Have you ever imagined . . .?

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Necklaces, zipper pulls, and earrings are the creations made by “Just A Little Charm” out of copper salvaged from the old Bend Bulletin’s roof.

Bend, Oregon is an incredibly cool place to live.  Although the community has grown substantially since I moved here in 2000, it still has a small town feel.  Walking downtown, I always bump into someone I know eager to engage in a meaningful discussion.  People here not only hold “important” conversations, like how to make a difference in their community, they take action.  One approach comes from the willingness, no, eagerness to think about waste, and to do something about it in an ingenious way.  I’ve never met so many creative, capable, motivated and sustainably minded people in a small area (accept maybe Lopez Island – but that’s another story).

So have you ever thought about tiny speakers built into reused ALTOIDS tins?  Sculpted bowls formed from old records?  What about bold jewelry and accessories created from vintage Formica or salvaged roof copper?  These are just a smattering of the imaginative and well-crafted offerings available this year in the Marketplace at the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show on December 6th.  Check out these pieces for a taste of what’s to come.

N. Spekktor specializes in handmade treasures created from household items, journals, and old vinyl records.

Connect the Minty Blaster to the headphone jack on your portable music player and its built-in amplifier will provide a roomful of curiously strong, curiously hip mono sound.

Marketplace spaces are going quickly, so if you are interested, checkout the vendor submission info and grab a space before they’re gone.

Students in Rubbish Renewed 2011

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Check out the burgeoning designers that graced our runway last year!  Middle school students and high school students showcased creative thought-provoking designs in the 2011 show.  Some used Rubbish Renewed to showcase their talents, while others used Rubbish Renewed as an opportunity to learn a new skill.

Through the new Mentorship Program with Allison Murphy of UtilituSEW, students used Wednesday afternoons to execute and implement their designs.   How to install a zipper, pleats, and thread a bobbin were some of the skills they learned.  Look for even more students in 2012 show.

Photos:  Paula Bullwinkle

“The Cat’s Meow” designed by Kaci Alderin, 6th grader and modeled by Taylor Alderin, 9th grader

“All Decked Out” designed by Casey Matthews; 6th grader and modeled by Ginger Mensing; 6th grader

Marina Eitel; an 8th grader (second from left) designed her “Sugar Loaded Sweet-Tooth” dress, fashioned from candy wrappers and other packaging materials.

Rubbish Renewed at the Bend Fall Festival

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Fall Fest Mainstage Runway

Paris in Allison Murphy’s Kiddy Pool Dress. Photo by Tambi Lane

Amazing day at the Bend Fall Festival!  Kids and adults alike, made pledges for a sustainable earth in tyvek “paper-cut”  snowflakes for the Rubbish Renewed Community Garment. And six garments from the 2011 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show were showcased on the main stage in a runway snapshot of talented clothing artists.

Olivia creating an ornament for the Community Garment. Photo by Karen Holm

If  you didn’t make it today, or even if you did, come out tomorrow (Sunday) for another day of fashion forward fun.  We’ll be on the main stage at 2:30 and our booth is open from 11-6pm.  Come create an ornament to symbolize your pledge for action and help spread the message on December 6th at the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show, making a community shift for a better more environmentally conscious world.

Create the 2012 Community Garment

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Designer: Karen Holm

How would you react to a friend  wearing a paper grocery-bag couture dress adorned with trash ornaments on a runway?  In 2010 this fashion-forward piece graced our runway, making an aesthetic statement for the environment. Conscientious residents of Bend created the Community Garment, making their often unconscious choices conscious by pledging to reduce their consumption and waste.  In 2011, we were inspired by the sterile hospital dressing that protects surgical instruments and is later tossed into our landfills.

Designer: Karen Holm

These are the types of fashion statements that don’t cost a lot of money, but move down the runway delivering a provocative message;  A clear message to rethink waste, our habits, and to decrease our impact on the planet.

This weekend Rubbish Renewed invites YOU to come out, rethink your habits, and make a pledge to decrease your consumption and waste.  Join us at Bend’s downtown Fall Festival to create the 2012 Community Garment. Find the Rubbish Renewed crew near the junction of Oregon & Wall in downtown Bend 11-5pm Saturday & Sunday.

My Home Town Inspiration

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This week we solidified the date for this year’s Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show – December 6th!  With this in place, my trash-fashion-sense soared.  Suddenly surrounded by bicycle tubes, discarded zippers, old tape measures, and metal screen scraps . . . I can’t stop thinking about new designs.

