Friday, February 26, 2010

Focus On... BTC Elements

I confess, I am not always eco-friendly. I put my empty water bottles into a paper bag by the door with the hopes that Jon's sister will take it and recycle it once a month. But I don't separate my trash into two bins (I don't have room for two bins). I don't compost. We use plastic silverware and (gasp!) don't re-use it. We may also use paper plates sometimes.

What I can really get behind is reusing and upcycling; I keep jelly jars and use them as vases or to hold buttons/thread. I always reuse shipping envelopes and I keep all my wasted computer-printed paper (like the sheet with one line on it) to reuse as scrap paper. I've just started thinking about jewelry I can make using materials I have around the house (more to come on that in the future). That's why BTC Elements is such a cool company. They use small, domestic artists who use thrifted/vintage finds to make amazing upcycled pieces.

{skateboard bangles  and skateboard earrings are made from pre-loved skateboards in Portland, OR}

{plastic bag bangles are created in New York City from used plastic bags and vintage bangles}

{pop rock 'n roll earrings are made from old vinyl records in Boise, Idaho}

{the tie clutch is made from vintage men's ties in Wisconsin}

{the bentley bag is made from discarded tractor and truck tire tubes in Boulder, CO}

{the pretty poppy belt is made from thrifted polyester blouses and vintage bed sheets in Asheville, NC}

{the boat bag is made from scrapped seatbelts in Santa Ana, CA}

{the lunch sack is made from the vinyl-laminated nylon fabric of billboards (!) in Minnesota}

{these vintage record sleeve journals are made discarded office paper and vintage record sleeves in Tampa, FL}

BTC Elements always has fast, $5 shipping! Enjoy your eco-friendly shopping! :)

6 comments:

  1. Oh that is so cool, I am designs some upcycled products right now too :)

    Thanks for sharing :) T.

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  2. Upcycling is better than recycling, but I highly encourage you to do your part to recycle. Plastic silverware is not recyclable, so use the real thing! Plus, doesn't a meal feel more substantial when it's eater off a real plate using real silverware?

    Love those skateboard earring.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Carlin, I know! To be honest, it's pretty embarassing. It's my roommate's house and he's super picky about design things like this, and he hasn't found silverware he likes. But maybe I should just buy a cheap set of Target silverware and then he can choose his own set later after I move out! :)

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  4. Hey there....thanks for stopping by today! I love those skateboard bangles!!! Super cute! I keep looking for ways to do a better job too!

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  5. i love the bangles!

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  6. Swap-bot sent me here, and I am so glad it did! Really enjoy your blog, especially this introduction to BTC -- what a great website!!! Have put their potato chip waste baskets on my "WANT" list!!!
    Milly / Thistlecraft
    http://thistlecraft.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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