Collaborative Earring Project with Industrial Grace Restoration

My friend Becky of Industrial Grace Restoration & I are collaborating on an earring project inspired by my Twins! Collection. Perfectly mismatched. We both like to work with found, salvaged, rescued and restored materials and both enjoy each other's work. Be sure to check out her blog and her facebook.

This was Becky's brilliant idea, she asked me if I'd be interested in a collaborative project like this and a few months later, I opened the mailbox to the tiniest, hand crafted box (from recycled materials of course! She had packed into it 12 single earrings, each very different from the other. Included was a sweet note with the instructions: to make a pair for each earring, keep 6 pairs for myself, send the other pairs back and send some new single earrings for her to make pairs.

How fun! It has taken me several more months to get back to my studio and supplies. I finally have the studio dug out and this is the first project I am working on.

Sweet note, tiny box and Becky's earring contributions

Becky's creative earring contributions, repurposed and salvaged materials galore (love it!) 

Round 1 of pulling beads and playing around with pairings. I love this part of the design process. 

After a couple of days of work here is my first batch of finished earring pairs.

  

   Some of the finished pairs, Becky's earrings are on the left and mine on the right of each pair. 

All 12 pairs finished! What a colorful collection full of interesting textures and spatial plays. Lots of rescued, repurposed, salvaged and some new materials too! Becky's creations are at the left of each pair and mine are to the right. 

YazBerry Jewelry Collection: Urban Vintage

The Urban Vintage Collection is the modern mash-up of my earth loving, recycling fanatic self and my vintage loving, fashionista self. It features found objects, metal components with yummy patina and verdigris, salvaged vintage elements from discarded clothing and jewelry, carefully paired with new findings and elements. Reduce, reuse, recycle, fashion. Raw, modern, edgy, industrial, yet elegant and sophisticated. Urban vintage may sound like it contradicts itself but it's that contradiction that makes its beauty. Many pieces have sold but some are still available on my facebook page and on my Etsy shop. Loving this look but not seeing quite what you desire? Fear not, you can contact me and share your ideas and I can create a custom piece for you.

YazBerry Spring Candle Holders - Right on Trend



Star Tribune

Periodically I get important phone calls from my dad about newsworthy info of which I may be interested. This article was one of those calls. Found last week in the Star Tribune Variety section, a DIY on candle holders made from salvaged furniture springs. The full article can be viewed online here.

Just a couple weeks before I made some YazBerry salvaged spring candle holders. Mine feature very heavy springs and thick teal blue salvaged antique telephone wire insulators as the candle holder. I agree with Designer Kim Yeager of Lark Nest Designs, they can double as bud vases!

YazBerry Fashion Salvaged Spring Candle holders/Vases

Stop in The Local Joint in Northfield, MN to buy a YazBerry Fashion candle holder/vase and save yourself the hunt for the parts as springs aren't as readily available as t

+he article makes them out to be. These springs are the first I've seen in my years of flea marketing.

*Images from the Star Tribune article are copyright their respective owners.

Rescued materials, travel inspired design, functional fashion

(Exerpt originally found on my Etsy.com "About" page)


YazBerry will leave people asking you where you got it!

I was the kid growing up selling dried wild flower bouquets to the neighbors from my wagon. I've always been most content working on creative projects. Sewing, drawing, painting, coloring, building things...One of my favorite games was "business"; I had a wooden box filled with fax cover sheets and blank receipt books.

While in college I had my first run with clothing design. Working in the costume shop at the Skidmore Theatre, my creativity was put to the test creating costumes from thin air based on an idea from the director. I then produced two collections for student fashion shows.

BA in hand and a day job to boot Etsy crossed my path. *light bulb* the perfect outlet for the creative working person. Of course I dream of quitting my day job like most Etsians, but for now the bills must get paid and Etsy is the perfect forum to run my business while I sleep.

I have been transient the last *ahem* nearly a decade; each space I have lived in I have always made room for a studio. My current studio is a dark walk out basement filled with yellow lights and borrowed furniture. My living and creative space are woven into and on top of one another. It works. I thrive in organized chaos.

My favorite materials are discarded clothing found in secondhand shops. Textiles inherited from retired friends and family. Found objects from flea markets and the beach. My absolute favorite thing is to determine the limitations of a discarded item, discover its potential and work it into a functional piece of wearable art.

YazBerry is in essence, a grand recycling experiment; manifested in the form of wearable art. I am a first generation "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" student and have found it is one of my guiding mantras in all that I do in life. Always finding ways to reduce my impact on the ecosystem and preserve the beauty around us for those to come after.