Then today, in my inbox, I received an invite for a Trash-Fashion Show this Sunday in my old “home town,” Lopez Island.  Check out the poster.  Here’s to hoping some of you can make it,  but if not, I’ll post some inspirational photos next week.

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Lopez Island is a role model in sustainability. Whether keeping items out of the landfill or recycle bin, enriching the community with local food, providing access to housing, or teaching students about sustainable farming, Lopez, you’re the best!

Business Challenge Winner! | Rubbish Renewed

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Congratulations to Panambi Elliott who designed this show-stopping number,  right down to the shoes from Cuppa Yo’s waste.  Elliott collected discarded yogurt cups and spoons from the trash, hand-cut the waste, and then fashioned it into the fabulous garment shown below.  Elliott’s design was one of six “Business Challenge” entries and won the first ever “Business Challenge” Award, decided by an audience vote. 

Photos:  Panambi Elliott


trash hand-cut by ElliottRunway Photos:  Paula Bullwinkle

designed by Panambi Elliot

A Mother/Daughter Duo | Rubbish Renewed

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The Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show relies upon parents, students, and staff!  The following photos capture our mother/daughter duo who made their  runway debut in 2011.  Thanks Kerry and Vanessa for being a part of the show!

by Paulla Bullwinkleby Paula Bullwinkleby Paula Bullwinkle

Kerry (left) modeled a dress made from reclaimed materials from Habitat for Humanities ReStore and designed by team a of designers, including Sophie Paez, Marianne Felner, and Stuart Breidenstein.  Vanessa (right), a 6th grade student at REALMS, designed and modeled her dress made from old magazines.

Photos:  Paula Bullwinkle

Faces behind the show | Rubbish Renewed

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Last December Bend’s event venue, the Century Center, hosted one of the most forward thinking, eco friendly, community events Central Oregon has witnessed. This spectacular show and fundraising event (est 2010) is organized and supported by creative, passionate, artistic, and environmentally-conscious people!  LOTS of people. This post is the beginning of a series of posts featuring the talent behind the show.

 

2nd Annual Rubbish Renewed – A success!

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It is hard to believe that the 2nd annual Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show has come and gone!   We took a strong event and, because of the community support and involvement, exceeded all of our goals.   For a complete line up of photos from Tambi Lane Photography, please go to the gallery below.
  • We had more in attendance this year – an estimated 300+ at each of our two shows
  • We made more money for REALMS Charter School’s Arts Program –  $10,500
  • We executed our first ever “Business Challenge” with 6 businesses participating on the runway
  • We had more students submissions and more students on the runway than last year
  • We executed our Rubbish Renewed Mentorship program with students working diligently every Wednesday afternoon in November under the guidance of Allison Murphy of UtilituSEW
  • We demonstrated how to enter the holiday season more sustainably through creative present wrapping and drinking from re-useable Silipints at all of your holiday parties
  • We had 34 garments on the runway (in each show), clearly demonstrating the sustainable and creative spirit of Bend
  • We had a fabulous marketplace with 17 local vendors, promoting local holiday shopping
  • We satiated people’s appetites with local food carts and helped washed it all down with beverages from our favorite local beverage businesses
  • We had a large volunteer squad that lightened the load for the organizers
  • We had more sponsors and people involved than ever before!

designed by Karen Holm

We can’t wait for the third annual,

Amy, Karen & Allison

 

Trash Fashion: an Obsession

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Plastic Obama campaign signs

I love Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show because it provides an outlet for my quirky passion – making fashion out of unconventional materials, what others might call trash.  My obsession started when, at 8, I wove a shirt out of a hodgepodge of found items: dried grass, scraps of yarn, and carded wool from my mom’s spinning basket. After that I was hooked.

The draw of trash-fashion comes from the materials themselves.  When I design, I start with the item, like old slides and film.  With the demise of film cameras, my cupboard is filled with boxes of 2nds (the slides that didn’t make the final show cut, but are still “good”).  The question arises – what could I do with them?  Make a dress of course.

Then the thrill begins.  I secretly sketch on napkins at restaurants, programs at lectures, and junk mail envelopes. I ponder how a series of hard squares might fit together on the human form, and how to attach them.  This creates months, maybe years of thrilling design time.

Finally the construction process begins.  For me it’s like rock climbing – a series of problems in front of me, some that seem impossible at first, but with patience and tenacity, in the end, I usually prevail.

Don’t miss the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show tomorrow night and see “Please don’t Take my Kodachrome Away,” by me (Karen Holm) and other artists renditions of their quirky passions.

 Thursday, December 8th, at the Century Center