Artist/Vendor Profile: Michael Barley

Name: Michael Barley
Location: St. John's neighborhood of Portland, Oregon
Website
Your products/projects:

All of my products are made from recycled windows that I collect from construction sites. Since this type of glass is not normally recycled and most of it ends up in the landfill, I feel good rescuing this glass and giving it another life as a beautiful piece of art to be enjoyed for years. I create my work by first cutting the glass into the size and shape I need then decorating it with glass paints and glass powders. It is then fired in a kiln to 1500 degrees, permanently fusing the colors and designs into the glass. I make an assortment of items including Night Lights, Coasters, Dishes, Ornaments and Jewelry.

Green "Cred"

Creative reuse, Handmade, Durable, Made in the USA, Recycled content product, Reused materials

Your origin story?

I grew up in air force bases in Japan and the U.S. and my favorite thing to do was making things in the Hobby shops. I spent time in the photo darkroom, lapidary shop, metal shop and ceramics studio. My professional career started as a potter when I was twenty. In 1988 I saw some glass beads that friends in Bellingham, Washington were making and in 1990, I tried it for the first time and fell in love with the process. A few years later, I was making beads full time and not working in clay. About ten years ago I built a house and wanted to make the tiles for the kitchen as well as glass panels for the fence I built. I first used Bullseye glass, the standard glass used in glass fusing, but found the cost prohibitive for the fence project so I started researching. I discovered sources for glass supplies using window glass and started working with it and exploring various techniques and built my fence and have been working with it since. At first I bought the glass from glass companies but quickly switched to recycled windows and now work exclusively with recycled glass for my fused work.

Recycled Glass coasters

Recycled glass light switch cover

Nightlight

Artist/Vendor Profile: Art and Judy Cortez

Name: Art & Judy Cortez
Company name: Just Chime In
Location: Yacolt, Washington
Website











Your products/projects:

Tableware wind chimes; Spoon bracelets and rings, Tableware necklaces and earrings; Beaded 'finger' bracelets; Beaded hair Accessories; Beaded figurine animals; Beaded car 'mirror mates'; duct tape wallets; Beaded figure pendants (magnets, pins and barrettes combs), Tableware key chains, Beaded rings. We used to make wine cork boards that were very beautiful but didn't market well.

Green "Cred"

Creative reuse, Handmade, Durable, Made in the USA, Recyclable packaging, Recycled content product, Recycled content packaging, Reusable, Reusable packaging, Reused materials, Locally sourced materials, recycled hand made price tags

Why is "green" important to you?

Our planet has way too many thrown away, perfectly good and reusable products! We are always on a "treasure" hunt for more materials that we can repurpose for our crafts. Also, we find that so many people who buy our products feel the same way. Re-use of retail items seems to just increase our passion to make new beautiful products from them, as well as refashioned price tags and reused grocery bags. When possible, we find used jewelry pieces, take them apart and utilize even the findings (clasps, chains).

Your origin story?

We began making wind chimes about 13 years ago in California using a few beads and refashioned silver plated tableware as just a hobby - a few handmade gifts for family and friends. Boldly, we sought out local venues in which to sell them as we built up our inventory - almost all supplies come from second hand stores. Over the years, we perfected our craft, craftsmanship, and designs - making the wind chimes more weather durable and creatively made. It was from patrons asking us if we had: spoon rings, spoon bracelets, and necklaces that spurred us on to develop those items. Also, when the economy became depressed, we began making items that were more affordable.

Your inspiration?

It seems that I am bombarded with inspiration and ideas! The more I pursue new crafts to make, the more ideas just spring up when I'm in the midst of doing anything else throughout the year. Our hobby-business has become my main focus and passion. I love to create new crafts - any idea is worth exploring and trying. My husband, Art and I work very well together - without his engineer skills, much of what we make and sell wouldn't be durable. Recently, I've begun to sketch and will probably start utilizing acrylics more often. One of my recent ideas came from looking at a department store ad and visualizing making my own version of a beaded product.

