In case you missed them, two recent stories about recycling clothing. Keep up the good work, Chicago! Your thrift shop racks seem to be overflowing. I wonder how other cities’ efforts compare to New York’s in this first report. New Yorkers Won’t Travel More Than Ten Minutes to Donate Clothes This September, New York City plans to [...]
July 1, 2010
Here’s an easy way to transform a long sleeve shirt into a summer blouse. To me, the finished product combines an old school Ship ‘n Shore style with a down on the farm look. If that doesn’t sound like you, no need to read further, though that last sentence reminds me of the unfortunate shirt [...]
June 28, 2010
I admire all of the great thrift store makeover tutorials around the web. My favorites are the ones that restyle old button downs into something fun, like a tank top or little girl’s dress. Since a number of readers come to Fine Diving site via search terms like “thrift shirt makeover,” this week I’m doing [...]
March 31, 2010
Round about this time last year, we had a warm spell, which is when I found a pair of Old Navy flipflops on the beach. Can you think of a better harbinger of summer? I took home the sandals – also listed as zorries in the dictionary, does anybody call them that? – to shine [...]
March 28, 2010
When it comes to making clothes, creativity can be its own reward. But when making clothes involves a fashion show, that’s when the fun starts. Earlier this month, the re:MAKE fashion show brought together the works of ten designers whose works represent the future of green, innovative fashion. The designers represented all levels of experience, from [...]
March 4, 2010
This week’s makeover transforms a cotton flour sack into a reusable grocery tote. I found the economy size sack for $1 at a rummage sale and thought the graphics would make a fun bag for hauling food from the checkout belt to cupboard. There was a small debate in the kitchen that a better use [...]
February 28, 2010
My name isn’t Whole Foods, and yours isn’t Trader (though, actually, it could be Joe). Yet, much as we hate to be labeled we use their reusable bags when we check out at the grocery store. Paper or Plastic? That’s so last decade. I’m going out on a limb here to predict that BYOB* is [...]
February 9, 2010
Beads made from Fimo clay. They start as blocks of colored clay. Pinches of clay are rolled thin as a straight pin, then arranged and rolled into one long roll (think pinwheel cookies). Then, the long rolls are cut and baked. Ahh, the fragrance of fresh polymer clay baking in the oven. These are the work of my [...]
February 2, 2010
As I posted in November, the average person in the U.S. disposes of 35 pounds of clothing each year, yet only 10 pounds are recycled. To help improve that statistic, Levi’s is teaming up with Goodwill to divert billions of pounds of used clothing from landfills. The jeans manufacturer is offering a 30% discount as [...]
January 21, 2010
This week I set a $10 limit to find a likely makeover candidate at the thrift store. I searched the Unique Thrift on Howard and Western in hopes of finding something interesting. Slim pickings in the furniture department — just two kitchen chairs. I ended up choosing a shirt from the long racks of men’s [...]
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July 11, 2010
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