Why pay big bucks for the same casual shoes you see in every park, schoolyard, gym, or dorm, when you can strut in custom kicks? And why toss out those tired old hightops, when they’ve still got good life left in them?

Give ‘em new life and express your creativity, with a custom design job!

If you can peel-and-stick, you can do Sneakart stickers. Or go for the full sheet patterns… there are about a kabillion designs to choose from, and you can mix and match to create the look of trendy (and expensive) hand-decorated sneakers.

Totally waterproof, these sneaker skins stand up to regular use for a couple of months — or you can peel them off and make a change, any time you like.

Is graphic design your gift?

You can even upload your own artwork to the Sneakart site, to make truly one-of-a-kind footwear stickers. But that’s not all — “Creative design deserves to be rewarded,” they say. So you can choose to keep your designs to yourself, or submit your art to the shop.

If it’s accepted for the design Gallery, each time someone buys your design to customize their shoes, Sneakart will credit your account with 10% of the sale price. You can cash out your royalties payments via Paypal or roll it over to get more Sneakart stuff for yourself.

Puma Sneaker Art Contest

And here’s a sneaker art contest that’s running right now, for another chance to make your artistic talents pay off — or at least to win a free pair of customized Baskets:

Sneakart is running a competition with in conjunction with PUMATALK to find the freshest new designs around. Design exactly what you want to see on a sneaker and then you can make it real with sneakskin. All good artwork will be accepted to the Sneakart library and will earn royalties on any sales made. The winner will be chosen by PUMATALK and sneakart and will receive a pair of baskets exclusively customized with sneakskin in their design.

Your custom sneaker design can be created with any software or hand drawn, as long as you use the templates provided. Check out the sneakart tutorial for more information.

Made you look!
And well you might…

Just look at these lovely bags — handmade in family-run workshops in Portugal, from recycled Virgin airline seat covers and other tough stuff.

Limited edition bags, too, so you can feel special as well as virtuous: Only 2,000 Virgin bags have been made, recycling about 1,000 seat covers that were liberated to the handbag-fashion cause during a recent renovation.

My personal favourite is the sleek black Romero style, crafted from old car seat belts and bicyle inner tubes, and lined with recycled Virgin seat cover fabric.

Who knows what jet-setting celebrity might once have rested his world-famous backside on a part of your Worn Again handbag?

But here’s the big thing:

Worn Again is a social business which was set up not only to transform consumption and manufacturing patterns through production of goods made from recycled materials, but also to generate income for Anti-Apathy, a registered charity, kicking sustainable lifestyles butt since 2002.

In this case, the goal is to help Virgin Atlantic meet its goal of cutting the waste it sends to landfills by 50%, by 2012. And, of course, to create a tough and stylish line of handbags, messenger bags, and toiletry cases so you can tote your gear without juggling and dropping all over the place.

Win-win, I believe!
Bonus — just think of the fun of explaining where your bag came from!

[via Springwise; H/T Sharon Hurley Hall]

I’ve always sort of wondered about cradles and bassinets.

Adorable, yes, but you can’t really use a cradle for much, after the baby gets a couple months old and starts moving about.

What then? Pass it along, practically new, to someone else… Or find a place to store the extra bit of furniture until another baby comes along?

This is obviously the dilemma that the makers of the sustainable cardboard Eco Cradle had in mind:

Designed for the first few months in the home, the Eco Cradle is safe, light, easily assembled and disassembled and is made from over 60% recycled material.

The entire structure can be put together and taken apart again in a couple of minutes making it perfect for travelling and visiting the grandparents or family.

The Eco Cradle comes with European safety standard certificates. The structure is also protected by an eco-friendly non-toxic fire retardant.

Bonus, it should satisfy your inner puzzle-maker! Notice how the cradle comes apart to store flat? We may be seeing more of this sort of construction, to meet the needs of changing families, a green-leaning marketplace, and small living spaces. Find it (new!) at www.ecoutlet.co.uk.

I love some of the funky recycled stuff and general green goodness at EcoOutlet, but damn their blog for reminding me that it’s getting to be That Time of Year Again… Spring cleaning, I mean!

But let’s not think of that just now.

Let’s think of guilt-free eco-friendly frivolities to pretty up the garden… you know, for when the garden finally emerges from under the snow once again. Which I’m pretty sure it’s going to do… some time…

Reclectic Garden Lanterns

Made from the waste and recycled materials that result from the production of aerosol and soda cans in India, the Reclectic Lanterns are all produced using different remnants and mis-printed pieces so each one will be unique in appearance. — EcoOutlet

There’s just something about the idea of dressing up babies in soy fiber clothing that appeals to me — let’s not look into that too closely, shall we? — and I believe I’ve mentioned the BabySoy line before, a while back.

Well, we’re about ready for another dose of eco-friendly cuteness, for 2 reasons.

One, because BabySoy’s coming out with a new colour palette (eggplant)… a purple that’s much nicer than it sounds.

See?

