ECO GENDER
I realize I'm writing two blogs in a row about bags, but I LOVE BAGS. I love them for putting things in and carrying things in and sitting around my apartment thinking about all the things I could put in them, or carry in them... well, you know how bags work. I don't have to explain that to you.
Anyway, I'm not sure why this cool online shop that specializes in recycled, biodegradable, and all around eco-friendly bags (including stuff from Helen E. Riegle) is called “Eco Gender,” but it is, and it’s a great store, so who cares what they choose to call themselves? I don’t judge. Except that I think it’s weird. JK dude- free to be you, man, free to be you. Especially when “you” is all about closing the circle and recycling yourself into being a better person by buying eco-friendly bags.
www.ecogender.com
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
So I Have Baggage, Who Doesn't?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Orangyporangy Glad I Didn’t Say Bananaypanany?
ORANGYPORANGY
These bags made from reclaimed vintage materials are just about the cutest things ever, perfect for summer. Which I still totally believe exists. Somewhere. And they also have a line of vintage a-line skirts made from old-school polyester, which is a little less perfect for summer, but looks pretty fly, so
whatcha gonna do? (Their skirts remind me of summers spent in Portland, riding around on the bike I got for $5 at the Bins after having to wrestle it away from a Russian Orthodox guy- who was like 8 feet tall and no way would he have fit on that bike- drinking Pabst and l-i-v-i-n-‘. )
This stuff looks like Built By Wendy but costs way super less- esp. since a bunch are on sale right now.
www.orangyporangy.com
Friday, February 29, 2008
Back In Bag
ELLES BELLES BAGS
I just made an AC/DC reference, and I hope you appreciated it. Just like I hope you will appreciate how rad these bags made from vintage fabric and (sometimes) decorated with vintage jewelry are. They just don’t make crazy psychedelic fabric like they used to, and this girl knows it and has found some pretty sweet stuff to use for her recycled totes, handbags and clutches.
And with the simple basic design of the bags themselves, these amazing vintage fabrics are really allowed to shine- some of them are actually really beautiful, like paintings.
Anyway, I just think they are rad, is all. Radical. Totally rad.
www.ellesbellesbags.com
psychedelic freak-out time:
www.ellesbellesbags.com
Friday, February 22, 2008
Do You Cee Cee What I See?
CEE CEE WAS HERE
If you were to describe these evening bags made from recycled beer and champagne (fancy!) caps to me, I would probably secretly be sleeping while you talked because they don’t seem like they’d really be my thing. But there’s something about them- I like it. They’re sort of Punk Rock Posh.
So I guess the designer has the same can’t- throw- anything- away- especially- if- it’s- shiny affliction that I once suffered from (until I moved into a small apartment). But thank god she kept her affliction and has found a good use for her little trash treasures! Because where else would you find something to wear to the Head Bangers Ball?
www.ceeceewashere.com
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Hallelujah! Salvation Sacks!
SALVATION SACKS
Here are some seriously sweet little vintage looking bags. Salvation Sacks makes reconstructed handbags out of discarded and recycled materials, like vintage leather skirts and leather couches and old fabircs, and they use old belts for their straps, so it's all eco, all
the time. Each bag is one-of- a-kind, so don’t even try to be me and get the same one I have.
www.salvationsacks.com
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Being an Ecoist is Totally Sweet!
ECOIST
Ecoist handbags are so brightly colored and fun that carrying one will make you feel like a kid in a candy store. Made from recycled and discarded materials (that would have otherwise ended up in landfills) like candy wrappers, rice bags, soda can labels, and food packages, these bags/clutches/totes will have you going back for seconds. Ultra-stylish, functional, and environmentally friendly means you will be giving plenty of love as you make your way around town.
An added treat… when you purchase a bag, Ecoist plants a tree. Yummy!
www.ecoist.com
inflate your eco:
www.thegreenloop.com
www.shopequita.com
www.shopregeneration.com
www.weecanshop.com
www.orangelola.com
www.unicahome.com
www.vickerey.com
www.re-modern.com
Monday, January 14, 2008
Vy & Elle (Vi+nyl- get it?)
VY & ELLE
Vy & Elle makes bags out of billboards. And wallets. And computer bags. And key chains (why not?). And portfolios. And yoga bags. I have one of their yoga bags, and it looks great hiding behind my couch, gathering dust, because yoga is hard. But it's a shame I'm so lazy, because it's a pretty rad bag and deserves better.
The designers are also environmental activists, dedicated to educating businesses to become more eco-conscious through recycling and sustainable design.
www.vyandelle.com
carry it well:
www.ecoconsciousmarket.com
www.buygreen.com
www.monkeygrassonline.com
www.serendipityagain.com
www.thegreenloop.com
www.ano-ano.com
www.shoplulublue.com
www.bestartshop.com
www.redfishbluefish.com
www.peacefulcompany.com
oh Canada:
www.eco-handbags.ca
www.kiso.ca
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Keep on Truckin' with English Retreads
ENGLISH RETREADS
From the truck stops of Boulder Colorado comes the handiwork of Heather English, a vegan lady who went looking for a painless handbag and came back with a bag company of her own, called English Retreads. All of her products are made from vegan tires- not leather tires, like they do in Hollywood, but rubber tires, which make durable and presumably water proof (if not air-tight) handbags, messenger bags, bets, wallets and keychains.
www.englishretreads.com
roll on:
www.englishretreads.com
www.econsciousmarket.com
www.evo.com
www.heavensgatehomeandgarden.com
www.ebags.com
www.itsoutofhand.com
www.eco-handbags.ca
www.thegrroovymind.com
www.shophumanitaire.com
www.thegreenloop.com
www.cosmosveganshoppe.com
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Vintage Untamed, Tamed
VINTAGE UNTAMED
North Carolinian Liz Saintsing searches for vintage bags, belts, and textiles to transform with her artful screenprints of birds, underwater wildlife, and insects. But especially the birds, since they are her fave thing ever. Her Vintage Untamed line of accessories are made/transmorgafied by hand in San Francisco, where she lives and works.
www.lizsaintsing.com
places to go birdwatching:
www.lizsaintsing.com
www.reformschoolrules.com
www.oliounited.com
www.edgeofurge.com
www.thepaperdoll.net
www.thecandystorecollective.com
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
DIY, UCC Style
The Urban Craft Center (U.C.C.)
