Interview with Recycled Market artisan Be-Cycle Trashion Jewellery

An interview with artisan Laurette, about her sustainable recycled jewellery range Be-Cycle Trashion Jewellery, produced in a small studio, based in France.

Can you tell us a little about who you are?

I trained as silversmith at Plymouth Art college in Devon England, but now I am based in France ( I am half French) where I have a workshop and still make a small amount of silver jewellery that I sell locally, but over the years I have been turning more and more to recycled, reclaimed and salvaged materials to make jewellery and accessories.  Mainly due to the polluting extraction techniques legal or illegal, violence and warfare associated with some precious gem mining, and more often than not the exploitation of the workers. Also due to fact that we live in a world where every thing is disposable. I enjoy the challenge of turning useless in to useful and beautiful.

Can you tell us about your products?

I do a range of jewellery from bicycle inner tubes, I like working with this material as it has certain of the quality’s of leather, but also some interesting quality’s of it’s own (it is elastic and I like to make use of this in my jewellery designs) I also do ranges of jewellery from melted, fused glass bottles, beer bottle caps, ring pulls, up-cycled plastic packaging, natural materials such as twig beads, stones and vintage objects. Part of the creative process is collecting sufficient quantity’s to be able to play around with a new material; this is one of the most enjoyable moments, getting new ideas and inspiration.

My workshop is cluttered with experimental pieces and volumes of collected recyclable materials all this gets my creative juices going. I have to work with the limitations that using up-cycled materials posses but this adds an interesting dimension to the creative process, having to work out new techniques and even making or adapting certain tools.

Bicycle inner tubes is an interesting material to work with, can you tell us why you started to work with inner tubes, and where you source your material from? 

I used to live in Amsterdam for a while, and as every one knows the Dutch cycle a lot. You see all types of people in Holland riding bikes. That’s where I started using inner tubes, as I wanted to find a recyclable material that was easily available.  In France, I know a friendly local bicycle repair man and he is more than willing to give me the old inner tubes, he would otherwise discard.

Are you a keen cyclist yourself?

Yes, I ride regularly, but I do think that bikes are undervalued.  Cycling is a green form of transport and it helps the rider to stay fit and healthy which can only be beneficial. Here in France you rarely see anybody on a bike and cycle lanes are a novelty. Unfortunately in some places it can be too dangerous due to the large amount of traffic on the roads.

Whilst the French worship the “tour de France”, “cyclism” is a hobby that only retired men take up and practice all dressed up in Lycra body suits!  Bike riding should be promoted a lot more.

We notice you have started to work with ‘natural ingredients’, we love, in particular, your pine cone necklace and earrings, this is an interesting and effective choice of material, can you tell your inspiration behind working with mother nature’s materials?

I live in the countryside and love to walk, finding inspiration in the nature that surrounds me.  I believe that we have distanced ourselves from nature, and do not notice the beauty in simple natural things, concentrating only on what is modern and innovative, such as all the new synthetic materials, colours, technology. Primitive man would make jewellery from shells, feathers, stones that he would find. Jewellery doesn’t necessarily need to be shiny and be blingy!

Will you be selling your pine cone pieces in your online shop soon?

I made the pine cone jewellery mainly as a tutorial, to inspire people that you can make some thing of beauty with some simple tools and materials, you don’t need gold and silver or the new synthetic materials ( fimo etc) to make jewellery.

How to you incorporate recycled material into your products?

I try to use as much recycled materials in the design as possible, sometimes up to 100%. I never use glues, varnishes, if I do I make sure they are totally ecological or I try to find alternative ways. Using recycled materials in my jewellery designs is an ecological philosophy, to live my life as green as possible.

What does the future have in store for Be-Cycle Trashion Jewellery?

This summer I am planning some pop up shop events, in the South of England, Northern France, Berlin Germany, Copenhagen Denmark, and possibly some other locations. I would like to be able to devote more time to my blog, It is not easy
juggling making, selling, blogging and living.  I am working on a range of pebble jewellery one of the reasons I am in Cornwall at the moment. And I am widening the range in the inner tube jewellery and shall hopefully start to make accessories as well, such as belts, belt/bag type things, smart phone case etc.

You can shop Be-Cycle Trashion Jewellery from Recycled Market > here

Recycled Market Featured Seller : Jewels of Sayuri

An interview with Divya of  Jewels by Sayuri.

My Name is Divya N, and I am a freelance fashion – apparel & jewellery designer from Chennai, India. I love to learn as much as I love to teach – I work as a design faculty and craft instructor at various design colleges in the city. I create and sell designer jewelry & gifts under my brand ‘Sayuri’ – which means a small lily is Japanese. I am Quirky, I love kitsch, I get completely lost in a craft store and I savour every moment that I have with my camera during my travels.

My design philosophy is simple – Fashion is for all. So it should be practical, usable and desirable. Both my costume jewelry as well as my accessory range are created by me using a mix of both fine and unconventional materials. I create one off unique pieces without repetition and believe firmly in Hand crafting. I also custom make gifts based on orders.  Sayuri products on the whole are contemporary with a distinct Indian touch.

