Growing up around my grandmother, I saw her let very little go to waste. From washing out out containers to use as storage to converting a decommissioned school bus into a storage building, she could dream up a variety of purposes for what others wouldn't think twice about. I try to utilize much of the creative wisdom she passed along to me not only in my designs and packaging, but from day to day.
As a professional in the interior design field, it was disturbing to see the difference between eco-friendly practices preached versus real-life truths. There are very few reclamation programs practiced by companies for discontinued fabric and wallcovering books and samples. While some are donated to schools, most find their way to a local landfill.
Today, the vast majority of my designs incorporate fabrics reclaimed from the design office and vintage beads passed down from my grandmother's business. Even my packaging is now made from almost all recycled goods.
Recycled wallcovering and magazines are made into stickers. I iron-on the paper-backed portion of the fabrics to old dry goods boxes for the backer cards. And fabric strips tied around recycled paper kraft bags finish it off. Only the adhesives, the tissue paper that individually wraps each item inside, the business cards and the mailers are new. For those of you in the know, the notes and envelopes sent with orders are items that I've had on hand for years & vary from order to order depending on what remains!
To read more about breaking down the fabrics books, read article HERE>>>
To read more about easy DIY stickers, read article HERE>>>
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☮ ♥ flowers
-Kat.
