We walk our talk.

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Rubbish Renewed

In 2015, where we saw crowds of close to 800 people, we generated a 1/4 can of trash. Two of Rubbish Renewed organizers got into the bin at the end of the night, on top of the ONLY trash of the night, to prove it!

We educate, we inspire, and we walk our talk. From the beginning, hosting a large-scale event with little environmental impact has been a core part of our mission. How do we host a fundraising event with crowds of close to 1,000 people in the course of an evening and not generate a ton of trash? We consult the experts. ReThink Waste and Bend Garbage and Recycling are two sponsors who help us get as close as we can to zero waste. Bend Garbage and Recycling provide the bins and service, while ReThink Waste runs and trains the crowd at the event, helping them sort their waste accordingly.

As you can see from the photo above, we’ve been successful!

Rubbish Renewed continues to divert a ton of trash from the landfill. Last year, Rubbish Renewed achieved their 2015 goal and again only filled 1/4 can full of trash. This has been possible by supportive sponsors, socially conscious participants, and policies and structures (such as mandating compostable serving ware throughout the event) that ensure we continue to divert waste from the landfill, instead of contribute to it.

Now in 2017, where we will see crowds on Thursday night of well over 1,000 people, wait to see if we can fit all three organizers in the 35-gallon bin destined for the landfill.

View the full video from 2015 on our Facebook page.

2016 Business Challenge Gallery Posted! Revealed – Who’s Returning & Who’s New?

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Rubbish Renewed

Although this is our 7^th Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show, this year features our 6^th Business Challenge! Added year 2, to showcase the exceptional sustainability practiced in Bend, the Business Challenge is an audience supported, friendly competition for the Coveted Trash Trophy. However to us, it centers on celebrating our forward thinking community and the spirit of those who lead the way towards creating a more sustainable earth! Check out the 2016 Business Challenge Gallery with photos by Heaven McArther.

Returning this year for their 6^th Business Challenge: ReStore!

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Photo: Heaven McArthur

RESTORE: Sublimity Designer: Susan Galecki, Kristi Teasdale, Mary Conrad, Karen McMahon, DeeDee Johnson, Paige Shull Model: Kristi Teasdale Materials: A whole lot of household refuse.

Returning this year for their 3^rd Business Challenge: Mt Bachelor

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MT BACHELOR: Snowstorm Diva Designer: Andrea Zippler Model: Stephanie Kirpatch Materials: old Mt.Bachelor trail map (wings), old banner that says, “snow”

Returning this year for their 2^nd Business Challenge: Natural Edge Furniture

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NATURAL EDGE FURNITURE: Smooth Operator Designer: Kassy Windus Model: Hannah Tarrant Materials: Spent sandpaper

New Business Challenge participants this year:

Thanks to the businesses who have participated in the past:

ReStore – 5 years; Wabi Sabi – 4 years; Strictly Organic – 3 years; Mt. Bachelor – 2 years; Tambi Lane Photography – 2 years; Barrio – 2 years; Rescue Consignment – 2 years; Tozer Design – 2 years

The Environmental Center; Utilitu Sew; Old Ironworks Arts District; Sounds Fast; Boneyard; Sara Bella Upcycled; Spork; Hydroflask; Spa W; Cuppa Yo; Horned Hand; Angelinas; Athletic Club of Bend; Aspect Board and Brews; Gear Fix; String Soil; The Makers District; Natural Edge Furniture; Brave Collective; Sparrow Bakery; Sonic Solution

Rubbish Renewed is more than just a show!

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Rubbish Renewed

In addition to the two runway shows at 6:00pm (doors at 5pm; all ages) and 8:30pm (doors at 7:30pm; 21+), the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show Fundraiser has more to offer its guests. The doors open for each of our two shows one hour before the show’s start time. Come early to enjoy delicious food from Barrio Restaurant’s Food Truck , shop in the Pop Up Marketplace and Silent Auction, and enjoy a local beverage from one of two drink service areas. Thank you to the following beverage sponsors: Boneyard Beer, Atlas Cider, and Bend Distillery.

Do you have your tickets?

Finally: 2016 Adult Runway Gallery Posted!

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Rubbish Renewed

I’m so excited to finally post another gallery from the 2016 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show. The 2016 Adult Runway gallery has a slightly different look. Each designer’s garment features 3 photos from Heaven McCarthur’s story telling style. Many of the mosaics include a close-up of the materials and fabrication methods, something that usually only those in the green room get to see. Look for the 2016 Business Challenge Gallery in the next few days!

Remember the submission deadline is Friday, December 2nd, for the 2017 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show. Submissions are coming in, and we can’t wait to see yours!

2016 Student Runway Gallery Posted!

Posted on November 5, 2016 by Rubbish Renewed

The deadline for designer applications is just 4 weeks away! Get inspired by perusing the 2016 student runway gallery with photos by Heaven McArthur. Many of these students are first time designers, while others are seasoned veterans with multiple entrees over our Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show history. Designs by students are often the most fresh and innovative as they see the world differently than their older counterparts. For more student inspiration, link to the blog posts and galleries below from previous years. Then, let the creativity soak in and get started designing!