Okay, now crafting can be a very wasteful hobby (I'm sorry, but it's true- all the glues and materials can be very toxic) but real crafting can also be the path to eco-friendly, resource-preserving enlightenment by helping us to look at a pile of old shirts and see the possibilities for new and more awesome things to be made from them. Like, say, a purse made out of a shirt, or a shirt made out of a purse? Who knows!
The Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica is offering two classes this month involving the repurposing of old clothes and other items into delightful handbags and other useful things like pants. So if you live in the Los Angeles area, check them out.
www.theurbancraftcenter.com
The Urban Craft Center
3025 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404
310.828.1348 theucc@gmail.com
Friday, January 4, 2008
Again NYC, Again, Again!
Again NYC
Again NYC uses recycled and vintage fabrics to make super-sexy clutches and adorable laptop cases and useful shopping bags and funky handbags. Got it? They do it all. Something for everyone, and all made out of rescued or re-purposed materials from thrift stores and garage sales, all made in the U.S., and all awesome, all the time.
www.againnyc.com
do it again for the first time:
www.againnyc.com
www.thegreenloop.com
www.bagtrends.com
ww.etsy.com
www.kaightshop.com
www.econsciousmarket.com
www.shopmodify.com
www.hitchcouture.com
www.shopsetchi.com
www.greenwithglamour.com
England land:
www.fashion-conscience.com
www.devildoll.com
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Let Me Reiter8
Reiter8
Reiter8 (re-it-er-ate) is a good name for a company that reuses old sails to make stylish totes and wallets. Katherine Rasmussen bags are made from recycled sailboat sails which are in turn made out of extremely durable Dacron, and while each Reiter8 bag is different (some have giant stars on them!), there is a consistent style to them. And I like it.
www.reiter8.com
let's go sailing:
www.reiter8.com
www.etsy.com
www.elsewares.com
www.poppytalkhandmade.com
www.foundationgarmentsinc.com
www.eco-artware.com
www.shop2.aol.ca
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Super Love Mert
LOVE MERT
Melissa, owner and creator of Love Mert, makes cute, funky handbags out of vintage and recycled materials. She does this because she cares about the environment, and because, like many artistes, she probably suffers from an uncontrollable urge to create. She lives in the mountains of California, where she can look out on a world that is slightly less impacted, thanks to her efforts to reduce waste by reusing and recycling.
www.lovemert.com
Learn to love again at :
www.lovemert.com
www.delight.com
www.thegreenloop.com
www.etsy.com
www.shoporangebutton.com
Monday, December 24, 2007
Bags Not Bombs
JACK & MARJORIE
Can I just say “dang”? These bags are cool. Cool cool cool. Made from leftover military blankets, parachutes, and whatever else the military doesn’t need for killing people in foreign countries, these bags are chic, understated, and each one is one-of-a-kind. Meghan Parsons and Manuel Opp have found away to turn wool blankets into a wide range of retro-inspired handbags and accessories.
Fashion triumphs over war, at last.
www.jackandmarjorie.com
fight the good fight here :
www.etsy.com
www.oliounited.com
www.reformschoolrules.com
www.shopolivine.net
and of course
www.beklina.com and
www.thegreenloop.com
Friday, December 21, 2007
Come sail away, come sail away...*
RED FLAG DESIGNS
These are big bags, made out of old sails. From sailboats. Duh.
They kinda remind me of that quilted Chanel bag with the little “Cs” in the corner, that every girl in LA seems to be sporting these days.
Why are these guys called "Red Flag?" Are they commies? I dunno. They’ve got a nice little business going, so if they are communists, they suck at it. But they do not suck at designing cool bags out of re-used materials. At that they excel. See for yourself at:
www.redflagdesign.ca
you can also find these things at www.branchhome.com.
*Styx reference, okay?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
ASHLEY WATSON it’s a jacket, it's a bag!
ASHLEY WATSON
I have two Ashley Watson bags. This is because a) I’m obsessed with handbags, b) these bags rock, and c) once I got the first bag, I needed another bag to put the first bag in. Just kidding. I didn’t need another one, I just wanted one, because they are so cool looking and well-designed.
I wasn’t always into handbags-I used to use an old VCR bag, from the 80's, meant for actually carrying a VCR. But the bag had some drawbacks- the giant holes designed for the cords to go through made putting anything smaller than a football in my bag unadvisable. So now I’ve over-compensated, but at least I don’t have to feel bad, since these bags are made entirely from recycled leather jackets. Each bag is slightly different, depending on the color and cut of the jacket being reused. Mine is yellow. ;)
And purple. ;)
www.ashleywatson.net
You can try to be me by shopping at:
www.oliounited.com
www.shopfatal.com
www.shopolivine.net
www.beklina.com
www.kaightshop.com
www.yblifestyle.com
www.therapyclothing.com
