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The Art of Mending Clothes

1/6/2020

If you spend any time on Pinterest or YouTube, you may have noticed the ample number of videos showing embroidery techniques for mending clothes. You may have also seen some patches on jeans as a “new” trend. From the waste reduction perspective, this trend can be seen a positive. Per the Saturday Evening Post, in 2018, each US citizen throws away about 81 pounds of clothing and other textiles annually. The U.S. EPA estimates that textile waste fills nearly 9% of space within each landfill.
Some tips to help combat this waste:

Buy well made clothes that are going to last. That $5 t-shirt may seem like a good idea until you wash it and it falls apart.
Buy more staple pieces – ones that will not be out of fashion in a year.
Learn to mend – there really is no better way to personalize your clothes. From embroidery techniques, embroidered patches, fabric patches and shashiko you can express your unique style.
Imagine all the other things you could do with the money you just saved.

Bonus content - History: In the 18th century and earlier, the most expensive part of clothing was the fabric. For this reason, people would patch and repair garments as long as possible. If a garment was beyond repair, the stitching was removed, and the fabric was salvaged to be made into a new garment. If a garment was out of fashion, the material would be altered and restyled to match the latest trend. The first ready-made garment factory opened in New York in 1831. Sixty years later, 1861, approximately 60% of all clothing in the US was factory made and another 60 years down road, 1951 and 90% were factory made. In the past, clothing was still expensive, and people owned just a few garments. Making that clothing still valuable of patch and repair. Fast forward to today, nearly 100% of our clothing is factory made, relatively cheap and readily available.

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New Non-Profit Launched

11/25/2019

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I am happy to announce that I launched a non-profit for environmental awareness and education last month. Our mission is to provide inspiration and education to the community to empower people to preserve and protect the environment. Stay tuned for the website to launch at the3res.org. Please consider supporting out efforts when you shop at Amazon by using the link above.

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Burners Without Borders Micro Grant

10/5/2018

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We are so pleased and honored to announce that we were selected to receive a 2018 micro grant from Burners Without Borders. Thank you so much to the selection committee. This money will help us add another design and allow us to attend 2 more events this month to spread the recycling message! Read more about the grants and Burners Without Borders here.

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Plano Artfest

4/26/2018

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Recycled Rainbow will be at the Plano Artfest on April 28, 2018 with a new design. Come by to visit and make some art.

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Great American Clean Up 2018

2/1/2018

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Call for artists who use recycled materials in their work. Promote yourself at the Great American Cleanup post-event on April 14th, 2018. Crews will clean up litter in local areas. There is an after event celebration. We will bring the award-winning interactive art piece "Recycle Rainbow" and show recycled arts and crafts in a pop up gallery at the celebration. Submissions to [email protected]

The nitty gritty - if you would like your work to be featured at the event please send an email with a photograph of your work to [email protected]. Please describe what recycled materials you have used. You can have multiple pieces. This is a family friendly event.

Please email Rebecca if you have any questions. We hope to see you there! Thanks!

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The Artists at Great American Cleanup

4/10/2017

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At the Great American Cleanup after party in the City of Plano on April 8th, 2017, we had a booth highlighting local upcycle artists. The event was a great success because of these AMAZING artists. Please visit each one to learn more and purchase their one-of-a-kind creations.
Sheri Hall - Urban Printess
Sheri was able to come out to the event and show off her awesome jewelry made of found items and broken jewelry as well as her t-shirts made from a printing technique using manhole covers. You can see Sheri's creations at www.facebook.com/urbanprintcess/.
Timmy Martin - Upcycled Weaving
Timmy came out and did a fantastic basket weaving demonstration for all. Timmy's baskets are made from shipping straps and junk mailers. You can reach Timmy at [email protected] for more information.
Misty Moore - mistyamberart.com
Misty had a wide range of items she created, including purses made of cigar boxes, plarn, and even bicycle tires. A steampunk inspired mannequin was dressed for a night on the town in her outfit made of recycled bicycle tubes, the solar screen for a car, a steam punk corsage and jaunty hat made from a vinyl record, jewelry, computer and toy parts. Please visit Misty at www.mistyamberart.com to see even more of her amazing multimedia creations.
Jennifer Sereno - SusTaianable ART, Sites & Series
Jennifer expertly blends nature into her upcycled pieces that included a planter made from old wire, a picture frame, cut bottle, succulent and a ruler; and wall hanging made of slate, upcycled moulding, a mirror, and a crystal.
Jim Strauss - Upcycled Carpentry
Jim Strauss created the base for the bottle cap art project from old hammock frames and creates bookshelves, plant stands and birdhouses from old fence boards he collects from the curb. Jim can be reached at [email protected] and his work can be purchased from Re-Crafter.
Rebecca Archuleta - Re-Crafter
Rebecca represented Re-crafter by exhibiting a puzzle bowl, folded books, jewelry box made from broken jewelry, t-shirt rug, tie necklace and more.

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The Great American Clean Up - Plano, TX - April 8, 2017

4/10/2017

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Re-Crafter participated in the after party for the Great American Clean Up in Plano on April 8, 2017. We created an interactive art piece, a mural out of bottle caps. Caps have been collected over the past few months by friends of Re-Crafter and the City of Plano. People attending the event could come and select caps and place them into the mural following the color code. The kids seemed to have a great time and everyone was pleased with the final result.