This week’s thanks goes out to all the crafters who find someone’s trash (old license plates, cards, t-shirts, etc.) and are able to look at it with insight and imagination, turn it around in their brain and hands, and make something else out of it. Ultra-small business hold great hope for an economy on a humane scale.
My favorite item made by one of these creators is pictured below, a headband made by L.M. Lowell from 2bLovedAgain. It’s two t-shirt sleeves sewn together and decorated and I use it at least once a week – for over two years now. Pretty good for some old junk.
Another favorite set of heroes are Sally and Laurie Pillman at Garden Glitz. They find old plates, cups, saucers, etc. and re-purpose them into flowers, birds, insects, and toadstools. These beauties are now all over town – my neighbor’s flower stares across the driveway at my husband’s bird-feeding cup.
These creators have learned to use their imaginations to have fun – and in the process help recreate a society with a smaller waste stream that consequently uses less energy. They also take a hobby and expand it into an ultra-small business, which may one day grow larger and do some good for the economy.
Me? My calling is to make art from old bottle caps. I’ll keep you updated as this gets going.
A tip of the had also goes farmer’s markets, craft shows, Etsy, and all those who create markets for these ultra-small business people.
sustainabilityenergy 