craft

Shine On Brightly is an online gallery which offers hand-crafted cremation urns in ceramic, wood, metal, and glass. It also features customized textile art, personalized poetry, and handmade books to celebrate and honor the life of a loved one. All products are produced by some of the finest artisans in the Southeast. The company is based in Asheville, NC. It is committed to providing unique, environmentally-friendly, non-outsourced options for end-of-life choices.

The media has a new indie jewelry favorite - Ashley Hilton. Featured in press outlets around the world in just the past 6 months, Ashley’s creations embody a seamless mix of eco-appreciation and modern style.

“I try to reflect both the human and natural environment in my work by using symbols and materials that have meaning to me and represent where I come from.

Bright colors and unnaturally stretchy fibers are nice, but there are times when you just want to go back to the “classics.” Sourced from Wiltshire, Devon, Somerset and surrounding counties in Britain, Farm Yarns spins some of the most exceptional alpaca and organic wool yarn available anywhere.

Crafter extraordinare and co-host of DIY Network’s Creative Juice TV show - Cathie Filian - also has her own production company. With her fellow executive producers Greg Byers and Steve Piacenza, Cathie is on the hunt for teen/young adult crafters to show off their skills on a new craft show she is working on. Think you got what it takes (CAGW is sure you do)?

Nestled in the peaceful beach bordering countryside of southern Maine, you’ll find one of the most sustainable yarn companies on the planet. Unexpected, no?

Often the second banana to the world of knitting, crochet is steadily gaining more followers thanks to just how easy it is to pick up the hobby. Instead of using two needles, all you need is a ball of yarn and a crochet hook to create everything from toys and toaster covers to sweaters and stylish accessories.

Internationally known for their knitting books, seasonal pattern magazines and luxurious wool yarns, England’s Rowan Yarns has finally ventured into the world of sustainable fibers. Available in DK/light worsted weight, Rowan’s 100% organic cotton PureLife yarn is already winning over crafters.

Spring is just a few weeks away - the perfect time to refresh your home with a few new, eco-friendly items. Started by indie Canadian design blogger Jan, Poppytalk Handmade is like an online farmer’s market for handmade goodies (why didn’t we think of that!?). As luck would have it, this month’s theme for the showcase is all about green ...

Every time I go into a craft store, I visibly cringe while walking past the “floral” department. Some marketing genius decided to refer to them all as “silk” flowers, rather than what they really are: horribly fake plastic imitations of plants. Either way, I’m on a mission to dissociate that muck from mainstream crafting once and for all.

Organic yarns have been the majority of the fibers featured in our Yearn-Worthy Yarns series thus far. For this week’s installment, we are covering another vital element of green living and sustainable production - fair trade.

Victoria has been profiling some great natural, organic, and recycled yarns for knitting and crochet in her Yearn-Worthy Yarns series. But when it’s time to sit down to the sewing machine, what’s a green crafter to do? Never fear, we’re here to help. We’re kicking off our Fabulous Fabrics series, and first up is organic cotton from Mod Green Pod.

Looking to add some spice to your Spring wardrobe? Need a new creative project to work on? We introduced you to Burda Style during the early days of our blog. Now its time to share the details for their first mini-challenge for all the sewers out there.

How do you enter?

It’s not often that I write about a specific yarn instead of a whole company’s collective offerings. Rare as it is, I couldn’t resist when it comes to Knit One, Crochet Too’s 2nd Time Cotton yarn.

This year, except for The Green Guide magazine, I have stopped subscribing to my magazine subscriptions. I have decided that until magazines businesses become more environmentally responsible and begin to use more environmentally friendly ways to print their issues I will have to settle for checking them out at the library or not reading them at all.

New designer takes old newspaper and recycles into yarn.

My favorite childhood toy, hands down, was Legos. Truth be told, if you put me in front of a box of Legos right now, I’d have a field day. The ability to mix and match any and all pieces to create something of beauty or function is a key part of modern design - I bet it all started with Legos for a lot of those folks as well. [wink]

Prefer to take your personal style into your own hands? Had enough of mass produced cheap fashion? Looking for something unique? Then Burda Style, the newest community-based online do-it-yourself style destination, is for you. According to the site’s "About Us" page ...

Midnightsky Fibers Handspun yarns are spun and dyed using eco-friendly methods.

Midnightsky Fibers Handspun yarns are spun with care from wool and wool blended with other fibers including mohair, soysilk, silk, alpaca, corn, pine, bamboo, Angelina, nylon, camel, cashmere, and more. Special emphasis is placed on wool and wool blends with all natural and environmentally-friendly fibers used in the blends.

With summer soon coming to a close, the busiest wedding season of the year will be ending as well. Great food, funny dancing, beautiful decorations ... and some questionable fashion choices are standard for most these events. Once the DJ goes home, the cake is eaten, and the happily wedded couple are off on their honeymoon, what do you do with that bridesmaid dress that you don't ever see needing (or wanting) to wear again?

There is no doubt that the creative community has begun playing a pivotal roll in expressing the concerns of our changing environment, as well as inspiring change. Jennifer Marsh, a visual artist studying at Syracuse University, took her concern for the world's dependence on foreign oil to the next level by starting the International Fiber Collaborative in May of 2007.

Finding a workshop related to fiber crafts (knitting, sewing, crochet … etc.) is as easy as pie, no matter the area you live in, but what about recycling those computer chips and metal hangers? Spotted recently on the ReadyMade blog, the groovy green handiworkers of the Bay Area have started the Made From Scrap company, a workshop warehouse “designed and built by artists, instructors, and students, those who want to learn, investigate, tinker, recycle, teach, meet, and have fun.”

You just never know what you will find when browsing the web. Often times, you’ll find the most unique creations that you wouldn’t normally be attracted to. Rarely will you find me wearing jewelry, but after coming across the Broken Plate Pendant Co today (thanks to Tricia’s favorites on flickr), that is likely to change.

Having just established a zPro outlet for my readers on Zaadz.com, I can’t help but contemplate where I hope to take my online presence. One of the main benefits of the new zPro feature is that I can conduct open conversations with my readers in the “discussions” forum. Being a proudly open blogger, I’m sticking my neck out and coming to you - my readers - for your feedback.

Tattoos, non-toxic inks, and tugboats - a uniquely crafty combination for a successful business. In my search to find San Francisco-based small businesses that use traditional letterpress machines, I stumbled upon the Tug Boat Press website. Originally, I was simply seeking out more information about the letterpress process since I wanted to give it a try myself.