Student Focused Posts from past years with links to Galleries

Inspired by Kids

Behind the Scenes Designer Series: Artist 5 Olivia Barnes

2016 Student Garment Sneak Peak: Gallery

2015 Student Runway Gallery Posted!

RR Student Designers in Action

Student Designers at the Heart of Rubbish Renewed – 2014 Student Gallery Posted!

Students and Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show

Part 1: Remember 2012

Students in Rubbish Renewed 2011

Inspired by Kids!

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Rubbish Renewed

Kids inspire me. With Trash Fashion on my back burner for months, it took the beginning of the school year with a slew of excited middle school students to get my mind spinning with ideas. For the first post of the Rubbish Renewed season, here is an encouraging account written by several of last fall’s REALMS Rubbish Renewed Elective students. Several fantastic photos, by Heaven McArthur, highlight garments made by students quoted below, and Joe Kline’s ghostly image of the community garment.

THE SEASONS Designer/Models: Maggie Pierce – Fall & Tatum Huegal – Winter Materials: Fall – used packing paper, discarded cloth napkins; Winter – Tin foil, discarded curtains, pipe cleaners, scrap fabric

Designers: Ella Cook & Scout Gesuale; Model: Matea Gesuale

RIMROCK TIBET Designer/Model: Becky Knight Materials: Discarded “Community/Prayer” Flags School: REALMS

This year the Rubbish Renewed Elective at REALMS was a hectic blur of measurements, cutting, restarting, redoing, sketching, and stitching. All of us, in the elective, had the goal of making it to the runway. Finally, after hours of work and thought poured into every garment, the deadline for submissions had arrived. That day, everyone was fussing over this or that trying to find the perfect name and description for their garment. Even now that everyone’s submissions were in, the suspense wasn’t over. We waited and waited for the results to come by email on the 12th of December. After days of anticipation the wait was over, whether your submission made it or not we still had work to do. The community garment had yet to be started. Those whose submissions had made it in continued to mess with their designs until it was just right. Others worked and worked on the community garment featuring old calculators from the 6th grade math room. All of the students in Rubbish Renewed had a delightful experience and are planning on making more trash fashion next year. Here are some comments that our students had:

“Waiting backstage was delightfully nerve wracking,” said student model and designer Becky Knight.
Ella Cook realized that anything can be reused to make something new. “I learned that almost everything that someone throws away can be used for something else.”
This year a group of REALMS students had the idea of creating outfits with a theme of the 4 seasons. They worked together to create some fabulous outfits. Lilah Beck,student designer and model of spring said, “I am most proud of the bond that I formed with my team. We helped each other make the garments come together to be the best they can be.” Another student designer and model, Violet Loftus of summer stated, “I used to think that trash was gross and that it should be thrown right into the trash but then I went to the show!”
Jaide Summers noticed that “It makes you aware of what to throw away and what to repurpose.”

Look for Galleries from last year’s show coming soon!

Rubbish Renewed Live Auction – It’s a fundraiser!

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Rubbish Renewed

Friends, acquaintances, and at times strangers often remind me, that the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show is their favorite event of the year. People of all ages love the energy, art, and message of the evening. However, many of those same people don’t realize that Rubbish Renewed is a fundraising event for REALMS Magnet School and supports the unique programing that makes REALMS a place where rigor, relevance, and relationships intersect.

We carefully select 6-8 auction items from adult designers who want to donate to the goal. Check out these pieces, from generous designers, and come ready to bid! Click on the image to learn more about the item and designer.

Put the Needle on the Record
Designer: Mayra Stearns

Corporate Meeting on the Rocks
Designer: Karen Holm

Natural Edge Furniture
Designer: Kassy Windus

Mt. Bachelor Designers: Andria Zippler, Denise Ellington, Sam Whitman, Stephanie Kirpach, Martha Jeffers Materials: old Mt.Bachelor trail map (wings), old banner that says, "snow", etc

Mt. Bachelor
Snowstorm Diva

The Ventilator Designer: MAURICE

ReStore Sublimity

Playing it Safe
Designer: Kelly Powell

PHOTO SHOOT: looking ahead to the runway

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Rubbish Renewed

4 weeks before garments need to be runway ready, on December 17^th, a small group of designers, models and Rubbish Renewed volunteers gathered at Tambi Lane Photography for our pre-show photo shoot. Photographs are focused on Business Challenge participants, garments being donated to our live fundraising auction, and student garments (completed garments enter a lottery for the final few spaces). The end result is to present you with a sneak peak of the richness to come. We couldn’t create this professional shoot without the wonderfully talented Bishops Barbershop’s masterful hair, and Mayra Stearn & Arenal Hruby makeup magic! Tambi Lane Photography not only contributes the sweet space, but once again, Tambi made the garments come alive in a fun and supportive atmosphere.

