CRAFT SALE!!!

Come one, come all on Saturday JULY 24, from 9am to 2 pm.

1068 Pacific St, corner of Santa Rosa, Downtown SLO

You will find creative items made out of buttons, pillowcases, fabric scraps, toilet paper rolls, thread spools and old jeans.

You will find jewelry, accessories, clothes, aprons, cards, kitchen and baby items, and more!

(Featured crafter Sara McGrath, designer of the above pilowcase skirt and toddler shirt: more work of hers can be seen at http://www.lupesmom.blogspot.com/)

 We are looking for more crafters using upcycled materials who want to come and sell their wares. Email upcycleslo@gmail.com for more info  

This Weekend...

Come to Chronic Cellars in Paso Robles for $5 wine and cheese pairings and a great art and craft fair. UpcycleSLO will be there on Sunday the 13th selling beautiful jewelry, cards, upcycled pillowcases into hip fashions, and more. This is a great way to get summer fashions, Dad & Grad cards and gifts, or whatever else without the guilt.

Buying items sold from UpcycleSLO crafters means you are:
1) saving the environment by repurposing materials rather than perpetuating a constant cycle of producing new materials in an already over-abundant world
2) saving the environment by buying local products that do not have to be shipped all over the world to arrive in your hands
3) you are buying a unique, one-of-a-kind item that makes a statement against a mass consumer culture and also supports a local artist

News

Last week UpcycleSLO went to the SLO Women's Shelter to teach the awesome and creative ladies there how to make upcycled bags, children's dresses, and skirts from t-shirts. I promise to start posting some of the projects that we do here to help inspire you the way we did the Women's Shelter ladies. They had so much fun they have invites us back and we will be giving proceeds from our July trunk show to the Women's Shelter. Stay tuned for more...

Last but not least, my cousin sent me the link to an awesome blog...www.makeit-loveit.com! It is full of inspiration. I am going to add some of my favorite blogs to our list here on the blog so check some of them out.

Happy Summer Crafting!

Jen

Do you see all the evidence of creativity with fabric scraps?

We had a great time at the Paso Robles Festival of the Arts- creating our story quilt from upcycled materials and fabric markers. Erin was a lean-green-sewing machine, piecing together the squares as they dried. We grownups can never equal the unparalleled imagination of kids. Soon, Jen will have the rest of it sewn together and it will be displayed at the PR Library.

Now that the craziness of our Swap is over, we would like to give a special thanks to Cate Trujillo and Erin Scholl for their hard work and inventiveness creating the graphics for both UpcycleSLO and the Swap-o-rama-rama event.

Both of these creative and inspiring ladies deserve a big round of applause!!!! THANK YOU!

UpcycleSLO's Monthly Craft Night starts this coming Thursday, May 20 from 6-8 pm!!


Join us at The Sanitarium Bed and Breakfast, at 1716 Osos St, between Gus' Deli and Sallie Loo Cafe. We will start the series of monthly crafty soirees with a T-shirt Bag demo. Bring a t-shirt you are ready to upcycle, and your sewing notions. A sewing machine will be available as well as fabric markers to adorn your new bag that you can use for farmer's market, the beach, or future craft nights!

Invite a friend if you want, but please RSVP by Thursday morning if you will be coming, email upcycleslo@gmail.com or call Sara at 540-1673. A small donation of $3 will help UpcycleSLO stock up on sewing notions and other supplies for upcoming fairs and community workshops.

Upcoming Events

We have some great events coming up in the next month or so that you won't want to miss.

Sunday, May 16 from 1-6pm
Awareness Fair for Big Brothers Big Sisters @ Mitchell Park

Come by and see some of our collectives best vendors...jewelry, cards, clothes & more! All UPCYCLED!

Saturday, May 29 from 10am-6pm
Paso Robles Festival of the Arts @ Paso Downtown City Park
We will be making recycled story quilts and also selling our crafts! Website

Sunday, June 13 from 11:30am-5:30pm
Chronic Cellars Art Show @ Chronic Cellars in Paso Robles
Not only do you get to peruse and shop some of our awesome crafts but for $7 you get wine tasting, cheese pairings, and you even get to keep your logo glass! Also don't miss out on the live painting. Website

And stay tuned to the blog because I am going to try to find time here with all the busy summer gatherings and art shows to put up some inspiration for you all. Pillowcase skirts, earrings, and more... Plus I am going to start linking everything to the awesome sites that give us inspiration so you can share it with us. It's a great thing to be inspired and there is so much inspiration around us! Do you think I have worn out the word "inspiration" yet? :)

Swap-O-Rama-Rama spells SUCCESS!!!

I want to take a moment to tell you about the success of the...

First Annual Swap-O-Rama-Rama 

Due to our sponsors, donors, and tireless volunteers we were able to not only save over a thousand pounds of clothes from being wasted when there was so much more life and potential within them, but we inspired 200 people to reuse their clothes in many different ways. These people learned how to turn an old pair of pants into a hat, learned to use the sewing machine (some for the very first time), and got hands on experience with a screenprinting machine. There were so many great local crafters available working with the attendees and workshops available. Everyone who we have spoken with since felt so empowered and cannot wait for the next one. I am even receiving requests to do it in 6 months rather than a year. We will see. :)

My favorite moment was when I got a chance to sit down with a girl of 8 years and make a skirt with her. She had never once used a sewing machine before. As much as I am catering my events to adults, seeing the kids who are so receptive to this lost art get excited about sewing really excites me. It makes me believe that new generations will adopt sewing as a way of life and be more likely to create rather than consume. The message is for everyone. I encourage you to e-mail me, comment on this blog or any of our other forms of social media and let me know your story of inspiration or your favorite moment at the Swap-O-Rama-Rama. Also, check out the links below for both the media that covered event and wonderful pictures that document what a great time was had by all.

I have to send a special thank you to Rob Appell who brought out 9 sewing machines for everyone's use and spent the whole day tirelessly helping people create. Also a huge thank you to the media who featured us. We were in The Tribune, The Mustang Daily, Dave Congalton Radio Show, and Fox News came to the event. Also Information Press will be running a story next month so check that out.

Last but not least, I will include some numbers here for you so you can fully grasp the success of the event.

• Swap-O-Rama-Rama made a $1578 gross profit and a net profit of $1074. Our main expense was the venue but were helped out tremendously in this aspect with the $350 we received in event sponsorships so thank you to all of you.  Our main expenses were the venue, printing, and craft supplies so next year we will be looking for specific sponsors to cover the costs or donate these items so that more money can go towards EcoSLO. This is an amazing first run and and I am overwhelmed with the success of it all.

Peace, Love, and Crafts!

Jennifer Alexander

Event Coordinator for Swap-O-Rama-Rama

Co-Founder of UpcycleSLO 

Keep up with UpcycleSLO!
www.upcycleslo.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/UpcycleSLO
http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Luis-Obispo-CA/UpcycleSLO/300310626576

Media:

http://www.myfox11.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=4712554&h1=Swap-O-Rama-Rama%20Takes%20on%20Recycling&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=45033&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=90651689

http://www.myfox11.com/Global/story.asp?S=12330380

 http://edbroadcasters.com/podcasts/congalton/04-15-10.mp3
(23-41 minutes)

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/04/15/1105164/event-aims-to-encourage-creativity.html

http://mustangdaily.net/swap-o-rama-rama-event/

Pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/upcycleslo/sets/72157623767393573