DIY City Blog

You´ve probably heard about Blurb.com where you´re able to make your own books about holiday pics, wedding pics and so on. Not many crafters and artists have realized that these blurb-books can also be made to portfolios or hardcover inspiration books! It would make a very good addition to your Etsy shop or website shop. With the prices starting from 20 dollars they are very affordable. Check out Blurb-bookstore Crafts&Hobbies category.

Lori Stanstedt aka lorimarsha has done just this. Her new book Re:find goods - Wear. Smile. Repeat. shows her clothing reconstructions and inspiration. It makes a wonderful addition to your craft book library. See the book preview here (40 pages, published: May 13, 2008).

Here´s how she describes her book, “Our culture glorifies the new. Trendy garments with built-in obsolescence quickly lose appeal when they appear on the “what’s not” side of the “what’s hot” fashion column. So they’re relegated to the back of the closet….stuffed into a bottom drawer… and, if they’re not dumped into the trash, they eventually find their way to thrift and consignment stores where they languish under the humiliation of multiple markdowns and overpopulated racks. As every savvy recycler knows, treasure often hides between purple power suits and polyester broomstick skirts. And the thrill of finding a mustard dupioni silk blouse or a fine gauge British wool dress makes the sometimes exhaustive searches worthwhile. I am proud to say that I design all of my garments from recycled materials.”

At the moment Blurb offers only 48 books on crafts and 8(!) books on recycling… I know you guys have talent to make more! You can fill your book from anything to product images, making-of-pics, inspiration book scans and drawings or sketches as long as they do not violate any copyrights. Of course book-making requires a certain ability for lay-out design and quality pictures from your items. But as I have written about DIY photography in the past, all this can be done at home. Just use your imagination and creativity. The Blurb.com book-design program is very helpful in this. Now how long it would take for me to construct my own book from my inspiration book pages or my trashion tutorials???

RECYCLE RUNWAY book written by Nancy Judd. Book detail HERE.
Check out their website.

by Outi Pyy

Smashing Darling just released version 2 of their website. So now you get more smashing choices than before. I love the new look - black and white so classic - very edgy. They have added some new filters to make it easy to find what you are looking for.

I love the new area called “Chic Boutique” - in this area it is rated by how often designers add new photos and if the photos are nice and big. It encourages the best of the best.

Check it out and let them know what you think about their new look and site!

I spent a good part of my weekend browsing through Firstview.com fall 2008 fashion collections. Every fashion blog is posting about the next fall trend so there´s propably no point of me doing the same. I concentrate on finding ideas from them that you fellow DIYers can apply in your projects. And boy did I hit the motherload!

I´m sure most of you have seen pics of the unreal 3D slogan jackets in Viktor & Rolf Fall 2008 collection. Quite stunning, but they take a bit of planning and pattern making to pull off. I want to see fast results in my DIY fashion projects (plus my sewing machine is at the repair shop) so that was not the thing that caught my attention… It was the STAPLES!! The entire collection is filled with seams with random staple-details. V&R also used them for gathering volume and combining pieces (sleeves to bodice). The best thing is that this DIY tip is unisex so you can style your mans wardrobe at the same go.

I had to go get my husbands staple gun immediately and try this out. I don´t think this would work so good on my silk party dress, so I´ll start from refashioning old tees, shirts and jeans. The staples need to be shot against a surface that absorbs the hit but allows them to be taken out easily - thick styrofoam. Be careful when pulling off the garment. The staple is through the fabric but it still needs to be bent underneath to secure the fastening. Hammer the staple ends down to finish the detail. I´m sure V&R have sewed the seams normally before stapling them, but I would not bother if you are in a hurry… In this case “less is more” does not aply. The more the merrier.
I´m not sure if the staples I have are stainless steel, but I´m kinda hoping there not… I want them to rust when the garment is washed!! That would make a cool effect. Looooove rust. If the washing machine does not work in rusting, I´ll try soaking. CheapBoutique at Etsy also gave me a tip to use Boiled egg yolk works, Ammonia or urine for rust-treatments. Ammonia (chlorine/bleach) might be easiest. I remember some denim buttons rusting when I soaked a pair of jeans in raw bleach. Ooops.

by Outi Pyy

Sneak Peek for the New Orleans issue of DIY City Mag. This issue goes live on July 15! This issue takes you down the streets of NOLA and shows you all the great places to shop for DIY supplies, you will get to meet many local designers that call New Orleans home. Spread the word about DIY City Mag - and if you would like to be a contributor send us an email at diycitymag@gmail.com . Wonder where we are headed next - be sure to check out the New Orleans issue as we always give a sneak peek in each issue.

Janna Ambags-Alberts makes incredible design jewelry from recycled leather. Her work has the right (stylish) kind of 80´s vibe but at the same time I see them as very modern wearables. They have a punk feel to them that will elevate any little black dress to gala status. Janna has also a Flickr gallery by the name of Artable.nl.

Since her jewelry cannot be bought online I recommend checking out Fleathers.etsy.com. She makes earrings from colorful leather.

by Outi Pyy

“DIY tutorial: Marc by Marc Jacobs Lego Belt”

I´ve done stuff from legos in the past but doing a Lego belt buckle?? I´ve tried to figure out the fastening since I saw these in Marc By Marc Jacobs SS08 summer collection. Then I was doing some google searches this evening for something completely different and stumbled upon Morgan´s lego-belt tutorial. How simple solution! I mean it is always like that isn´t it? Simple just works! Great job girl! Now the only question is how will a make this work for a belt buckle for guys??

by Outi Pyy

I adore worn down secondhand leather and bags made from recycled or repurposed leather clothes. You just can´t beat vintage leather. My all time favorite bags designer in the sustainable fashion scene is Ashley Watson but recently I have also found other great designers and bag makers!

BAGGAGE recycled leather bags from Canada.

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Recycled leather bags available at Amoosi.

Matières à réflexion bags by French designers Laetitia Azpiroz and Cyrille Railliet. Also check out their blog. Found via TheCoveted fashion blog.

Red leather bag sewn from a thrifted leather jacket. Made by a fellow Finn Jaana-Mari.

Recycled leather goods from thecraftydevils.etsy.com.

Charlott Vasberg inspires me with her bag designs. The Twiste bag from 2005 still looks new and fresh (zippers yey!).

We know - the question you are all asking - When is the New Orleans issue of DIY City Mag going live? Well July 15th would be the answer and it’s worth the wait! Jammed packed with New Orleans designers/artists and cool places to shop for your DIY supplies. We have a special Wedding Feature and some really cool inspiration walls, boards and pages from designers around the world. You will not want to miss our features section where we have some great interviews with local indie designers.

So check back daily as we will keep you updated and give you a few sneak peeks from the mag!

Check out our post on Stylehive.

Find designer labels mixed in with branded jeans in a clothing exchange setting… yes thats right, swap your unwanted pieces for new ones. You can even pick up a pair of 501s to customise… what could be more fashion creative!

Bang Bang Clothing Exchange
Berwich Street (near Tyler’s Court)
London
T: 0207 494 2042

 by: Sara Millis