Bring Me Your Ripped Clothes

I remember being a kid walking through a tourist town and seeing street performers set up on any old corner with an open guitar case making money doing what they love. I remember wishing I could do that- show off my talents on some busy street and make a living. But I don't sing, play guitar, beatbox or juggle. I sew.

So I decided to try setting up my proverbial guitar case and asking for money in return for doing what I love. Whatever you want to toss in in exchange for sewing whatever you want sewed.

Bring me your ripped seams, jean jackets, projects you've been meaning to get to patches that need applying or appliqués that need appliquéing.

I'll also have a collection of goods for sale and am excited to chat with you about all things upcycling, repurposing and crafting in general. Or dogs. I'd love to hear about your dog.

Find me ready to repair at Ren Market the last Sunday of the month for the rest of the summer.

UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that leaving pricing completely open is quite stressful for the average Midwesterner. So let me present you with a handy dandy pricing sheet!

(Please keep in mind that each repair is its own custom project, but this is a great guideline!)

PS can you tell I don't care for zippers?

Apparently I'm Making Belt Bags

Your love for this bag has blown me away.

Last month, Frost River inspired its community to get scrappy by creating something out of their waxed canvas and leather scraps. I jumped on the contest faster than a toddler running towards a mud puddle and ended up being a top 5 finalist (I didn't win BTW)! But per the best creative projects it has led to more discoveries, products and techniques. But the time has come for it to find its forever home.

And the fairest way to do that felt like raffling it off while donating a portion of the proceeds to an outdoorsy organization (I've chosen Positive Energy Outdoors- located in Duluth, MN they are dedicated to providing outdoor adventures to low & moderate income youth)!

Every $2 earns you one chance to win. Winner will be randomly chosen and announced on May 31 via email. Enter here.

Thank you thank you thank you for your support.

TOP 5 FAVORITE UPYCLES

An eco conscious entrepreneur posting anything on Earth Day feels as groundbreaking as florals for spring.

But alas, it's fun to see a larger population talking more one day a year about the kind of stuff I'm obsessing (read: worrying) about like all the time. Thanks for joining in on the conversation and an even bigger thanks if you went out of your way to better our planet on April 22 🎉

And amongst the deep, dark depths of the inter webs (my internet acquaintance @loveheylola has been getting smack for not doing "enough") I love how sharing one person's actions can create a ripple and inspire others to make a difference, too.

So in honor of this one day deemed worthy of doing better- I've been thinking about some of my favorite projects to date. Whether they've created any ripples or not, here they all are in one blog post. May we go forth and make more small changes.

Food Bags Turned Tote Bag

Sleeping Bag Turned Jacket

Discarded Canvas Gets a Facelift

Trophies For the Win

Pom Pom Fuzz Reimagined

BONUS!

All these other things that were garbage and now they're bags:

A firehose

A giant vintage latch hook

A kiddie pool

A bunch of banners

But also this dress that was a holiday tablecloth

And these boots that became memory keychains

Turns out picking a favorite is like choosing a favorite child or something 🤷‍♀️

What will be next?