Your heroes?

My personal hero is Art, my husband, best friend, main cheerleader and support. It seems to be his goal in life to make me happy and my life more comfortable! We have 3 dogs who keep our hearts happy and funny bones well used! Our families are also very important to us.

Favorite celebrities?

Good question: my favorite singer is Josh Groban - he has an amazing voice. If he thought our products were works of art - I think I'd feel so very honored. Our goal is to sell as many of our products to local folks - to see their faces light up when they look at them, is very satisfying. More and more, people are beginning to appreciate the true value of finding treasures amongst the glut of NEW products at retail prices. Who doesn't like a treasure hunt?

Anything else?

Hey, most of us local craft vendors truly love our crafts. Creativity is in all of us and it becomes our artistic passion when visited often! If profit is the main goal, then one should look for a job instead.

Creatively Reuse a Canoe as a Duck Pond

What do you do when you have new ducks that need some H2O to play in? You build them a pond, of course. Might as well use some things you have sitting around, taking up space..

Earlier, I wrote about one of my colleagues that sends me his creative reuse projects and I also mentioned that I liked this one even more. One of the things I really like about the way in which I got this email was that I got to read the whole thing and then click on the picture. I was more impressed than I even thought I was going to be. Now, I've already told you in the title of this post what he used for the pond, but here are his words, straight from the email I got. It should properly set the scene for you:

My new ducks LOVE water.. in fact they need it ... they are waterfowl after all...
Two of these birds (the females) are supposed to lay about 300 eggs a year.... that's better than some chickens!
And the Drakes here quack a little.. but they don't go cock-a-doodle-do all day long.. so they are legal in the city... so I can make baby ducks next year too!
Anyway... I needed a quick pond... so I improvised with an obsolete item that has been sitting for a few years..
Then I found these cute little boardwalks in the woodpile out behind {Name of business redacted, just in case}... they make the perfect poop deck for hanging out next to the new pond...
Then I went to the restore and got all the plumbing (CHEAP!) to put a drain in... and it works!  So I water plants with the dirty water (nutrient rich water that is, for plants)...
So there's my reuse project from last weekend...beats buying a cheap Chinese kiddie pool... which just cracks eventually anyway...
B

Heh heh heh...Poop decks, indeed

I hope I didn't ruin the surprise too much for you. So cool... 

Coolest Thank You gift ever

When you're a teacher/educator, there's nothing better than knowing that what you were trying to teach got through to your students.

Remember a few weeks ago, I posted this, saying that I was working on a new presentation about consumption? The group that I gave that presentation for was the Master Composter/Recycler class of 2013.


This is the Thank You gift they sent me for my presentation. It shows not only a thoughtfulness, but the pillow case and string are from Goodwill, so they took my words to heart. What a wonderful way to say thank you. It means a lot to me.

Just wanted to share with you.

Waste-less holiday ideas

Did you know waste generation sky rockets around the holidays? We make about 1/4 more waste in these short cold months.

Perhaps you're already down with getting and giving presents that create less waste. After the holiday season, I plan to share some of my ideas with you of what I did this year. (Can't show you now, or the recipients on my list would know what they're getting!) but... I will share with you a whole list of ideas:

From the Natural Resources Defense Council

From World Wildlife Fund

From Changing the Present

Treehugger has their guides broken into type of gift-recipient (geek, foodie, kids, etc.)

Buy carbon offsets from TerraPass

The Daily Green has a great list of lists.

If you're wondering what I'm making this holiday season, my Pinterest board of handmade gift ideas might be a good place to start.

Happy Environmentally Friendly Holidays to you and yours!

-The Reuser

Reuse Conex wrap-up

I wanted to give you a run-down of my experience at Reuse Conex. I met lots of great people and learned about some amazing programs and businesses out there. Here's just a smattering: 

I met the lovely (and breathy!*) Nicole McGee from Plenty Underfoot. Of course, I had no idea at the time what her art was like, so I was pleasantly surprised to find her Etsy shop this morning and instantly fall in love with her items!