At the moment I am mostly flying solo on the YazBerry frontier. At times my generous fiance will help with the online shop. My number one fan and best sales person. My mom also helps at art fairs.

I always carry a small notepad and pen with me. I never know when something will catch my eye, inspire a design and need to be captured before my short term memory allows it to float on the wind. I am particularly inspired by architecture, eye catching color combinations in ethnic textiles and the artisan craft of peoples around the world.

I rarely make the same item twice. It feels like a chore and I want your YazBerry creation to be singular in this world. I stand by the promise that YazBerry will leave people asking you where you got it!

Enjoy!

Virginia Berry

Designer * Creator * Picker * Maker

ArtScraps; Recycling, Thrifting & Art Supplies. Heaven!

I spent the afternoon at a true St. Paul, MN treasure (which having grown up in MN I am shocked, appalled and totally bummed and I hadn't heard of before this month). ArtScraps is a self described "reuse store". It stocks industrial seconds, scrap, samples, donated supplies, bits and bobbles intended to inspire and supply the artist. Part brilliant recycling plan, part treasure hunters paradise, entirely great, economical place to find unique art supplies. I am in love!

If you live anywhere in driving distance from the Twin Cities, and like to make things, ArtScraps is not to be missed. The prices can't be beat. For someone like myself that scours antique shops, junk shops, flea markets and other dusty confines, this is a great place to shop because chances are most of what they stock may be what I'm looking for.

ArtScraps is run by ArtStart an arts education organization. Here are some pics of my loot. Thrilled and looking forward to creating.

Upholstery samples. Leather samples. Vintage buttons. Jewelry making bits.

The Average American Doesn't Wear 25% of their Clothes

Sustainability is a passion of mine. I obsessively reduce, reuse and recycle. I'm always excited to discover new ways to increase the sustainability of our planet. This week I discovered an interesting website taking a fresh approach to sustainability.

If you're not quite ready to exchange your clothes in a clothes swap, like I described recently, this site is the solution for you. This site allows you to exchange item for item, based on similar value/style etc. instead of you gambling on finding something you like at a clothes swap. thredUP.com is a Harvard Business School student's answer to the 25% of underutilized assets in our closets.

This is a free service in which members can upload descriptions of the clothes they aren't using. They then rank them based on trend, brand, price etc. thredUP uses these characteristics to find matches in the member database; people who wear the same size or have similar taste. For more specific details, check out their FAQ

What happens once you have a match? You and your match exchange clothes through the mail. If you are looking for an even more focused exchange, they offer account upgrades that allow you to see more specific items before you do an exchange.

My recommendation: start here if you're not sure swapping is for you. Once you get addicted, come join us at clothes swaps and enjoy the sustainable treasure hunt that they are!

Newest Recycling Transformation Project

I am fortunate to live in an area with people from many different countries. Which makes visiting the thrift shops fun. I find all sorts of gorgeous garments from other countries. This one is actually a child's size, but has beautiful ornate details. Like the Mola Bag, I knew this garment would become a purse the second I pulled it off the rack. Often fabric, garments and decorative items give me the inspiration for the design...as if the item designs itself.

Here is my latest recycling project. I turned this tunic into a fun triangular tote for everyday use. The liner is made from fabric from my Grandma's Legacy stash and the tote comes complete with pockets for small things, pens and two hidden pockets for secret treasures! Available now in my Etsy store, yazberryfashion.etsy.com

Sneak Peek at #2

The Trench Coat Project continues. #2 in this one of a kind collection features the brilliant (I think) marriage of the following two vintage garments. I am extremely excited for this recycled fashion project!

The Trench Coat Project

I like to think that out of every mistake is born a great idea. I recently completely ruined a vintage trench coat with bleach while trying to clean off a stain. Devastated, the recycler in me couldn't throw it in the scrap pile because of its fine construction and high quality vintage fabric. So after a week or two of stewing over what to do with it, I came up with The Trench Coat Project.

The trench coat project involves re-tailoring, distressing, adding to, modifying and otherwise updating vintage trench coats to take on a haute couture look and feel. Here is a sneak peek at the first trench coat victim:


Stay tuned in the next few weeks as I unveil the first trench coat!

Clothes Swaps: The Perfect Solution for Frugal Fashionistas

I felt inspired to share my sentiments on clothing swaps because I just discovered I have some link love on Miss Amy, The Bargain Hunter Extraordaniare's blog! Thank you Amy, your blog is fun and enjoyable. Be sure to check it out.

Her current post is about an interesting web based clothes swap Christina from Fabulocity in Amish Country is organizing amongst a group of fashion bloggers. Check out Amy's blog to read the details. What a fun idea. You should also take a peek at Christina's blog for some great outfits!

