Monday, May 31, 2010

Platinum Dirt

photo credit DoctorWatson via flickr

There are birds singing. It is four eighteen in the friggen' morning! You can't tell me that these guys can FLY and forage on that many hours of sleep! I am just not getting that. Obviously, these are the ones that don't have kids to tend to... they are the college crowd chickadees.

Said crowd until recently included my brother, who just completed his electrician's thingy. I don't know what that's technically called... license? Papers? Degree? Dunno. But he did it! Yay Bro, way to go! I had planned to take him for a beer, cause that is what you do when you graduate from college, no? We lead different lives my brother and I. His includes beer. Anyhow, I figured that I would scoop him up, attend my friend Kelly's farewell art showing (she leaves this weekend for an eight month Tour de Paint across the coolest parts of Europe... jealous? Who me?) and drink our faces off... me with my crantini and him with his Faceplant. But he ditched me! What??? I KNOW! I know, I thought of that... disowning him I mean. I thought all sorts of mean and nasty things and my feelings were uber hurt, and in the end... I decided NOT to get him his graduation gift. Not enough of a slap in the face you say? Ooooooh, but wait till you see :)

This, my friends, might be the coolest (and by cool I mean super FREAKING AWESOME) thing I have seen in a long while. Anyone who knows this blog at all knows I am a greenie. A budgie some say... an Eco Chick. Emphasis on Chic, right? Anyhow, as such, I advocate all things eco, but in truth, the greenwashing thing gets old really quickly, and although every little bit does count, I tire of hearing the token enviro-speak that is only selling more stuff and not doing much to alter how things are done, just how things are thought about. It's a start, it is! Realistically though, we ALL need to do more, and this includes those of us who make stuff trying to find ways of re-using old, already made stuff. Re-purposing. THIS is the way of the future. The only way, really. Anyhow, this right here is, in my humble but well researched opinion, the perfect example.

Behold, the VIN Jacket.



In true pioneer fashion, Dustin Page, the genius behind the VIN concept took his training in mechanical engineering and transferred his skills to pattern-making and sewing. He started with screenprinting Tshirts, but since everyone and their dog is doing that and he wasn't making any coin off of it, he looked for another way to apply his self taught sewing skills and decided that ripping junk yard cars apart at the seams was a better bet. Something he molded into Platinum Dirt.


The leather from the seats of vintage Cadillacs and other luxury cars has a well worn patina that you simply can't reproduce en masse and what's better, with careful placement of the unique symbols that are embossed into the leather, Platinum Dirt is imparting a sense of prestige in a green garment that goes beyond just re-use and into an entirely new and covetable realm of marrying eco with impeccable taste. He even goes to the extent of using the hood ornament as the zipper pull and the VIN number to accessorize. Once Dustin had established a product line of jackets and handbags, he was contacted by customer turned partner Aaron Parish who has helped to get a replica of the very first jacket he made onto the back of Jamie Foxx. Apparently, the celeb wanted to buy the one that Dustin was wearing, the first one he created, and the duo turned him down and offered to make him his own version. Other stars have snapped them up, Fergie is on a waiting list. So you know, my brother would have been in pretty flashy company. The two are working to promote their product to a high end retail market to change the way we see eco.


I would like to credit Lara from Three Owls for sending this story of gorgeousness to me. This is a woman who knows her stuff! Her clutch is in the mail.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Show Some Love!

Wow. Has it really been that long since I did a post? Crazy. I apologize. I have actually done away (almost) with the guilt of not posting every day by realizing that I follow a kazillion blogs and so probably most others do as well. This way, I am not crowding your day with tons and tons to read. Right? LOL... ok, I will try to get on here more. I wish I could say that it is because I had nothing to post about but the truth is that I have at least ten things a day that I say "Oh, I have to blog that!" and I take pictures and everything and then all of a sudden it is 1 am and I can't think straight, let alone be witty and charming and somewhat intelligent. Like I said, working on it.

We're pretty sure it's love.

Anyhow, I have found this nifty little link that I thought I would bring your attention to while I have it. Do you see that cute little paw print in the right hand column under those stunning quilts that somebody put there? Well it takes you to a site where just clicking a button helps rescued animals get fed. I know we are all very busy people but we all have hearts in the right place, don't we? Well, since you just happen to be visiting, and hopefully you will visit again, I am making it easy for ALL of us to make a bit of a difference. A bowl of food for a hungry animal makes a HUGE difference for them. If you were so inclined as to put the same link on your blog, you can find it right on their front page.


Luna is everything girly, INCLUDING being polite and dainty.

I took the time to read it for you and they help shelters and different causes in a few different countries, which made a difference to me, what with being in Canada. There are cute little blingy things to buy for you or your pet and they tell you exactly what the money made from that purchase goes towards. My darling little Luna (whom I rescued from next door but not a shelter) will be getting a pretty little charm (14 bowls of food) for her collar and Sulu (who was taken in so he wouldn't end up on the street... yes, some people!) will get something too if he can go for more than one week without breaking something!

The only time Sulu is not breaking something or just
generally causing a disturbance is when
he sleeps, of course, here he is sleeping on clean laundry.


If you are looking for another group in a similar vein, the simply gorgeous Mel over at L'il Bee has her own rescued pups that she regularly finds ways of supporting. There are few things in life that give back as much as a rescued animal... the initial good feeling that comes from knowing that you helped out another sentient being is far surpassed by the laughs and warm fuzzies you get daily... even from Sulu.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Captured!

I watched a movie last night. I don't do that much anymore it seems. Once it actually dawned on me that I actually had the time to watch a movie, I had to figure out what to watch. Sometimes not watching television has its downsides. Like not having the first clue what movies have come out in, say, the last five months? So I took my brother's advice and scoured the Rotten Tomatoes site for some input on no brainer comedies that don't involve Will Farrell. What came up was Bounty Hunter. Not for the title, which immediately made me think of my son's obsession with Boba Fett. Nor for the actors, Jen Aniston and that other guy who I have never heard of before (yes, I am that out of the popular culture loop... I couldn't even tell you what Brittany's newest song is called). And not for the lame sounding plot which was slightly less lame than what I expected. No, I didn't watch it for any of these reasons, I watched it for a far greater and soul sating purpose.

To see the wallpaper.

One of the RT reviews said that the acting was what was expected, the plot was what was expected, and that the movie was a cute watch with some funny moments. It also said that the design and execution of the apartment that Jennifer Aniston's character, Nicole, resides in was stunning.


And it was true! The minute her bounty hunting ex breaks into her abode, I was sucked in! And immediately I wanted to live in a light filled, black-lacquer doored, silvery wallpapered apartment with a colour scheme that is far more feminine and girly than I am used to.








(As a bonus, the fact that I wanted to post the photos here forced me to finally learn how to do a screenshot. You can find instructions for anything online.)

:)