*She made a joke about being breathy in her presentation. I had just assumed it was because she was excited about her topic, (it happens to me-don't judge...) but I think (and she said) that it had something to do with being pregnant and due soon!

I also met John Littler from GovDeals.com and later found out we're actually neighbors! 

I learned about some great projects/businesses such as UsedCardboardBoxes.com, (just what the name suggests) ReRack (a reuse store dedicated to car bike racks) and I also met one of the GLEAN artists, Jen LaMastra. I bought a pair of earrings from her that spoke to me. (They said, quite simply, "Buy us.") I saw quite a few ladies wearing her beautiful creations at the conference. The jewelry shown at left are not the pair I bought, but I'm hoping to post a video of my presentation at some point and I did wear them for that.


I heard about a wonderful design competition called Respace by listening to Joel's presentation. I met Diane Cohen of Finger Lakes Reuse and Jenny of SCRAP in San Francisco. I was a little blown away by some of the facts presented by Scott Hamlin of Looptworks. (The one that is sticking with me is this: there is 70 times as much pre-consumer excess (waste) than there is post-consumer.) My brain is still trying to digest that information. 

I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting. It was a great conference! 

New, fun #reuses

While researching the Junk Brothers post that I did a few days ago, I stumbled upon this fun gallery of 6 before/after projects. Enjoy!

Before: vintage TV. After: Aquarium

A great blog for reusing furniture

I just spent several hours meandering through all the wonderful redone furniture that can be found at Melody's blog, "My Passion For Decor"

Before

After.
Check out many more wonderful
projects over at Melody's blog

I'm not sure if she uses all the pieces in her home or sells them or what, but if you need inspiration/tips for refinishing furniture, I would definitely direct you here. She has some truly gorgeous (and fun!) projects.

I miss the Junk Brothers

I think one of my first exposures to "creative reuse" was the short-lived* HGTV show The Junk Brothers. We were chatting about the show today and I was trying to convey the level of awesomeness that Steve and Jim were able to create with discarded items. I really wish there was an online gallery of before/after photos from the show. I've been searching for just that for awhile now. I'll link to a few things I've found.

Jim and Steve pose with their tricked out mega-BBQ

List of episodes with before photos (these aren't nearly as impressive without being able to see what they were transformed into

Interview with the brothers in Make: magazine (has some photos, but no captions...)

This guy made a kitchen island inspired by the Junk Brothers show. This is one of the only "after" photos I have and it wasn't even their project (Although, I remember this one and it's very similar.)

Anyone know if there's some place where you can view a gallery of all the before/after projects? I think I'll try to see if I can find this show on Netflix. It really was inspiring (although, the boys are much better carpenters/reusers than they are actors-sorry guys, but your banter was painful...)

*Apparently, it wasn't nearly as short-lived as I had originally thought. I think I only watched one season, possibly part of the second. Seems like there may have been as many as 4 seasons, though.

More reuses

Here are some #reused material projects I thought you might like: (These products can all be purchased at the Clark County Habitat for Humanity store.)

Can you guess what this bench is made out of?
For a clue, check out where the front panel meets the legs.

A: A crib!

These dog houses are made from all reused materials.
Check the next photo for the ingenious lining of the door arch.
Can you guess?

 Reused Hose!

This birdhouse is made from an old paint can and many other fun reused items. 

Seriously, if you like reuse projects as much as me, you should really check out your local Habitat For Humanity store (Called ReStore, everywhere but Washington State)

And, for good measure, here are two more fun things I ran across while spending wasting huge amounts of time on Reddit.

Plastic bottle turned scoop

Reused items in yard art

Here's a submission from a friend.

Curt made his mom these yard art pieces. 

The materials used: 

Rebar - Purchased

Wire - Found on side of the road

Hub cap - 75' Land Cruiser

Fan blade - '70 Land Cruiser

Amazing what you can do with some reused materials and a little ingenuity!

