that canadian girl

For a number of reasons, recently, I’ve made an effort to think about my consumption habits a bit more lately. Becoming my own boss has encouraged me to become a bit more frugal with my spending. By putting a recycling box in my office, I’ve realised how much paperwork I either piled up in folders unnecessarily or threw out without thinking.

That was recycling tackled, but clearing out some cupboards and boxes made me realise just how many birthday, Christmas, house move, anniversary and other cards we accumulate.

So this is my call to friends and family to reuse, or let me reuse, old cards this Christmas. If you live nearby, I’ll happily take them off your hands. If you’re further away, drop me a line. I want to try to give magazines, cards, photos and material a new life, however it ends up being used. It also hopefully means I can avoid buying tacky cards, pre-filled with a meaningless Hallmark holiday greetings and write the cards myself. (Oh boy, I’m going to be annoyed I said this when I run out of time and ideas for the cards three days before Xmas…)

There are so many feel-good reasons to reuse stuff wherever possible. It’s less stuff to throw away, and occasionally, there’s the sentimental value of reusing something that otherwise would have had a short-lived lifespan. So that’s the “Reuse” element (sort of) ticked off.

And then there’s the “Reduce” factor. Well, I’ve curbed my buying-of-random-stuff to an extent, but developing an addiction to crafts means that while I’m buying less expensive gadgets, I’m spending on new crafts material like a Cuttlebug and a bunch of embossing goodies. (As an aside, there’s a definite trend in arts & crafts websites being utterly horrible and unusable. I would love to help them make their sites fun to use, and as good looking as the products they sell!)

So I’m not doing well at reducing the amount of stuff I own, but soon, I’ll write about someone who was more successful at not buying stuff (for a whole year!) than I was.

[Card on the right not by me, but by Paperminiskirt on Etsy.com, one of the best sites for cute handmade stuff. Like eBay for hippies and artists.]

Since I started blogging, iStockphoto has been my source of images to illustrate and accompany blog entries. The images were once cheap enough that a blogger who made no revenue like myself could afford to pepper the occasional post with an image to joosh it up a bit.

Now, however, I think I’m going to have to go a different route since prices are getting jacked up for the second or third year in a row. I know if I were to complain, the answer I get would be filled with words like “artist recognition” and “inflation” but it’s still getting out of my realm of comfort. I’ll be sad to go, especially seeing as it’s run by a bunch of (apparently) lovely Canucks, but it might be time to break up now.

So what are the alternatives? Flickr images which are licensed under Creative Commons, sites like stock.xchng and photos I’ve taken myself. Any other suggestions?

These are just awesome! I would absolutely love to have power button earrings.

Posh frock, nice shoes, and geek earrings. Fun, a bit odd and unusual. How good would that be?

925works also does other stuff, like bracelets and necklaces, made out of coins, spoons, and other types of metal.

Otherwise, I’d happily settle for this Tetris scarf or these HTML earrings, which are unfortunately out of stock. :S

Run for your life, the Daleks have arrived and will EXTERMINATE everything in their path!

More awesome Flickr pics here
[Via BoingBoing]

A few weeks ago, I ordered a laptop bag from Etsy.com. I’d never bought anything there but had heard some positive comments about it being a friendly eBay for handcrafted goods. The stuff undeniably looked cool, and the general feel of the site was positive. I contacted a seller to find out whether he could customise the bag I liked to be padded and suitable for my MacBook Pro. I was so excited when Stilleto, aka Dave Gratto, agreed to make a bespoke laptop bag for me.

It took a few weeks (due to international shipping), but once the bag, skinny wallet and wrist lanyard for my work dongle arrived, I felt like a kid on Christmas day. Once I got over the initial excitement, I started wondering why Dave was making bags and accessories and why he’d picked Etsy as his online selling market. So I thought I’d ask him a few questions.

First, what inspired you to start making bags and other sewn funky things?

Many many years ago. i was in college taking architectural drafting while my brother was at a prestigious school for fashion design. As much as I loved my career choice I couldnt help but see my brother using very similar skills in building patterns and creating products he loved. Thats when I decided that not only did I want to draft and design, I wanted to build. Knowing that I wasnt about to build a house, I started to dabble in my brothers homework projects.

So to make a long story short; I chose a different direction. with drafting skills in hand, Forced my brother to teach me everything he knew and here I am today.

Where do you find such funky materials?

All my material choices are very random, I try to find fresh, modern, vintage and odd materials. Finding materials is an addiction. I scout the material stores, Internet, Second hand stores, clothing stores, ect.

If I’m in a mall or a clothing store I generally come out with 2 or 3 garments with the intention to cut them up and design wallets or bags out of them. I’ve used bedding, curtains hand painted fabrics, even an ironing board cover.