The above model is a much more organized clothes swap than I am used to and takes some dedication beyond what some frugal fashionistas may be up for, but think it could be a ton of fun. There are two clothing swap scenarios that I would like to recommend to beginning swappers and all frugal fashionistas.

One: the friend clothes swap. You get together with a group of your friends at one of your homes, munchies and bevvies highly recommended. I like to make a party out of any gathering :) Each participant uses the gathering as the best excuse ever for a closet clean out and brings a bag...several bags of their clothes to exchange with the other friends.

The best scenario is if all of you wear about the same size give or take a size or 3 in either direction. Even more fun is if you are each slightly different body shapes cuz something from your closet that looks awful on you might actually look awesome on your bff who has wider hips and shoulders.

The next model is one of my favorites and is soooo much fun too! Miss Punky of Punky Style organizes huge versions of this clothing swap model in the Boston & Worcester MA areas. She actually just teamed up with Melissa of ShoeString Magazine (an excellent source for all things frugal, thrifty and budget friendly) to start a group for clothes swaps. Follow them on twitter @theswapaholics for news on clothing swaps and more!

The large scale clothing swap model requires a large public space, some advertising and a team of people to collect the clothes before the start of the swap and sort them. Best bet is to have a drop off earlier in the day...say 9 AM to 10:30 AM. Then open the swap for collecting the clothes at 11:30 AM. This is the basic idea.

More elaborate ideas include collaborating with area vendors and offering discounts and giveaways to swap attendees to check out in the time between drop off and swap open. Check out the Swapaholics for insight on some of the collaborative models.

Bottom line, clothes swaps are awesome. I personally have acquired some amazing pieces, name brand, vintage, mint condition, rare, unique gorgeous goodies from the clothes swaps I've attended. I am a huge advocate of clothes swaps. Try it!

Recycle, reuse, repurpose and relove clothes :)

Sick of Throwing Away Plastic Every Time You Buy Apples?

As a child born in the 80's I was one of the early recipients of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" programming. It stuck. Which is good. I remember in venues ranging from school to summer camp, receiving kid friendly education on the subject.

I'm known to pause for a moment to consider whether when given the choice to use a paper towel or electric hand dryer, which uses more resources and costs more to produce. I still do no know this answer. If you do, please enlighten me, it will shorten the length of my public restroom visits greatly. I have a similar dilemma with paper towels versus paper napkins in the office...which costs more to produce and uses more resources. And a never ending dilemma of which is better, paper or plastic. I'm working on bringing reusable bags to the grocery store.

I find myself obsessively recycling. I put my receipts into my wallet not for keeping track of my finances but rather to later recycle them. I'm a very avid sandwich bag reuser and plastic bag recycler. In a house with three cooks, we end up with lots of plastic bags (again...we are working on remembering our reusable grocery bags...it's getting better). I have even been on a personal campaign for the last few years to not put my produce in those "thrown-away-as-soon-as-you-get-home" produce bags, not a fan, on the poison list, gets upset when the bagger puts my produce in a produce bag anyway.

Last week however, my delicious, in season, perfectly ripe nectarines were massacred by the rest of my groceries! Crisis. Then I remembered I'd seen an Etsy artist with these cute mesh reusable produce bags a while back. Accordingly, Etsy being my source for all things good and desirable (aka handmade) I set off on a quest to find these produce bags and any other earth friendly, food protecting devices.

Below are eight of my favorites, with links to each in their respective stores.



Row 1 left to right: GrannyBJ, cottontopquilts, amyroseberlin, xunca
Row 2 left to right: amkdesigns, alohaokaaina, LoveForEarth, ficklefaerie

ROW 1: GrannyBJ's crocheted bags expand nicely to accommodate several fruits or veggies. cottontopquilt makes wonderful reusable sandwich bags. amyroseberlin uses a flexible mesh material with a satin drawstring and hand printed patches. xunca uses simple cotton muslin and gives you the option of having a graphic printed on it and to select the sizes you would like.

ROW 2: amkdesigns includes with her mesh produce bags a handy storage case with a convenient hook that you can attach to your reusable grocery bags. alohaokaaina uses nylon which is both waterproof, super light, and fits into a really small space so it's easy to transport. These are great for storing dry goods too. LoveForEarth uses netting with matching satin ribbon drawstring which slides easily. They offers two sizes in your order. ficklefaerie caters to the fashionista with color coordinated nylon mesh bags and matching storage pouch. She offers sets of six with varying sizes and different color options.

Remember, the "three R's" (it's not reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmatic anymore): REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!

Note: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle image found at: http://www.magsonline.com/Green.aspx