Firefighter coat messenger bag tops Art of Reuse contest
A messenger bag made from old firefighter coats and a brooch fashioned from used zippers topped the winners' list for NBCUniversal's first Art of Reuse contest. The contest was conducted in partnership with Etsy, a website where artists and craftspeople sell handmade items. The contest's top 10 finalists were revealed Monday.
Designed to celebrate Earth Day, the Art of Reuse plays off the Trash to Treasure study NBCUniversal conducted last month, which found that three-quarters of consumers would rather find another use for something than throw it away.
"This desire to create something or buy something that has been created out of something that's already been used is a very strong value with today's consumers," said Janet Gallent, vice president of consumer insight and innovation research for Green Is Universal, a green awareness program launched by NBCUniversal in 2007.
Green Is Universal polling showed 68% of consumers are paying more attention to whether a product is made from recycled materials; 78% said the quality of products made from recycled materials has also improved.
Lauren Bush, designer of the Lauren Pierce clothing line and founder of the nonprofit Feed Project, served as one of the judges for the Art of Reuse. Other celebrity judges included Martha Stewart, Tori Spelling and Andy Cohen.
Bush said she was particularly struck by the craftsmanship of the contest entries.
"They’re all so creative. They're all really beautiful," said Bush, who was most impressed by the messenger bag fashioned from old uniforms.
"I make bags, so I’m partial to the firefighter coat recycled messenger bag, which just aesthetically is such a cool bag regardless of what it’s made from," she said. "I don’t know how many old firefighter jackets are out there. I don’t know if it can be mass-made, but it's a rare item to be recycled. That makes it cooler."
-- Susan Carpenter
Photos: Firefighter coat bag, top, re-zip it brooch, upcycled twirly skirt. Credit: Etsy.com
Congratulations to all the finalists, but the finalist are not all from Etsy. My twirly skirt is in the contest, and I have a studio at Artfire.
Posted by: Kelleyanne Wank | April 18, 2011 at 08:20 AM
This is fantastic! I'm loving the increase of focus on upcycled handmade goodies. This is the future we can all work towards because it's such a major way to take the pressure off our landfills while lauding these artists who produce such unique items.
I'm very impressed to see this article in the L. A. Times and hope to see more of this focus and hope there will be increasing opportunities for artists everywhere from all online venues to flaunt their creativity. Imagine the fun of wearing that twirly skirt that no one else has. Talk about showing the world how to create a future that honors the trend towards recycling with flair! Oh yes, this makes me very happy!
Posted by: Teri | April 18, 2011 at 11:08 AM
Artfire.com was recently voted as the best venue for selling handmade crafts on About.com. No need to register to buy on Artfire.com.
Posted by: JimJuris | April 18, 2011 at 01:10 PM
Congratulations to KellyAnne Wank from ArtFire, whose skirt is featured, and all the Etsy artisans. Well done.
Posted by: Margaret Crow | April 18, 2011 at 01:22 PM
All of the entries were wonderful! Congrats to the winners.
Interesting to know that a large portion of the entries were from ArtFire.com. Please give credit, where credit is due. We really grow so tired of ETSY ETSY ETSY being recognized as the only handmade marketplace.
Posted by: Valerie Ewing | April 18, 2011 at 04:06 PM
Congratulations to the amazing Kelleyanne Wank, the ArtFire seller behind that amazing twirly skirt! Etsy may be more well known but there are several venues for upcycling craftspeople and other handmade arts including ArtFire and Zibbet.
Posted by: Robin Priest | April 18, 2011 at 05:57 PM
That beautiful skirt is from a fellow artistan, DiscordThreads, on Artfire, not Etsy!
Posted by: Jenny | April 18, 2011 at 07:07 PM
Why are you crediting Etsy.com for all the artists work. Some of these artists do not and will not ever sell on Etsy.com.
I think this article is desperately in need of a correction.
Posted by: susan jones | April 19, 2011 at 05:20 PM
Yeah, the messenger bag looks cool and all, but it's $460, plus the BUYER has to supply her with the coat. Ridiculously overpriced and greedy. Winner should have gone to someone else who doesn't overcharge and expect the customer to supply her with the materials. I hear fire coats are pretty expensive, so you'd be paying about an extra $100 on top of the $460, PLUS shipping costs to send it to her.
Posted by: Ceana | April 21, 2011 at 08:07 AM
Wow, way to spam the comments people. Etsy is the sponsor of the contest. They didn't say all of the entries were from Etsy sellers. Tell Artfire to sponsor their own contest if they want top billing.
Posted by: karen | April 21, 2011 at 07:15 PM
Photos: Firefighter coat bag, top, re-zip it brooch, upcycled twirly skirt. Credit: Etsy.com
This last little bit at the end is misleading. The first two items are from Etsy artisans, but the last is from an Artfire artisan - me.
Discordthreads.artfire.com
Posted by: Kelleyanne Wank | April 22, 2011 at 12:40 PM