrafts her one-of-a-kind leather products using exclusively recycled material. She began designing handbags with recycled leather in early 2005, inspired by the original features of jackets purchased from charity thrift stores. She ultimately incorporates these features, such as pockets and seams, into each unique bag or wallet design.

With an extensive background in studio art, Ashley brings an innovative and environmentally sound approach to fashion design, creating products that are practical, sophisticated, and, above all, distinctive.

A native of British Columbia, Ashley holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. After studying fashion design in Vancouver, Ashley interned at Libertine in New York City. Upon her return to Vancouver, she worked as a jewelry designer before founding Ashley Watson Recycled Leather in 2006.

Ashley Watson Recycled Leather bags and wallets are now sold online and in stores across North America, and will soon be available in select stores in Europe. 

by Designsquish