I was recently browsing Etsy and came across this wonderful shop called TheFlowerpress and fell in love with it. Necklaces,rings, earrings,brooches and more all recycled from T-Shirts and used in such a clever way that I had to buy one of her adorable necklaces. It arrived beautifully gift wrapped and I am wearing it right now and yesterday I wore it as headband.
The girl behind the Flower Press is Anne Pinaglia, a multi-faceted late twenty-something. A little over a year ago, Anne packed up her pug, left her home and career in nonprofit work in Portland, Oregon, and moved to Paris, France to be with her long time boyfriend. Not yet having a work visa, she poured herself into her passions, one of which being music, joining forces with the Paris-based English band This is the Kit, playing a plethora of instruments from the Autoharp to the musical saw.
During the summer of 2010, taking two weeks to walk from Porto, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain (following the old pilgrimage routes of Saint James), she ran across a necklace made from used fabric. Admiring it, she inquired and was told that it is a longstanding Portuguese tradition to use old fabric and turn it into "new" items. With this in mind, upon her return from Spain she gathered some old tee shirts and started cutting.
"I really didn't know what I was trying to make, I was just testing my creativity," she explains. Slowly but surely, those old tee shirts were turned into simple necklaces, and within a matter of months those simple necklaces became more elaborate, with collections of brooches, earrings and even up cycled clothing added into the mix, some of which are even stained and colored with tea, wine, and vegetable extracts.
Anne adds that she gets tee shirt donations often, and laughs "people must think it's a bit odd when they see my excitement after handing me an old white tee shirt with holes in it. In my mind, I'm already thinking about the size of the necklace and the type of tea I will use to stain it." Those tee shirts would have otherwise been thrown away; after an hour in Anne's hands it is given new life (and hopefully a new home!).
Now at four months into its life, the Flower Press has seen - and continues to see - success, both at craft fairs and on Etsy. "For me it's not just the sales that mark its success, but the response that I get so often on my pieces.
Anne has made a special pair of earrings valued at $10 that one lucky winner will be able to have for their very own. These earrings are (of course) made with up cycled tee shirts which have been stained a lovely soft pink colour with loose-leaf floral tea. Hanging on silver-plated wires and hoops, they would make a lovely addition to your valentines outfit!
Simple Rules to Enter:
1)Please follow my blog yes you know it makes me smile:)
2) Please visit Anne's shop and pick your favourite and post here only takes a few minutes of your time
http://www.etsy.com/people/theflowerpress
If you would like to follow Anne on Twitter here she is :
http://twitter.com/#!/FlowerPressShop
This giveaway will begin January 17th, 2011 and end at 11:59 pm EST on Feb.7th 2011. It is open to anyone worldwide to enter so come in and have a go. Random.org will pick a winner!
There is no limit as to how many times you can enter! oh and Happy Valentines Day.
Good luck and thank you Anne.
