Inhabitat posted an article about the silhouette art Tim Noble and Sue Webster create reusing trash and dead stuff. It’s so amazing that I wondered if it were a rear-screen projected image with a pile of trash in front. Check out their work. [Inhabitat]
Tim Noble & Sue Webster Create Amazing Silhouettes Using Found Objects And Dead Animals
February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Repurposing With Flula Video
November 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Are hope is that Flula doesn’t grab the domain name Flulaing.com and grab our 45 visitors per day. [Grist.org]
Austrian Design Firm mischer’traxler Turns One Old Grandfather Clock Into Nine Usable Pieces Of Furniture
November 14, 2011 By 1 Comment
Founded in 2009 by Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler, Austrian design firm mischer’traxler’s works are described by them as:
Balancing between hand craft and technology, they envision whole systems, processes and new production methods that deal with contemporary themes and indicate sustainability and the relevance of nature.
What better way to show it than by dismantling a grandfather clock and turning it into nine separate pieces of furniture. [FastCompany.com and Novalis Fine Arts]
Nyan Cat: A Jubbling Halloween Costume
November 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
My son Harrison always finds a way to be happy and his Halloween costume choice this year is a perfect example. He chose Nyan Cat which is basically a cat with a pink pop-tart body and flies through space with a rainbow trail. Nyan Cat built a dedicated following as an internet meme but in my mind, Nyan Cat was a Jubbling Halloween Costume idea that took about an hour to make with stuff we would normally recycle or throw out. An Amazon box for the body, leftover streamers for the rainbow and a rope recovered from a broken cat toy so Harrison can wear the costume around his neck.
Harrison loved the costume and so did the few people who knew about the pop-tart cat. Unfortunately, more people thought he was a little girl than knew who his character was and that is my bad; I forgot to break out the Flowbee.
Here’s the video of Nyan Cat in action and the soundtrack you’ll hear was running through Harrison’s head the entire time he wore the costume.
National Halloween Costume Swap Day Is October 8
October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you’re in need of a Halloween costume or just want to donate an old costume, check out the list of locations in your area that are part of the National Costume Swap Day. It’s set for Saturday, October 8.
Why Aren’t People Willing To Recycle Their Cellphones for $$$?
October 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sami Grover over at Treehugger.com posted an interesting article about an unsuccessful cellphone recycling program in the UK started by O2, a cellphone network provider. “Brits Get Good Money For Recycling Phones. Many Don’t Bother.” details how earning up to $140 isn’t enough to motivate people to recycle their no-longer used cellphones. Here’s some data on the UK provided by O2:
- 17.5 million of these gadgets are thrown out each year
- One on six (16%) who think that recycling is not worth it (same as the percentage that did recycle)
- Almost a third (31%) who are not aware that the services exist
- Almost one in ten (9%) can’t be bothered
And the numbers are worse in the US where 141 million mobile devices were sold in 2009 and the recycling rate was only 8%. The unused majority will end up in a drawer and gather dust which makes me wonder – why do we need to recycle our old cellphones? Yes, cellphones are loaded with toxic chemicals like lead, mercury, beryllium, arsenic, and cadmium – but the phones are just sitting in a box or drawer and not finding the trash. Probably the best answer is that our old cellphones have parts that can be reused cutting down the need for new raw materials and their toxic chemicals can be safely extracted during the recycling process.
“Jubbling as I say and not as I do Jubbling”?
I’m as guilty if not more than anyone out there. My stash of six previously-loved cellphones occupy a tiny space in a drawer so I have no incentive to recycle them. They’re worthless to cellphone recyclers like Nextworth but to me, they still hold value in the electronic hoarding sense because I spent anywhere from $200 to $500 on each of these buggers. I won’t put them in the trash but I’m not giving my never gonna use again cellphones up easily.
That’s why I think the success of any cellphone recycling program should not be based on the highest return you might receive for your old phone but the lowest that you are guaranteed. Kind of a like a cash for clunkers thing through cellphone service providers where any recycled phone will get you a flat credit toward your bill. The incentive goes both ways here – service provider receives (or keeps) a customer and you get a guaranteed value for cellphones you don’t use.
Blank us on ......