Introductions

[#1]

Please introduce yourself & your shop below. Welcome to the team! :)

[Former_Member]

Hi, my names Nicola, I make candles out of eco friendly soy and recycle all the containers for them, I try to find interesting material in local charity shops as well, so I guess you could say I might haunt them a little bit. Anything that can be re-used ill use it. Check out my page. Also on fb and Twitter x

[JuRocks]

Hello, and thanks for the invite.
It's great to see so many like minded people!
My love of upcycling other peoples rubbish came about while at art school as a away of lowering my materials costs and this love has been flourishing ever since. I mainly make chalkboards from kitchen doors but also beads, cushions and boot racks all from found or preused materials. Hopefully 2014 will bring even more variety.
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/158074806/rustic-white-solid-wood-framed?ref=shop_home_active_8

[Former_Member]

Hi, and thanks for the invite! This looks like just the sort of team I was hoping to be a part of! My name is Sarah, and I am the designer and maker of everything you will find in my Etsy shop. I make homewares from re-purposed and vintage textiles, making cushions, placemats and bunting from clothing, curtains and bedding.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SarahHoneychurch

I love to take jeans with holes in inconvenient places, woolly jumpers that have shrunk in the wash and shirts with invincible coffee stains, and turn them into something new and exciting! My designs are rustic, eco-friendly and vintage-inspired, and no two things are exactly alike.

Looking forward to networking with fellow eco-crafters in the UK!

[KarenVallerius]

Hello from me & thanks for inviting me to the team

I have been selling vintage for a few years now & am trying to change direction & develop the handmade side of my business here on etsy to offer gorgeous vintage inspired jewellery, flowers, art dolls & bags handmade using vintage textiles & stitched with a smile

I am really interested in vintage crafts, especially needlecrafts, & have a massive collection of books & magazines dating from around 1900 through to the 70s so please get in touch if you are looking for any vintage craft articles & I will try to help

Thanks again and (slightly belated) Happy New Year everyone
Karen x

[Former_Member]

Hi

I am super new to this Etsy thing but I upcycle things from fabric that I source from charity shops, house clearances - anywhere really as long as it is good quality and super cute!

I am selling over at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/daydreamssunshine

Nice to be here and looking forward to linking with you all. I also sometimes sell via facebook and am on www.facebook.com/daydreamsandsunshine.

Thanks for the invite :)

[Former_Member]

Hallo!

Thank you for the invite!

I mainly sell vintage and upcycled vintage items although constantly thinking and looking at doing other things for myself aswell.

Totally obsessed with Deer, Flamingos and anything pink and glittery!

:)

[NaturalClocks]

Hello everybody! Thank you for the invite :)

Not everything I make is upcycled or recycled, but I do so whenever I can. I'm lucky to live near the coast, so whenever I find a good bit of driftwood I turn it into a clock. I also recycle some fabric to make clocks with, two examples in my shop are an old tartan scarf and an old pair of jeans. Not sure if using real leaves, pebbles, pine cones etc that I find and collect in my whereabouts qualifies as upcycling though :)

Thanks again, I look forward to being part of this team and discover some great upcycled items!

[Former_Member]

Hello,

Thanks for inviting me to the team. I make new jewellery from old and broken bits and bobs. I've been doing it for years, I've always called it up-cycled, but people kept on labeling it as Steampunk, so I went with it, but not all my pieces are steampunk, it just kind of goes along with the ethos of new from old. I am starting to think that I should stick with the up-cycled moniker, as there are so many makers out there that just use vintage looking things, which is great for them, but the reason I started doing what I do, was that I liked that things have a history, a secret story of another life before now, and making new from old is very important to me.

Anyways, I ramble, thanks again for the invite. My new years resolution is to be more active with Etsy and blogging trying to see if I can make more sales, other than the one every couple of months, so hopefully this will help me be a better networker!

Cheers

[Former_Member]

Hi

Thanks for inviting me to join the team! I make bags, purses and jewellery from upcycled and vintage fabrics.

When I'm not making bags I spend my spare time searching out new fabrics to work with. I'm really in to vintage kimono fabrics at the moment. I struggle to find the time to fit everything in around my day job but will hopefully have some new listings soon!

[QuirkyGirlWorkshop]

Hi there
My name is Paula, I love making jewellery, cards and wind chimes or what ever takes my fancy out of sea glass (and other bits and pieces I find on the beach) recycled beads, ribbon, semiprecious gemstones and broken jewellery.
At the moment I have only got jewellery for sale in my Etsy shop.

[Former_Member]

Hey, thanks for the invite. I'm very eclectic and love to make anything and everything. After reading way too many etsy articles on how to have a 'cohesive shop' I decided only to list jewellery (made with reclaimed beads), however I have recently decided to scrap the 'cohesive theory' (as it is rather boring) and will soon be listing all of my eco friendly makes. I especially love to make books and dolls. I live in Durham, have 6 children (5 girls, 1 boy) and my goal for 2014 is to learn how to use the sewing machine that I forced my husband to buy me for Christmas. I am also very excited to be part of this group :-)

[DandyHill]

Hello and thanks for inviting me to join your team.

Re cycling has always been a passion of mine and I love to find different uses for every day items. I love trying out different crafts but have stuck to sewing for a few years now, I just adore all the vintage patterns. I live down in Cornwall with a sea view which is great but slightly distracting!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/20ethCenturyGirl?ref=si_shop

This is my shop, hope to see you soon!

