Why do I use recycled materials?

It's not really about saving the planet, or making a green utopia for my future children. I use recycled and repurposed materials in my purses because it makes every one unique. And, I repurpose furniture that I already have (as much as possible) because hey, furniture is expensive. I remember when my husband first found out what couches cost. Ha! He said, "what? how could that BE?" I gave him the all-knowing wife look. "Please. We're talking about a huge piece of furniture," I said. "But, but--thousands?" His incredulity lasted all afternoon.

Masterpiece

Isn't it amazing how we get better and better at things? I mean, the first purse I made was for a seven-year old, and she didn't mind that the seams were wonky and that the glue I used to put the ribbon on showed at the edges. She was ecstatic. And so was I. Now, though, I have a whole new level of accomplishment.

Above is the newest Ladybug San Francisco bag, and it's like, almost perfect. I mean, we always have to have someplace to go, right? But it's pretty darn lovely. I couldn't be more pleased. And, do you waht to know the best part? It's made of 90% recycled materials. I know, how did she DO it???

Well, I'll tell you. I found the fabric (well--it was a dress. A nice enough dress, but a bit odd) at one of the Crossroads Trading Company stores in San Francisco. (I think the best one is on Haight, but I went to the Irving Street one). And the interior fabric had it's first life as a lavender pillow (I'm off lavender pillows for awhile). The base is recycled cardboard and the interfacing isn't used, per se, but I did get it second-hand... that totally counts. The new bits are the lovely chain and the interior magnetic snap closure. And, ta-da, 90% recycled materials. I feel full of the new environmentalist movement.

But, looking at this lovely purse, I know that a few months from now, I will think, "oh, that old thing?" And, I'll be on to another, better, more perfect purse. And that's the way it goes in crafting. Semper Fi; Ever Better.

From Shabby to Chic

So, my whole purpose in life is to find old junk and turn it into fancy-shmancy fabulous-looking things. I started small. I found a black, wrought iron candelabra with a chain for hanging, on the sidewalk near my old apartment in the Marina District of San Francisco. I liked the look of it. It was ugly, and rusty, and clearly someone had thrown it out, but I was going to love it. When I got it home, I decided on its new look: antique white.

Now, I must insert here that this all happened before I knew that spray paint and its sisters, VOC and Cancer Paint, were bad for you. So, I found a lovely crackle-white spray paint. And boy, did it go crackle! I loved the look. Of course, it stank, and don't tell my old landlord, but I got it all over the roof. But, it graced the ceiling of my apartment for two years quite beautifully. And that's where it began: my junking habit. My husband calls it my "trash" habit, but who asked him, anyways?

Now, I have found many wonderful (and free!) items on the streets. I have found a sewing table, a set of two overstuffed chairs, a rocking chair, a set of two oversized iron-cage candle holders, a tall, beveled hallway mirror, and two side tables. Each of these has been restored, re-painted, re-purposed, and has found a place in my home. The above example is a chair I found (for free!) across the street, which has become the chair to match my sewing table.

Of course, there was the one item that got away. It was a Louis XIV chair (imitation, most likely) and when I saw it, it was sitting beside a dumpster in Golden Gate Park, right near Stowe Lake, where I was walking with my husband and my brother.

I ran to it. It was water damaged, yes, its wood was unevenly stained, sure, but it called out to me. Save me. Please, can't you see I deserve better than this metal dumpster? Better than this muddy lawn my beautifully carved feet are sinking into? I touched its arm, to reassure it that I knew exactly what to do.

And then, my brother came up behind me. "Don't touch that! Are you crazy? That's like a drug addict's chair or something."

He took my arm and steered me back to the pathway. "No, no, I want to take it home," I said.

"Don't touch that again, OK? You can get a disease," my brother said. My husband stood by mutely. He had learned to let me pick up whatever "trash" I wanted to.

"It's beautiful," I said.

"It's junk." I looked to my husband. My brother, you see, is much bigger than I am, and can stop me from doing things he doesn't want me to do. My husband usually doesn't, because I can make his life miserable. But my brother doesn't live with me anymore. He can piss me off and blissfully leave the house, then call a week later when I've forgotten all.

My husband sided with my brother. "Yeah, I don't know. You don't know where that's been."

It was a Louis XIV. I knew where it had been. In a grand hall, beside a mirror-fronted dresser and a huge bouquet of pale pink roses. It belonged in my home. I stood my ground, but they are larger than I am. They dragged me back to the path, and I tried to be cheerful as we continued our walk home.

But I was never cheerful again--at least not when I saw a Louis XIV chair. Then, I was sad. For it could have been mine.