unfaithful blogger

OK. I must confess. There's another blog in my life... It's the Etsy Trashion Team blog- and at the moment it's the object of my distraction.

Not that I don't love my own blog... I just like to spread the love around a little!

As I mentioned, I'm a member of the Etsy Trashion Team- and right about NOW you are asking yourself "My goodness, just what is trashion?!". Well, get your mind out of the gutter- it's nothing like that...

What it is is: "...a group of Etsy sellers who focus on recycling and upcycling all kinds of discarded and found materials. We are creative artists and crafters who are dedicated to making trash into treasure!"

And naturally we have a blog. And just as naturally I felt compelled to add one more task to my overflowing 'to-do' list and offer to be a guest blogger. Happily actually.

As some of you might have suspected by now, I am really into recycling and repurposing. In fact, I could probably talk 'trash' to you all day long! But why not let someone else have the floor for once... and that is just what I am doing in my TrashTalk series over at the Trashion Team blog.

Each month I'll  be interviewing a different Trashion Team member and getting a 'behind the scenes' glimpse into the trashion artists' world- their inspiration, insight and ingenuity- complete with photos!
Check out Octobers interview with perfume designer and trashion artist Magickal Realism.

but wait! there's more!

I had one of those odd little experiences the other day while out and about in the big city of Brewer, Maine. While the rest of my party was making a bee-line for one of those 'let's-see-how-many-imported-from-who-knows-where-useless-cheap-plastic-$1 objects-we-can-fit-into-one-store' stores, I felt an overwhelming urge to head next door and pay a visit to the Winterport Boot Shop- a locally owned and operated, hands-on (they actually measure your feet!) boot shop. Not that I actually needed or could afford new boots- but a girl can dream!

Anyway... I got to talking to Donna (who owns the shop with her husband, Mike) about my (apparently futile) search for American-made footwear. Her ears seemed to perk up when I mentioned that I flat out refuse to spend any more of my $$ on imported STUFF! Conversation quickly turned from boots to weightier issues like recycling and mass consumption- This is when she asked if I had seen this great little on-line film called 'The Story of Stuff'. I had not! But this kind and like-minded woman sent me off with a sticky-note emblazoned with the web address and an emphatic "You must watch this film!". And I did. Over and over.
This 20 minute diddy about 'stuff'- "From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view" is described by its creators as a "fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever." It did and it has. Thanks, Donna!
I wasn't sure what I was looking for when I walked into that boot shop, but I left with the answer.