Did you know that the average American discards almost 70 pounds of clothing and household textiles per year?  According to the EPA, textiles make up about 5% of the total U.S. municipal waste.*

Our great grandparent’s generation owned fewer garments, and instead of tossing worn textiles, they mended their clothing, tailored it for younger siblings or made it into rags and quilts.  

We have obviously moved away from that culture of preservation and frugality.

We live in a time of fast-fashion (which is a problem).

Mattias Wallander, CEO of USAgain writes, “Innocuous as they might seem when compared with plastic shopping bags or Styrofoam cups, clothing and textiles become garbage just like everything else when thrown away - and given our country's shopping crazed culture, discarded clothing is clogging up landfills at an alarming rate.” 

Of course there are many ways we can reduce textile waste: most obviously by buying less, buying second-hand, buying things that biodegrade, or putting unwanted clothing back into the consumer cycle (thrift stores, clothing swaps, coat drives, etc.).  VintageRemade is part of a movement of designers that are attempting to re-imagine “waste.”   We make useable products from pre-loved textiles, so here's another way: donate your old clothing to us!  Help us create momentum for the upcycling movement.  

BEFORE: A western trench coat, some placements and napkins >>> AFTER: A crossbody bag

VintageRemade partners with an organization called WOW (Women for Orphans and Widows) to provide basic needs, education, job training and food for kids and women in the village of Njewa in Malawi.  Your clothing donations will help us care for that community.

So what kinds of things can we accept?  Suede, leather, durable wool, cotton, silk, etc. Things we regularly use: slacks, men’s button up shirts, sports coats, ladies dresses, skirts, pillowcases, sheets, place mats, cloth napkins, curtains, table runners, table cloths and upholstery.  

Even if there are stains or holes, as long as there is at least a 10” x10” of useable fabric somewhere on the garment, we can use it.

Things we look for: unique patterns, colors and textures.  Sometimes things that are ugly and hideous make gorgeous bags.

  
Things we cannot use: Clothes that smell like ash trays or litter boxes.  We launder all of the garments, but there are some smells that you just can't get out. 

If you have CLEAN clothes or textiles you'd like to donate and you live in the Los Angeles area, we'll gladly come pick-up your donation or arrange a drop-off.  Please help us spread the word!  For more details, contact us at info@vintageremade.com.

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*5% of the total municipal waste= 21 BILLION pounds.  See the 2009 EPA Municipal Solid Waste report here.  The Council for Textile Recycling created a very easy to read chart here using the 2009 EPA report.

Finally, finally I'm makin' time to get these pictures posted! The Renegade Show in San Francisco in December was VintageRemade's first time doing an event outside of LA, so that was pretty exciting.  It felt like a step forward.  AND it was tons of fun because my dear friend April made the road trip with me.  She actually lives near Fresno, which is about four hours north of LA, so I made the first part of the drive solo and then picked her up for the rest of the trip.  I mention the drive only to share that during that time I was alone, I somehow got on the wrong freeway and literally drove for almost an HOUR without realizing it. Not sure how I managed to do that.  In my defense all I can say is that it was dark and I was on the phone. Thankfully the friendly men smoking outside the casino in Rosamond, CA got me back on track.  

April and I got to San Francisco a day early and were able to hang out some in the city.  She and I both have a deep appreciation for all things artistic, so naturally we went to the SF MOMA.  Here's April taking a little break.
  
Saturday our day started bright and early.  

We shared a booth space with Lisa of Zelma Rose.  She makes an assortment of vintage inspired goods, so we felt like our set-ups really complimented one another.  Here are some of her necklaces and other goodies:
  
  
Our booth neighbor was Oh So Milla.  The designer, Camilla, hand knits these one-of-a-kind necklaces.  Each one takes hours to make.  So much detail.  
  
Besides these lovely ladies, there were a few designers that caught my eye.  Yes & Yes makes jewelry from upcycled books.  

Pretty fun, huh?

Another person doing upcycled jewelry that i loved was Mukee.

Earrings from Skateboard decks.  So many great colors and designs to work with.
 
We absolutely had a blast.  It was a great turn out, and San Francisco showed us so much love.  

Can't wait to go back! ALSO!  Lisa of Zelma Rose interviewed me for the IndieMade Blog.  Check out her post here.  
xo!

2011 was a really big year for VintageRemade in so many ways.  it was our first full year of doing shows-- which meant lots of learning along the way.  we were experimenting with bag designs, display set-ups and what kinds of shows to do.  typically we did one or two shows a month.  in december we went full bore and did three back to back weekends of saturday-sunday shows. first up was Unique LA, then Renegade LA and last one was Renegade SF.  here are some of the highlights from Renegade LA...

oh hello, friend = all kinds of of adorable.  besides jewelry, they had lots of fun odds and ends that i found myself desiring simply for their cuteness.  exhibit A:

tape dispensers made from cassettes.  my friend kate goes crazy for all things miniature, so she would have loved this:

more cuteness.. careful it bites makes these little monsters:

the artist, kelice penney calls it mythical taxidermy.  yes.

