Recycled Clothing

I found this wonderful new shop on Etsy that recycles! ZurdaCrafts has some wonderful bags, scarves and more made from recycled clothing! Check it out :)

*Where are you from? Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am originally from Needham, MA. I went to college at Macalester in Saint Paul, MN and currently live in Somerville, MA.

*How did you decide on your shop name? Why did you start your business?
My own name was taken, so I had to get creative. My shop name comes from the Spanish word for left-handed ("zurda"). It combines two things about me, because I am a left-handed crafter and speak Spanish.

I started my business in the hopes of developing an outlet for my creativity. I am the sort of person who always needs to be creating something. This craft I discovered as a great way to be creative and "green" at the same time.

*What got you started in recycling?
My first experience with making crafts from recycled clothing was for a community service project I did at Goodwill. It got me thinking about all the interesting fabric there is in used clothing that often goes to waste. After that, I just had to find a good source for fabric and learn the felting process.

*What’s your supply addiction; is there a specific color or type of supply you just can’t pass up?
The best fabrics for what I do are natural fibers. I particularly like merino wool and angora because they are very soft but not too bulky. But because I get my fabrics second-hand, part of the fun is seeing what is available on the particular day that I go hunting.

*What motivates or inspires you to create?
I enjoy transforming something old and unwanted into something new and beautiful. Seeing that transformation takes place is probably the most exciting part of the process for me.

*Which item in your shop did you enjoy making the most and why?
I really enjoyed making the patchwork scarves. They have the most different kinds of fabric in one piece of anything I've made so far, and figuring out how to fit these pieces together was a lot of fun.

*What is your favorite shop that uses recycled materials, and/or your favorite blog about recycling?
There are many, many crafters on Etsy that are doing great recycled work. Some of my favorites that I've come upon so far are:
BookEndDesigns who makes purses out of recycled books,
YAVAglass who makes glasses out of old bottles, and
ccstar, who makes things out of vintage neckties.
However as I said, there are a lot of good ones!

I recently created a google group, so people who are interested in my store can also join the group by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/zurdacrafts
or emailing zurdacrafts+subscribe@googlegroups.com