Cabinets #reused to make a child's play kitchen

Janell is so crafty!
Go check out the rest of the story.
It'll warm your heart. 

My friend, Janell, made a completely adorable play kitchen for her little one, using mostly reused/upcycled items from the Habitat For Humanity thrift store and a few items from Empower Up's thrift store as well. Go check it out!


Update: Through Pinterest, I stumbled upon two more completely adorable play-kitchens made from reused/upcycled furniture.

Waste Reduction segments (video)

To see videos of my recent waste reduction segments online, click on the links below:

I recently realized that not everyone has access to Facebook and that's where I was doing an ok job of posting my recent waste reduction segments. So, I decided to add them all here. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions/suggestions. 

An antique camera in the front lobby of the KPTV studios

November (talking about the then-upcoming Check ‘Em Off, Green event) 

Mark your calendars, now! Check 'Em Off, Green will be December 1st this year.

December (talking about reducing holiday waste associated with gift-giving via buying local, reusing, etc.)

January (talking about waste reduction through swapping unwanted items online) 

We also have been having an issue with extraneous amounts of needles found in the recycling stream, so I did a news segment on that as well. (One note: the # of needle sticks quoted in the segment is incorrect unfortunately (or, fortunately depending on how you look at it) The # of people getting stuck by needles is more like 1 per month.)

Special thanks to KPTV for helping us get out the waste reduction message.

Waste less this holiday season

Using these tips/tricks:


For me, the time of year when I buy the most "stuff" is, hands down, the holiday season. I'm sure most of you can probably relate. I remember when I first started really "getting into" waste reduction thinking to myself, "Yeah, but to purchase sustainably around the holiday season is going to be near impossible." Fast forward to this season and I can honestly say that every one of my gifts has some (or a lot of) green cred. Most of my wrapping will also sport that claim. In the spirit of giving, I want to share some tips/tricks that have been helpful to me. (And invite you to share your own in the comments section below.)


You've heard me talk about the waste reduction hierarchy before. We're going to use that hierarchy to look at our gift-giving choices. 


REDUCE:
To reduce is to not buy stuff or make waste in the first place. 

A giraffe relaxes in the sun at Oregon Zoo

• For the person who is impossible to buy for, instead of buying stuff, give money to their favorite charity in their name. Are they an animal lover? Perhaps the Humane Society would be a good choice. If they or a loved one have been affected by an illness, donating to research for a cure is a nice way to say you care about them. 
• One of the best ways to reduce our consumption of "stuff" is to give experiences. Giving a membership to the zoo or OMSI not only eliminates material goods, but encourages families to spend more time together. Or, you could give babysitting for a night to a family with a new baby or offer to take your nephew to a football game. Whatever your family members enjoy, try to find a way to allow them to enjoy that experience.
• If you're looking to reduce packaging or the environmental cost of buying something produced out of your area, Etsy can be a great option. Etsy is an online marketplace of handmade products. Often, these products are made with recycled or reused materials. They also allow vintage items, which fall into the category of reuse.
• Buy durable: The better built a product in the first place, the less likely it will be to break down. If it doesn't break down, you eliminate the need to buy a new one. Often, spending more initially for quality will pay for itself down the line when you still have the product years later. (and you don't have to relearn how to use that new toaster!) When something does break, consider repairing instead of throwing away. For that matter, do you have someone in your life that loves shoes? (I think most of us do....) a gift idea for them would be to find a local cobbler and purchase a gift certificate. Keeping their favorite shoes walking another day will eliminate the resources associated with a new pair.
• When wrapping presents, consider reusing comics or other paper. (and thus reducing the need for new wrapping paper.) With a little sewing skill, you can also create some reusable fabric bags. I'm very surprised by how well my family has taken to this idea. Now, the bags are usually considered a part of the present and they make an appearance the following year. 

