By Jasmin Malik Chua
Who says fashion can’t change the world? At Ecouterre, we believe that clothing, like any good product design, can be accomplished in a better, smarter, more socially and environmentally sustainable way, and look amazing to boot. Here, we’ve rustled up seven cutting-edge, eco-savvy design innovations that are rocking the runways and shifting an entire industry. (Pictured above is Wearable Technology.) 1. Zero Waste
Roughly 15 percent of the fabric used to create a garment winds up on the cutting-room floor only to be consigned to the landfill or, if it’s lucky, reincarnated as mattress or couch stuffing. The burgeoning zero-waste design movement, spearheaded by such sustainable designers as Mark Liu and Caroline Priebe of Uluru, revolves around one simple premise: to leave no scrap unused. It’s a philosophy that requires no small amount of forethought during the pattern-making process, resulting in jigsaw-like pieces that are assembled into a seamless whole by turning negative space into something positive.
We’re celebrating the launch of our new site this week with daily giveaways! Today’s giveaway is all about Crafty Chica! The winner will be sent the following Crafty Chica products:
Crafty Chica Charm Necklace
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paint Pack
Crafty Chica Reusable Stencil
Crafty Chica Iron-On Flocked Transfer Skull
Crafty Chica Market Tote
Crafty Chica Iron-On Appliqué Chihuahua
Crafty Chica PaintWriters
Crafty Chica Glitter
You’ll also get one of Kathy’s new handmade scarves! (pictured above)
Just sign up for the CRAFT Newsletter to be eligible to win. If you are already subscribed, you’re already entered! We’ll let this one run all weekend so entries will close at 9am PST on Monday, Dec 7th. Good luck!
Also, the winner of the Yudu from Tuesday’s giveaway is Diana from San Jose, CA. Congrats!
If you’re in Phoenix tonight or tomorrow, don’t miss this awesome (and big) show at Bragg’s Pie Factory. Pictured above is Kris Waid-Jones’ “Cherry Bomb Pie” (cast entirely in aluminum, even the cherries), various carved soap objects by Ann Morton, and a piece by Andrew Hadle.
Grand Delusion
An Exhibition of Works by School or Art Students in Fibers and Sculpture
Bragg’s Pie Factory
1301 NW Grand Avenue (enter on McKinley)
Phoenix, AZ
Opening Reception:
First Friday, December 4th, 2009 6:30pm – 10:30pm
Closing reception:
Saturday, December 5th, 2009 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Sew a circuit, knit a sensor, electrify your wardrobe, it’s CRAFT’s Getting Started in Wearable Technology Gift Guide! Check out our Soft Circuit and Fashion Tech archives for project inspiration, and then look here for all the supplies to get your holiday shopping done!
Conductive thread (~$20)
There are many different places to get conductive thread. My favorite is Lame Lifesaver, since their thread doens’t fray as much as other kinds I’ve tried, but you can also pick it up from Sparkfun and LessEMF. If you’re looking for a little more than just thread, you might try the LilyPad E-Sewing Kit that also comes with some sewable LEDs to get you started.
We’re going out of town for more than a week this Christmas for a big family get-together in New Mexico, so we’re debating whether to get a tree. Since we still have one kid under the age of I’m-too-cool-to-care — and because I’m a bit of an ornament junkie — chances are that we will get a tree.
In the meantime, we’ve done a few things to ease us into the holiday spirit. These are simple decorating ideas that really make the room feel festive, with or without an evergreen tree in the corner.
We have a set of blocks that spell Merry Christmas on one side and Happy_New Year! on the other. This year we decided to use only some of the blocks, and mingle them in among some milk bottles filled with dried plants from our yard. Any alphabet blocks could be used in various scenarios to spell out holiday greetings and wishes. Don’t tell my husband, but I’m thinking of having us temporarily remove the dried clippings and fill the bottles with redwood branches and pine boughs. Festive!
By far, my favorite decorating scheme we’ve come up with is hanging big round ornaments from the beams in our living room. We intersperse the balls with some wire stars I got at a garden shop several years ago. Sometimes we add twinkling white lights to the beams, and sometimes we don’t. Either way, the effect is dramatic yet simple, and it gives me an excuse to search for huge round ornaments at after Christmas sales.
What holiday decorating tricks do you have up your red-velvet-with-fluffy-white-trim sleeve? I’d love to read about them in the Comments!
Congrats to CRAFT reader Susan from New York for winning the Cricut Expression in our special CRAFT giveaway from yesterday. You can still sign up for our newsletter to be eligible to win a Gypsy.
Ashley, over on the (never home) maker blog, has so many mouth-watering recipes to offer, it was hard to pick which one to share with you. I’m sure everyone has had their fill of pumpkin pie, so I was thrilled to see these two delicious-looking (and vegan!) pumpkin-infused recipes: No-Knead Pumpkin Loaf (with bonus Sweet Pumpkin Butter recipe) and Pumpkin Soup. Pumpkin, it’s not just for pie anymore.
I really love this Gifts for People Who Love to Sew list over at A Dress A Day, starting with a review of the Sewing Bible by Ruth Singer and Diana Eng’s Fashion Geek, running through notions (“Go nuts. Seriously.”) and fabric they’d never buy for themselves, and ending up with that elusive, magical, thing: time. There are some great suggestions in the comments, too!
If you are trying to conserve electricity, its a good idea to wait as long as possible before setting up your holiday lights. You can put the money you save towards this amazing handmade scarf by etsy seller phydeaux. Meant to replicate the glow of a string of lights on an evergreen, the scarf is made of hand-painted baby alpaca. The result is merry and bright.