STUDENT GARMENTS – Click on the photo to link to the student garments

Fruity Tutui
Designer/Model: Fiona Wright
Material: fruit bags and netting, potato sacks, newspaper bags, flour sacks

BUSINESS CHALLENGE – Click on the photo to link to the Business Challenge

Mt. Bachelor
Designers: Andria Zippler, Denise Ellington, Sam Whitman, Stephanie Kirpach, Martha Jeffers
Materials: old Mt.Bachelor trail map (wings), old banner that says, “snow”, etc

AUCTION GARMENTS – Click on the photo to link to the auction garments

Put the Needle on the Record
Designer: Mayra Stearns
Materials: records, doilies, linens and sheet music

Get your tickets today at rubbishrenewed.com for one or both of our shows on January 14^th at the Midtown Music Hall.

First show showcases Student Garments, Business Challenge, and our Live Auction Items. Second show is 21 and over and highlights Adult Garments, Business Challenge, and our Live Auction Items.

Reignite Your Sustainable Passion – Community Garment Creation

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Rubbish Renewed

“What one action can I take to lower my impact on the planet?”

We generate 21.5 million tons of food waste each year. If we composted that food, it would reduce the same amount of greenhouse gas as taking 2 million cars off the road.
Every year, each American throws out about 1,200 pounds of organic garbage that can be composted.
Designer: Bend Community Materials: tin can lids, 1950’s stained curtains

Looking at trash facts is mind-boggling. Each year at this time I peruse the internet for waste data to share with the Bend community. The goal is to reignite sustainable practices in ALL of us. For me, complacency sets in as the year rolls on. When I reconsider a pledge each year I’m empowered to act, focusing my sustainability efforts.

The first year of Rubbish Renewed I pledged to recycle the toilet paper tube. And since then, I have diligently complied. The next year, I upped my composting efforts through making a pledge. To this day, I still meet this goal.

There is something about the act of making a pledge and watching it publicly displayed walking down the runway that motivates; it helps hold me accountable. This year I’m using a thermos to capture the extra water I heat for tea. Now, in winter, as the day wears on, I rejuvenate my hot beverage with captured energy. I’ll make a pledge today at Rescue Collective (our hosts for the Rubbish Renewed Community Garment creation) to change a habit and lower my impact on the planet!

Designer: The Bend Community
Materials: Bicycle Tubes, scrap plether

If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year
Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution!
In the United Kingdom, 65 percent of tea drinkers overfill their kettles and boil more water than is needed for a cup of tea. Turns out, that extra energy—the energy used to heat thrown out or leftover water each day—is enough to light all the streetlights in London for a night.

The Rubbish Renewed Community Garment offers a place to take a personal step towards walking more lightly on the planet. What will you do to generate less waste? Consume less? Ask yourself, “What one action can I take to lower my impact on the planet?” Make a pledge. Start today.

You can help create the 2015/16 Community Garment at the Rubbish Renewed table at December’s First Friday (December 4th) at Rescue Collective, (910 NW Harriman St Suite 150).

Behind the Scene Designer Series: Artist 5 Olivia Barnes

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Rubbish Renewed

Today we bring back our Behind the Scene Designer Series we started last season, and this time it’s a talented 12 year old! I first met Olivia at the December photo shoot before our 2014 Show. Then a focused 5^th grader she came to us dialed as a designer and poised to show her talent on the runway. Last year I lamented that Olivia didn’t submit, until I found out she was already working on her piece for the following year! Talk about a role model for planning ahead!

The Behind the Scene Designer Series celebrates the trash fashion that IS the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show. Without it, there would be no event. Each designer brings his or her unique passion, inspiration, and creativity, but no matter their differences, a common bond lingers: transforming trash, inspiring community for a sustainable earth.

Artist 5 – Olivia Barnes

Designer & Model: Olivia Barnes Photo: Tambi Lane Photography

Designer & Model: Olivia Barnes
Materials: Bicycle refuse
Photo: Tambi Lane Photography

RR: What do you do in real life when you’re not designing and creating trash fashion?

OB: Fencing, school (7^th grader), and cupcake baking

RR: How did you get started as a trash fashion designer?

OB: I studied all of the water around the world in elementary school and I got inspired to do something about it.

RR: What inspires your creations?

OB: I was inspired by my dads biking and I realized that there was a lot of things that were wasted. There were broken parts that just got thrown away. I decided to make something amazing out of that.

RR: What is your current goal as a Trash Fashion Designer?

OB: My next step is to enter the fashion show this year, and end goal is to inspire, and make known the problems about trash.

RR: What is else should we know about you?

OB: I love to design, model and help the environment. I love the feeling of showing people what I have made that I spent time on, and it definitely pays off. I also love to get creative with trash and help put better use to the garbage around the world!