Everything can be used for something. Open your creative mind and your grandmas ugliest moo moo could become the coolest hat wallet or bag everyone will want.

Did you used to sell your creations locally before you decided to start selling online?

I did sell locally within my city (Vancouver B.C.) I would take my finished products with business cards to stores and work. I have done some craft fairs and was lucky enough to sell a few in some stores. Since I was spending 40-50 hours a week at my office job, I was never able to concentrate fully on my products.

Now that I have reached the ripe age of 30+ I’ve decided to spend more time doing the things that I want to do. Hence Etsy.

What made you choose Etsy as a suitable selling place? Do you also sell elsewhere online?

Etsy: I took in some fabric to a coworker at my office job and she asked me if I’ve ever been to Etsy, “Never” I said. That afternoon when I checked it out for the first time; I was hooked.

Etsy is a great community. The sellers and buyers are always friendly and always willing to lend a hand. I have never had so much exposure from strangers just willing to lend a hand. I have learned to never be greedy as a seller, Always take pride in your work and a little extra sweat and blood goes a long long way.

Since Etsy, my brother of many talents has designed me a website called Oddities

Right now it is very fresh but quickly becoming Hot. Not only will there be items for sale from Stilleto but we have also added a few other cool shops, chat room, cool links and fun things to do as well as cool buys.

Does selling to someone halfway across the world (like to me) feel any different for you than selling to the local passers-by who pop by your shop?

The great thing about the internet is that not only am I selling in B.C. but I am also selling everywhere around the globe. I have sold to England, Denmark, Europe, Philippines, Japan and of course The United States and Canada. Just knowing that I have one of my products on the other side of the globe is truly exciting.

I received an email a couple of months ago from a girl in Oregon, U.S.A. She tells me she was at a club and met someone sporting a Stilleto bag, She then contacted me the next day to place an order, This to me is probably better than sex ??

I can only thank people like yourself for my success. The way I see it; This is only the beginning.

I usually get aggravated by websites that force their music and animations onto you, especially without giving a pause, stop or, at the very least, a mute button.

This ad is completely different. It’s Audi’s latest A5 advert, and the music and animation are both completely mesmerising.

Have a look and let me know what you think…

[Edit: I just found another version of it, higher quality and slightly different ending on Beam TV via Phatlee]

I’ve already mentioned Banksy a few times in the past couple of weeks, but here’s another one: Banksy does an art exhibition in LA, which includes an elephant painted from head to toe to match the red and gold wallpaper of the room.

Too good for words, have a look for yourself.

On a passing visit to London yesterday, I came across Art. Not a Monet, not a Warhol, and certainly not a Da Vinci. But I did see a Banksy with mine own little eyeballs! Somewhere between Kings Cross and Exmouth Market, we were greeted by it. (Click on the image for the full picture of the little girl at the ATM)

He redecorated an old bricked up window with an ATM and a little girl. Without opening up the art vs vandalism issue again, I can’t help but feel thought-out social commentary graffitis are as welcome in the city as its own inhabitants. Banksy makes a point with his art, which is why I have more respect for a guerrilla artist who’s effectively building a brand for himself while making us think, rather than the cheap taggers who seem to have the London to Cambridge train line covered, repeatedly scribbling their name illegibly in spray paint.

I know his art hasn’t been appreciated everywhere, but in busy London, it just fits in. It’s part of the story.

I’ve professed my love for Banksy once before, but now I REALLY lurve him for his latest stunt.

“Hundreds of Paris Hilton albums have been tampered with in the latest stunt by “guerrilla artist” Banksy.

Banksy has replaced Hilton’s CD with his own remixes and given them titles such as Why am I Famous?, What Have I Done? and What Am I For? He has also changed pictures of her on the CD sleeve to show the US socialite topless and with a dog’s head.”

Paris is already nerve-grating without opening her mouth, but for her to release an album is just an insult to real music. We can only thank Banksy for kindly replacing the CDs with a healthier alternative.

Even in the case of talented or famous artists, I wish they’d stick to their field of expertise, rather than all try their hand at acting, singing and politics. However, in the case of Paris, she’s not talented and there’s no justification for her to be famous. She’s just noise. And so are her songs. Cringetastic cheesy pop crap.

“Okok Give Paris A Break This Isnt The Worse Album Like Ever So Im Going To Give Her Four Stars… Haha Why? To Annoy All You People Who Hate Her Cos Tho It May Only Deserve 3 Stars… Im Gna Bak Her Cos God Its Sumin New Aint It”, says one of her most articulate fans in an iTunes review. Must be the blonde bleach getting to their brains.

Banksy, not a bad job eradicating a few albums, but can’t you just make her disappear altogether? The Omni team and I would all be pleased. Plskthx.