Wastenot Workshop: A New Life for Old Beads

Thursday, October 28, 2010

A New Life for Old Beads

I would like to share with you a new product that I am offering. They're earrings! We all know them, we all love them and I have extended the wastenot theme to them. The thought occured to me - when my daughter and I were making necklaces out of a set of disfunctional doorway beads - that there are probably enough beads in the world to avoid creating any new ones for at least a few hundred years. So, armed with some hand-me-down necklaces and thrift store finds, I embarked on the mission of creating jewelry from spare parts. I have found that older jewelry findings are typically tarnished and/or gold-plated. I'm not into either look, so I do start with new findings (aside from a wonderful silver chain I found at a thrift store). I am currently looking for a jewelry findings supplier that is based and manufactures in the U.S.A. Any suggestions are much appreciated. Here's the first batch of earrings ready to go to market.

Besides the earrings, you may also notice the attractive display, compiled of a picture frame I found at a thrift store and wood scraps. I removed the glass and backing from the picture frame and infilled within the frame using wood scraps. Wood scrap feet and some 'big box' hooks were all I needed to complete this simple little beauty.

I'm branding my earrings and other jewelry I make as christilou, affiliated with the Wastenot Workshop. I'm going to be selling this first batch of earrings at a friend's yoga studio in Carmel, New York. Thanks Amy! Here's your plug!

The YogaScape and Spa
http://www.theyogascape.com/

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more about me and wastenot workshop

I grew up making things using saws and hammers with my dad, while my mom was introducing me to many different crafts. Then I went to architecture school and spent the better part of ten years drawing and making models. Now I own a home and often feel like the lady in the Lowe’s commercial who is empowered by her home remodeling project. By now, I know how to use every tool from a table saw and a nail gun to paint brushes and knitting needles. Now that my daughter is three, the time is near for her to learn the ways of the do-it-yourselfer, too - something I am very much looking forward to teaching her. Over the years, I have developed a deep interest in sustainability which comes out through my work in architecture and furniture design.

After several years of being crafty, I get the most excited when I work with reused materials. This love of making things out of “junk” is where Wastenot Workshop began. Creating items that are beautiful and functional out of materials destined for the landfill has given me the opportunity to satisfy two of my passions at once – making things with my own hands and lightening my footprint on the earth.

This is not to say that all the materials I use are salvaged, as I have found it too limiting and impractical to do things this way. However, I do operate under the long-used idiom “waste not, want not” – a philosophy that seems to have been lost in our hyper-consumer age. I like using discarded materials, used or new, that just happen to come my way. When new materials are required, I take great care to use them efficiently, saving every scrap possible. I am always amazed at the level of creativity and uniqueness that comes out of asking myself one simple question – “what the heck can I do with this?” Of course, it is no less important to make things that are durable and reusable - equipping us with the ability to waste less.

As a side note, I also enjoy photography and am trying to upload more of my photos to share. Check 'em out!!