And…

Reason number 2 for the baby gear browsing and gushing:

Your friendly neighbour Domestik Goddess in the final stretches of the exciting countdown to the arrival of the New Baby Great-Niece!

Yes, that’s right — great-niece, as in daughter of my adored and adorable big tall nephew….
(Wait, should that be grand-niece? Anyone know?)

How exciting is that?
Quite apart from making Auntie feel older-than-dirt, of course…

SIGG Switzerland, the company that makes my favourite reusable beverage bottle, is turning 100 years old — and they’re planning an online celebration with a great green theme, celebrity chat, and a chance to win a trip to Hawaii.

To mark this milestone, SIGG Switzerland, along with Laurie David’s StopGlobalWarming.org, will launch www.sigg100.com and explore the 100 Top Eco-Moments of the past century.

From February 11 – April 22, 2008 (Earth Day), SIGG will unveil 10 historical eco-moments every week.

Visitors to www.sigg100.com are invited to vote on the most significant eco-moments for a chance to win a free trip to Hawaii for the Kokua Festival, with accommodations provided for by Waikiki Beach Marriot Resort and Spa.

Environmentalist celebrities will be turning up to chat with site visitors, too, through a bi-monthly Q&A series. It kicks off with the Academy Award winning producer and author Laurie David on February 12th at 2pm PST.

Other chat hosts will include actor and activist Ed Begley Jr.; the Oprah Winfrey show and NBC Nightly News environmental contributor P. Simran Sethi; the founder of EcoFabulous.com and Domino Magazine’s eco-editor Zem Joaquin; and Executive Director of Healthy Child Healthy World, Christopher Gavigan.

This is a limited-time event, remember! SIGG’s 100-year celebration starts tomorrow, 11 February, and will wrap up on Earth Day, 22 April, 2008.

The green-living experts tell us that the average family could reduce their garbage by as much as one-third, just by composting kitchen scraps and other organic wastes. Looking at the foot-path worn down from the house to our own compost bins, I believe that waste-reduction estimate!

The worst part of composting, for me, is the stinky old plastic ice-cream containers I keep under the sink to collect the veggie peelings and crumpled tissues and spent tea-bags.

One of these days, I’m going to brace my wallet to get a stainless steel beauty… maybe even one like this Canadian-sourced unit that mounts right in a kitchen countertop.

I’d never heard of such a thing before, but HWHTPT was drafting up a kitchen plan just last week that called for Blanco Solon’s organic waste bin to be installed right beside the prep sink. The minute I saw it… well, there’s a new entry in my Kitchen Wish List scrapbook!

Why bother, you ask?

Because of the best part of composting.

While my garden sleeps away the winter months under a blanket of snow, our coffee grounds and carrot peelings are turning into a gorgeous rich soil amendment and fertilizer that’s light-years beyond anything the garden centres have to sell in their big plastic bags.

When spring comes, I’ll scoop out the oldest compost from the bottom of the bin and run it through a wire mesh to catch the finest bits in my wheelbarrow, then use that fine dark compost to get my young seedling plants off to a wonderful start on the growing season.

Frugal, green, and productive of food and beauty… vegetable waste is turned back into yummy homegrown vegetables. In my books, that’s as close as you can get to household magic!

Technorati Tags: kitchen, composting, containers

Our evironmentalist blogger with an eye for beauty, Pelf Nyok, has dropped by to introduce her latest find — an American artist who creates huge mandala wall pieces with other people’s throwaway plastic bags. The works are both colourful and green! ~ Jen

Plastic Artworks

A lot of things are being said about China’s recent announcement to ban the manufacture, sale, and use of plastic bags under 0.025 mm thick and to prohibit supermarkets and shops nationwide from handing out the sacks for free from June 1st.

And, apparently, Australia’s government also said recently that it hoped to phase out the use of plastic bags from the nation’s shopping centres by the end of the year.

With all the hoo-haas around the excessive use of plastic bags, it is heartening to learn that there are people who turn these plastic bags into beautiful art pieces!

Virginia Fleck began making artwork when she was a child and she eventually studied at Portland School of Art and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She has been the recipient of numerous grants and residencies including a fellowship for a residency and exhibition in Havana, Cuba.

My wall-sized mandalas, created from sections of used plastic shopping bags, analyze the activity of consumerism as a spiritual encounter. This visual experience of repetitive designs, indicative of meditative objects and advertising graphics, stimulates the viewer to yearn for more… Our hunger is insatiable; our fervor can be witnessed… Nirvana / paradise is easily obtained and owned…

- Virginia Fleck

Her work has been exhibited at Art Forum Berlin, Pulse Miami, Pulse New York, and Arte Fiera in Bologna, Italy. And she recently completed The Spin Cycle for Whole Foods World Headquarters and Mandala Constellation for the Dell Children’s Hospital. Her work appears in many prestigious collections including the Marino Golinelli collection in Bologna, Italy. In 2007, she was nominated for the Texas Prize, and won the juror’s award for the 2007 Texas Biennial.