[Former_Member]

Hello everyone and thanks very much for inviting me!

I make jewellery from upcycled denim and vintage printed material (plus some customised shorts). My pieces are quite grungy and colourful. I love experimenting with dye and pairing different patterns together and I suppose my jewellery is kind of a capsule version of an on trend vintage outfit. I want people to be able to look at one necklace and see a whole outfit/era/style which can reflect their own overall style and dress sense, and which hopefully people will enjoy wearing to bring something unique to their outfits.

I just love 80's and 90's prints and fashion and searching for special items in charity shops, but I wanted to do something different to just putting a vintage outfit together. I love jewellery making in general and I also make beaded bridal jewellery (although that's not upcycled -(http://elizabethrhodesbridal.wordpress.com/). I also love drawing and knitting and drooling over craft books!

I have a Like Never Before blog (http://lnbdesign.wordpress.com/), which I update regularly, and would love to start including more makes/guest bloggers/how-to's.

Look forward to getting involved and getting to know you all!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LikeNeverBefore

[Former_Member]

Hi Thanks for the invite to this group. We're called Beach Purl, a.k.a Emma and Jay and we produce mix media work from recycled, reclaimed and found objects and materials from Heysham, UK. Looking forward to reading future posts.
Jay x

[EvaGiftedHands]

Thanks for inviting me to the team!
I am Ewa, Polish designer living in UK
For my work I use vintage typewriters, old watches, pen nibs, maps , books and photos
I try to show a beauty of vintage technology!

[FuNkTjUnK]

hi everyone
Im Kelly - living in the midlands - my shop is an extension of me really -
always creating and crafting things for gifts and around the house
Great to be in a team of like minded people

[Former_Member]

Hello all and thank you for inviting me to join your team.
I look forward to chatting to everyone and hopefully gaining some knowledge from you guys :-)

[IdentityPapers]

Hello, Thanks for the invite - I'm Linda, based in Basingstoke in Hampshire, and I make about half my products with upcycled content. I make origami boxes with repurposed book pages and other found print.

The other part of Identity Papers is wallpaper design and make. I work bespoke but also have a small ready collection. I may split the shops at some point, but there are connections running right through - the use of typography and image seems to work across it all. The wallpaper products and wraps are made with printing companies, so the recent change of rules has allowed me to put my whole range on here - I'm so glad!

I only started to upload on the site in November so a real Etsy Newbie. I'd love any advice.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for inviting me to this team! My name is Cathy and I run Five Little Diamonds, we sell vintage but mainly upcycled plates and handmade jewellery. I make jewellery using upcycled Littlest Pet Shop toys and Iwako Erasers, and recently I've started creating bespoke plates, by creating my own images and sayings, and using retro images too from old cards etc to decorate vintage plates. It's a lot of fun and they are lovely gifts too!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/FiveLittleDiamonds

[Former_Member]

hi!
i've just joined the team :-)
i've been on etsy for a while with different shops, but i've just started doing upcycled clothing for my Ravens' Nook store.
this is mainly hand dyed pre-worn items, embellished with vintage lace, fabric and buttons! i would love to hear what you think! :-)
charlotte. x

[Pookledo]

Hi there,

I'm Sarah and I upcycled whatever I can to make jewellery. Old broken jewellery, keys, wire, buttons etc.

I look forward to taking part in the team :)

[SewKura]

Hi,

At Sew~Kura I use re-cycled, up-cycled, repurposed, vintage, remnant and donated fabrics to make lovely unique one-off individual accessories. I like to think that every piece has a bit of history or a story to it as well as helping to reduce our carbon footprint.

I specialise in handbags, purses, clutch bags, tote bags, coin purses and have recently introduced cushions & cushion covers too all in gorgeous colourful fabrics.

Thank you for inviting me to be part of the team :)

[FussyGeekWares]

Hi I'm Dayz, I'm from Birmingham and I like to upcycle. I started adding bits into the jewellery in my first shop back in 2008 and it progressed into this shop.

I am a games tester by day and crafter in my spare time but I would love to go back to playing games in my spare time so I can craft all day. :)

I recognise a few faces in this thread and look forward to getting to know the ones I don't know too. :)

[PaintMeNewShop]

Morning! Thanks for inviting me to join your team. I paint, repurpose and sell unloved home decor items, particularly jewellery boxes, using Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. I offer a custom service where I will source a jewellery box and paint it in the client's chosen colour, add fabric of their choice and personalise with an initialled wooden heart. I have a full time job as a web designer so only get time for my little shop evenings and weekends, but one day....

Looking forward to sharing tips and ideas with you all.

[Flextiles]

Thanks for inviting me to join the team! I'm a textile artist selling upcycled scarves, among other things. I transform them by dyeing them with indigo, using a Japanese technique called shibori, which is a kind of sophisticated tie dye.

I love the thrill of the hunt, and there’s a real sense of achievement in cleaning a cast-off and transforming it back into a desirable item by stitching, clamping or wrapping it in the indigo vat. And because each scarf is a different - fabric, colour, pattern - each piece is one of a kind: I couldn't repeat them even if I wanted to.

I look forward to seeing all your upcycled creations!