REUSE:

When we purchase or gift a reused item, we're automatically cutting the environmental footprint of that item in half. (by eliminating a new item from being manufactured, transported, etc.) The more an item is reused, the lighter the load on our planet's limited resources.

• Give the gift of thrift. Shopping at local thrift stores can be an adventure and can result in significant money savings. If you know someone who is a thrift store junkie, many stores have gift cards. 
• Ebay: Lots of the items on Ebay are actually "new" and the site can also be a great place to find something like that scent that your mom loves but they stopped making or that last glass that completes the set your sister loves, but Uncle Stewart broke last season. 
• Craigslist: What's better than reusing *and* keeping it local. If you're concerned about the safety of Craigslist, there are lots of common sense tips/tricks to avoid being taken advantage of. 
• Swap sites: One of my favorite swap sites is Goozex. You send movies and video games that you're no longer using to other members and receive points based on the value of the sent items. Then, you're able to use those points to get used items from other members. Many swap sites work in this same way and there are lots of different sites out there (for things such as books, clothes, children's items, jewelry, etc.) I have a list (unfortunately, has not been updated in quite some time) of many swap sites. But, if you're wondering if something can be swapped, just do a simple search for an appropriate swap site. If it has value, chances are you'll find a site on which you can swap it.

RECYCLE:

Lastly, recycling is always important. We have two duties as consumers. The first (and most obvious) is to recycle everything that is acceptable in our recycling systems. The second, though, is to close the recycling loop by buying products with recycled content. If no one values recycled content, the market for those products dies and recycling (and all the associated savings in water, energy and pollution) die with them.

• As mentioned earlier, many products on Etsy (or at a local bazaar or artists market) will have recycled content. This keeps these items (that may not have a strong traditional recycling market) out of the landfill. 
• Purchasing recycled content can be tricky, but is not impossible. One company that I think has a strong environmental ethic and has many options for purchasing recycled fibers is Patagonia. They also have a fairly new (launched Black Friday, 2011) intiative in which they encourage all steps of the waste reduction hierarchy. 

So, what about you? What waste reduction ideas have you implemented that you're particularly proud of? What would you like to try next season? What are your concerns about waste reduction in gift giving? What are some barriers that you think have kept you or others from implementing waste reduction techniques around the holidays? 

Reuse in Action (photos)

So, last night at Green Drinks, I was guilted about not publishing to my blog. (You know who you are!) ;) (Actually, it's good for me to have a little push sometimes.)

Anyway, I thought I'd be really lazy and post some of the many reuse pictures I've taken over the years and never got around to posting. And, since a picture is worth 1,000 words, I figure this will buy me some time with the guilt-tripper mentioned above. ;) Enjoy!

A rain barrel/water treatment system made from
a large jug. (I'm assuming this is
reused, but admit it may not be.) 

A silk tie made into a doggy collar. Classy!

A handbag made from a Monopoly board.
You can also see a few others in the photo.
The one to the left is an old Pente board game. 

If you like these types of items, you should definitely check out Check 'Em Off, Green on Nov. 12th at the Marshall Center. We've brought together 65+ vendors who have wonderful items like these. This holiday season, replace "cheap crap from China" with wonderful handmade goods/experiences purchased from your community!

That's it for now. But, I have more awesome reuse photos to share with you all, so check back soon.
-The Reuser

#PurJuly follow up to day 1

Remember the frame glass from Day 1? This post that shows them upcycled makes me even happier I purged them. They were just sitting around, taking up space in my house and now they're beautiful glass plates. Excellent!

#PurJuly day 5

I picked up sewing for a few reasons. It's a good skill to have in order to be able to repair your own clothing and other textile items. I'm able to make my own reuse projects, like a pillow for the dogs made from a ripped blanket or a drawstring bag from the leg of old boxer shorts. I'm also able to make reusable fabric gift bags (hat tip to my Green Drinks cohort, Laura for the idea.) which my family covets in a strange yet satisfying way. Special thanks to friends Amanda and Sister Diane for helping me get started with sewing.