Pelf Nyok, the author of The Giving Hands, is a grad-student who is trying to save the turtles, the environment and humankind. Charity, conservation and volunteerism are things that are very close to her heart.
pelf-ism is contagious!

It’s official — Elsewares is running moonshine. Not to worry, though, this kind of moonshine is perfectly legal…

The Moon Jar looks a lot like a traditional Mason jar used for canning preserves (or stashing hillbilly hooch) but look! It’s really a clever bit of lighting.

Wouldn’t this be great for the cottage or camp?

Equipped with a solar-powered cell and rechargeable battery, it soaks up the sunshine for 5 hours of energy-efficient LED glow. The light will come on automatically when it gets dark, but you can turn it off to conserve the power when it’s not needed.

A colourful wreath hand-sewn from sweater remnants gives an eco-friendly twist to a traditional holiday decoration, in one of the more imaginative recycling ideas of the season.

It reminds me a bit of those wreaths made with tied strips of plastic bags that I’ve mentioned before, but only in the sense of an unconventional material used to fill out the basic wire wreath armature — the sweater fabric makes these wreaths so much more warm and friendly!


And while we’re keeping old sweaters out of the landfill and turning them to a festive purpose, why not go for sweater-sewn Christmas stockings, too?

These stockings each have a tiny outside pocket to hold an extra-special small gift.

Round out the woolly winter decor with ball-shaped ornaments bound with colourful yarn — somewhere between a homemade toy for a very pampered cat, and the layer-wrapped gift balls that the Victorians so enjoyed.

All three style of decorations are found in the Eco Accents section at Viva Terra.

Yes, those clocks are one of a kind! That’s the beauty of handcrafted treasures that are magicked from mere trash…

Barak Barnoy’s stylish and eco-friendly wall clocks made of recycled aluminum come from Israel by way of the same fine folks whose African township-crafted recycled plastic bag roosters (you may remember) stole our hearts a few months back…

Wow! Imports buys only from the most ethical third world companies… because everyone deserves to be treated fairly, earn a livable wage and work reasonable hours, while working in a safe and pleasant environment.

Ron Askotzky, the artistic type who co-founded this family business with his brother Steve and wife Lisa, tells me they’re restocking even as we speak — and will be up to full inventory in the next two weeks, with lots more new fair-trade African beaded-wire animals and Christmas goodies.

Ron’s offering a 10% discount to Domestik Goddess readers throughout the Wow! Imports online store — and that’s in addition to free US shipping on purchases over $50.

Use coupon code DG10 to get 10% off your order.

Third world countries are plagued by high unemployment, poor education and diseases such as AIDS, so the crafters who produce our products benefit enormously from your patronage. You could send charity to a third world country, but providing someone with a job is even greater. As opposed to receiving a handout, having a job provides an individual with an invaluable sense of personal pride.

What could be more appropriate for a piece of art work created from found objects or recycled materials, than the figure of an caretaking angel?

Some of these angels will help to feed a hungry family in a developing country.

Some will help to care for helpless animals.

Some will bring a smile, or inspire an afternoon of laughter and family crafts.

And all of these angels make good and beautiful use of materials that would otherwise be wasted.

 
 
With each lovely blue Recycled Glass Angel purchased, The Animal Rescue Site will fund 14 bowls of food for animals living in shelters. Each angel is unique, created by a recycled glass cooperative and fair-trade imported from Guatemala.

Arncraft projects from Creative Kids at Home give ideas and instructions to challenge you to create new items from recycled materials, like this CD angel, created from an unwanted compact disc.

Disabled artisans at theBombolulu Workshop near Mombasa, Kenya, are employed, housed, and educated for their work in making jewelry, like this cheerful angel pin, from recycled materials.

“Each year we dedicate a week in December to Christmas crafts and baking, says Cheri, the TNfarmgirl. “This is a time for the boys to express themselves in a variety of ways, create handcrafted presents for family and friends and learn new cooking skills.”

Through the year, the family will collects items with crafty recycling potential, then pull them out for a big family craft bash. One year, they made lightbulb angels like this little cutie. You can leave her without the self-standing feet and hook her halo onto the Christmas tree, if you prefer a hanging ornament.

Recycled metal and wood pieces, together with found objects, take a turn as the hippest of folk art in these mixed-media angels. On the left, Angel Red Lace is by Tricia Courtney of Lemon Oak Studio. On the right is Tattoo, one of Elzabeth Frank’s Tin Can Angels series in carved wood, recycled tin, acrylic, and wax.

In my travels, I’ve seen some remarkable garden-art angels made from rusty angle-iron pieces that you’d never think could look so lovely… and a mosiac stepping stone with an angel motif, made from broken bits of patterned china… and years ago, the nursery school did something with toilet paper rolls and the coloured comic pages from the newspaper…

What recycled angels have you seen and admired — or made yourself?
Tell us about it in the comments, and do feel free to leave a link if you want to share a picture!