for the photographers and musicians in your life, couch sells handmade camera and guitar straps. they are really well made and they had a huge selection of different colors and styles.

another fun find was wood ties by wood thumb (made from reclaimed wood).

no doubt these serve as interesting conversations starters.  

urban craft center was there offering free sessions throughout the weekend.

i loved this vendor's old fashioned peddler-esque set-up.

cuckoo clocks by black forest works.

we shared a booth space with Heather Arndt who works primarily in ceramics.  here are some of her bottles and tiles.

i really liked her stuff and as we got to talking over the course of the weekend, she shared about her fine arts background and showed me pictures of some larger sculptures and paintings.

one of my other creative ventures, is curating art for vacant storefronts in Pasadena.  it was really great timing meeting her because right after the show I had a space that became available, and I was actually able to install several of Heather's pieces.  if you're in the area, it's at 600 E. Colorado Blvd.

pictures from the Renegade SF show coming soon! xo

I recently had the privilege of making several custom clutches for my friend Joy's wedding.  

She wanted to give her bridesmaids gifts that would be original, thoughtful and uniquely compliment the different personalities of the ladies in her wedding party. 

She loved the idea of clutches because the girls could use them on the big day to carry all of their necessary survival items (tissues, lipstick, band-aids for new shoes, etc.), AND they could continue to use them after the wedding.

The ceremony was at Placerita Canyon Nature Center, and Joy wanted everything to have a simple, earthy elegance.  Since the bridal party was wearing light taupe dresses, she wanted the clutches to be a pop of color.  She decided on a deep red, and I began my hunt for the perfect fabrics to upcycle.  I hit the jackpot at one of my go-to shops, had all of the garments laundered, and got to work coming up with designs.

The minor/major hiccup was that LA had a crazy wind storm that came through the week that I was finishing these up that left me without electricity for NINE days.  if i lived in the 1800's and used a treadle machine that wouldn't have been an issue.  I literally had to haul my machine to a few different friend's houses (that had power) over the course of that week to get all the sewing done.  Thankfully it all came together!  

Electricity-less and all, it was super fun to work on these.  Cheers to the bride and groom!

Unique LA's holiday show was December 3-4, and it was AMAZING!

     "

so many people came out to buy local.  in fact, there was record attendance--22,000 shoppers supporting local design, a beautiful thing. 

it was VintageRemade's 5th Unique LA, and we were again reminded of the infinite reasons why we love this show.  for one, the set-up for vendors is on Friday, the day before the event (most events have set up day of).  with the added install time, the caliber of displays tends to be pretty ridiculous.  this was by far my favorite:

Urban Heirloom used stacked crates, old boxes and wood to construct their display and then added all of these little intricate details to create scenes-- almost like a diorama (a super cool diorama).  i was so impressed and might have returned on several occasions over the course of the weekend just to admire it.

the display beautifully captured the feel and aesthetic of their one of a kind statement pieces made from upcycled vintage treasures.

a vendor that i heard lots of buzz about was toe jamm shoes, so i had to check out their wares.  they sell infant footwear.

it's a very powerful, peculiar thing when a product can actually make someone consider making a pivotal life decision, but i'm pretty sure these little shoes make people want to have babies. 

they're based in downtown LA and do custom orders, so keep them in mind for your next baby shower gift!

we make vendor friends doing these events, and this summer we had the privilege of meeting Jenn who was helping out her friends at GreenAid for Unique LA's summer show.  at this year's holiday show she had her own booth and was selling her very adorable Unurth ceramics.

i also loved the super cute illustrations by Nan Lawson.    

this one was my fave:

the text reads: "I cant see anything I don't like about you."  "But you will."  i don't know if it's supposed to be sad, or if it's about the beauty of really loving someone, but i LIKE it.

LOVE NAIL TREE is a vendor that i've heard about for the past year or so, but i hadn't really checked out their stuff or what they are about until this weekend.  oh man.  really cool, original pieces and there is a huge heart behind what they do.  this is from their site:

LOVE NAIL TREE IS A COMPANY MOTIVATED AND FUELED BY A DESIRE TO PROVOKE CONVERSATION ABOUT TOPICS NEGLECTED AND OFTEN IGNORED BY OUR CULTURE. WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF STORY AND THINK THERE ARE MANY THAT NEED TO BE TOLD. WHETHER IT BE THE TRAFFICKING OF HELPLESS CHILDREN, THE DEVASTATION OF ADDICTION, OR THE HIGH RATE OF DIVORCE IN AMERICA. OUR HOPE IS THAT THE STORIES WE TELL WOULD MOVE PEOPLE TO ACTION AND INSPIRE A DEEP CHANGE WITHIN THEM.

that made me super curious so i looked around a little online and found this 2009 interview.  much respect.

the artist from racecars and robots was there doing some work live.

and there was other live creativity happening with people making zines and upcycled bows in the craft area..

and MORE live creativity with DJ Bryan Davidson spinning tunes all weekend. 

here are a couple shots of our booth:

thanks so much for a great weekend!  if you didn't make it to the event, be sure to check out the new Unique site:  http://stateofunique.com

xo!