Today, I purged half of this basket of sewing goodies that I bought at an estate sale. The whole basket cost me .75 (I know!) but I hadn't ever put the time forth to go through the basket and find out what I got for my large investment. I knew there were enough things in it to make it worth the purchase and I also knew there was some stuff I'll never use, so this was a nice excuse to go through it and separate everything.


When I'm faced with large amounts of items that I need to go through, I like to make 3 piles-keep, purge and maybe. Then, I count the maybes and split them down the middle. For me, it's an efficient set of rules that helps me make the decisions.

In this case, I only had 2 items that fell into the maybe pile and everything else was pretty straightforward. I have no idea what those little green things with animals woven into them are, though. Anyone recognize these?  I thought they might be kinda nifty as a quilt addition (In the picture, they're folded into thirds, but they're all actually squares) but I'm not a quilter, so I ultimately had to just purge them. Hopefully they'll find love in someone else's hands.

The final purge:

#PurJuly day 1

Day 1:

And I'm already cheating. This item is something I purged last weekend, but it's because I *had* to purge it then, because the artist that I gave it to was in town. So, I think that's a valid excuse for cheating. Rules are meant to be broken, right?

These glass pieces were left over from my upcycling project last year. I made jewelry organizers from thrifted frames, corkboard and fabric, but had much* of the glass left over. When Recycled Arts Festival rolled around this year, the organizer asked me to facilitate an artist material exchange. We worked with 2Good2Toss to set up a special section of their website dedicated to materials artists could give away, sell or solicit for. I put my glass on there and was emailed by one of the artists. I luckily remembered to weigh my glass before I loaded it up and it weighed (a surprising to me) 11 lbs! I found Naomi in the park and then had to go back later to take a pic, because I forgot that part. :D Thanks Naomi! I hope the glass works well for your project.

1 down, 30 to go...

*A little story about the glass: We have a framed picture of our logo for Vancouver Green Drinks. At Check 'Em Off Green last year, some rambunctious kids were running around the easel holding the frame. They knocked it, it dropped and shattered. Besides it being a huge mess, I was upset that we would have to find a new frame or go without. Then, I remembered that I had all these pre-cut pieces of frame glass at home and sure enough, had the right size for a replacement.

PurJuly item tracking

We now have 10 people participating in the #PurJuly challenge! So exciting! There's still time to sign on to the challenge.

An interesting side benefit is that I've learned that spreadsheets on google docs can be easily filled out by multiple people. Witness, this form. This is a simple way for anyone partaking in the challenge to log their daily purged items. Awesome. (Ok, yes, I'm a geek...)

If you don't see your name in the drop down menu, just let me know and I can add it. (Or, if you prefer, you can use the Anon sign-in.)

I will post a link to the spreadsheet of data, once it's filled out a bit. I'm getting excited (and a teeny bit nervous, too...)

Here's to de-cluttering in the month of July!

Recycled Arts Festival Tossed and Found experience

The last weekend in June is the award-winning Recycled Arts Festival in Vancouver, WA. This event is totally amazing-A wonderful way to see the creativity from artists all over the region. (This year the festival features 108 artists!!!) Get a jump on your holiday shopping!

One of the unique aspects of the festival is the Tossed and Found booth. 

"I can't believe someone threw that away!"
Pictured are actual items from the 2011 collection.

The tossed and found experience offers a glimpse into what people are disposing of at the transfer station. Items are collected at the transfer station for about 2-3 months prior to this event and displayed for the public to view. Following the event, everything will be donated to The Paws and Claws thrift store (The St. John's one on 52nd Ave.) where it will be available for purchase. Be sure to visit this display for an awe-inspiring glimpse into the world of waste and to learn about alternative disposal ideas. Make sure to pick up a copy of the Clark County Thrift Store Map!


The Tossed and Found Experience is brought to the festival by Waste Connections, Inc. and Columbia Resource Center.