I believe a lot in reducing and reusing. I feel that it is important for a designer to constantly incorporate existing materials into his/her designs and what better way than recycling to do that? Interacting with my blog friends made me see everyday materials like packaging waste, stationary supplies and old jewelry in a whole new light. I thought why I cant use these common things to make something uncommon, something beautiful and something wearable?

If possible I retain the material/object in its original shape, size or material. Sometimes I modify it to suit my design.

When I started, the idea was to keep the whole range, as good and creative budget options. But lately I have started doing statement jewelry and I am moving on to slightly more expensive pieces. In the future I want to expand and grow the brand further to include more designs, diverse materials and of course more retail outlets.

Shop Jewels of Sayuri here

 

Sonic Styles Recycled Products

Today we have an interview with Ashley from Sonic Styles

Can you tell us a little about who you are?

I am a modern day hippie/ stay-at-home mom with a beautiful daughter. At night I play roller derby with Arizona Roller Derby (AZRD) and have convinced my league to help out by bringing their recyclables to me instead of throwing them in their trash. I started my home business to be able to have more time with my daughter and to keep on skating with my girls at AZRD.

Can you tell us about your products?

All my products are high quality with a low price. My speciality is vinyl records because it is a sturdy and flexible material (but can break if opened too far). Each item is hand crafted with love and therefore unique in it’s own way- no two items are exactly the same.

How to you incorporate recycled material into your products?

Not only do I use scratched, broken, and unwanted vinyl records, but I also often use broken, or unwanted jewelry in pieces like earrings and necklaces. Instead of buying new materials from major stores, I shop at thrift and second hand stores keeping all items as eco-friendly as possible while keeping the prices low. Even my packaging is hand made with recycled material or reused from another package. Using recycled material can be harder, but it’s worth it!

Why is the use of recycled materials important to you?

We only have one earth. We need to respect her by doing our part to keep her litter-free and to reduce the amount of waste in our landfills. She has provided us with everything and many people take advantage of her kindness by being wasteful. Everyone can do a part- reduce the amount of waste we produce- wash and re-use instead of buying more- recycle- buying eco-friendly products such as those sold on Recycled Market- donate unwanted ‘stuff’ to thrift stores and charitable organizations.

What does the future have in store for Sonic Styles ?

Sonic Styles is consistantly growing- spreading the word of being kind to mother earth everywhere it goes. Currently I am working on getting my eco-friendly products in the stores, not just in the United States, but all over the beautiful globe. I am always looking to expand my business in new ways.

Recycled Market; for Bird Lovers

A collection of recycled products available on Recycled Market, which are perfect for bird lovers.

 Recycled Souvenir Teaspoon Pieces by Greg Mann Jewellery

Applique Vintage Fabric Wall Decor by leslieworks

Recycled Burlap Coffee Sleeves by GreenBeing

 Bird wing recycled t-shirt DIY sewing tutorial (easy for beginners) by ChickenHill

Humming bird and bonsai tree with reclaimed wooden frame by MDC Interiors

Recycled benares silk brocade saree birds nest fabric brooch by Jewels of Sayuri

Upcycled VINYL wall clock “BIRD” by Pavel Sidorenko

Paper peacock necklace, made from recycled magazines by Factory on The Moon

Silver Metallics, Recycled

Introducing Over It!

Introducing Factory on the Moon

 

Introducing Greg Mann Jewellery to Recycled Market

“Greg has been practicing his craft for over two decades, showing his work around Australia and in other countries.

The recent decision to take his work into a more commercial context directed him to view his studio and stores of materials in a different light.

Upon delving into the various collections he had begun, and contemplating what his interests had been over time, he observed some patterns and reinforced his moral stance about creating new work from found objects.

He noticed a recurring theme in the culinary utensil area as he had gathered a stock pile of organic materials, including bone and ivory handles from old cutlery sets.

Eventually realising that the jewellery he made using this source for materials was of interest to a wide cross section of the public and that this was an area which offered endless possibilities.

The range of objects that he now produces consists of the gleanings from trash and treasure markets, opportunity shops, friends, customers and supporters.

His backyard studio now bulges with the plethora of items that we use in our kitchens and he uses his jewellery making skills to heighten and embellish those familiar objects into curious wearables.”

Recycled Wood Rings

Beautiful rings, handcrafted in New Zealand by nga waita made with recycled native wood and natural crystals.

blue lace agate rings (said to encourage higher wisdom honesty and peace)

Rose quartz rings (calms, soothing energy which removes negativity)

Pounamu rings (often signifies peace and has immense spiritual value

te ori hau wears smokey quartz ring and an amazonite ring

kelly wears an amethyst ring a citrine ring and a fluorite ring

There is currently a competition to win one of Nga Waiata’s fabulous rings over on Street and City Photos (Sreet Life Daily, Auckland & Wellington Blog)