Shane gets crossed out.

Serious book update 4.0

I’ve been finding a lot of books here & there, what can I say. I think because as I age and as a designer, I’m utilizing these piles of books more than I ever thought I would. There was a time not too long ago, when I considered posting a massive craigslist ad telling folks I was an ex-designer selling all his books for dirt cheap. Reason mainly being is I really hate moving these things. I’ve got at least 8 of those Rubbermaid bins full of them. Those are the bins you got to watch and make sure mom or pops doesn’t try and hoist or it could put them out for the count. Go click around, I’m not gonna detail every book I found, but some are old some are newer, all are cool. All the books were between $.75 – 2.50. Oh and check out the scrawls in some of them, pretty funny stuff, John wasn’t having it that Shane marked his territory in John’s book, John crossed him out. If this were Oakland, that type of behavior starts gang feuds – and gets your face cut.

Books arent all that I found, I gnabbed a cool Chicago mug (again) for my buddy Joe over at Overproof. I found a ton of blank t-shirts (puts my total count somewhere around 300 is my guess). Finally, I absorbed a box of those cool manila “book pockets.” You know, those old things in the front of old library books that held that stamp card… About 250 of them. I’m thinking I wanna do something with a 7″ cover design and utilize them like that somehow. Who knows. The box of them were $2.50

Second Runway

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Photos pinched from Lauren Gantner.

This past Saturday I attended the Second Runway ’09 fashion show at the Goodwill store & Warehouse off of University in St. Paul. It was packed in there come showtime with standing-room-only and apparently it was sold out to legal capacity. All of the designs shown where donated by the designers for an auction immediately afterward. Rumor has it that the gig raised a crapload of cash for the organization. It was a good time had by all, it was especially great because the stipulation for the designs is that all 20 selected designers had to use only goods  purchased from Goodwill Stores to promote going green and sustainable lifestyles.

Hence the reason for this post. Since I can remember I get sweaty palms and my brain’s synapses fire rapidly with ideas for stuff to re-purpose immediately upon entering any thrift store, it just makes sense. Inspiration is everywhere but it’s there in piles of it at any thrift store – GET IN THERE. The designer’s clothes themselves were very cool, a smattering of a lot of different styles. My friends Tim & Thom Navarro had incredible pieces and theirs were obviously my favorites. Look for them to break out in 2009 and become a household fashion name synonymous with green ethics and killer designs. They also have a new website launching this year. I’ll post when it launches.

On a side note: I always thought Goodwill was just another religious-based organization similar to the Salvation Army. However, I was surprised to find out that it’s proceeds go towards helping put disadvantaged folks and folks with disabilities back to work. I can definitely get with that.

Mark your calendars for 2010’s Second Runway show and be sure to check Goodwill’s site for similar fun events throughout the year.

– Keep on thriftin’

Recycled Water Bottle Phone and the Vintage Denim Hunter.

It’s 2009 and Motorola drops some HOPE on us – the first recycled phone made from recycled plastic bottles. It’s not the coolest phone as far as new/techy features but has all the basic and necessary ones average folks use most. Check it out.

Also,  I found this incredibly interesting article on a guy named Brit Eaton who hunts old western ghost towns, farms, and old rickety structures for forgotten denim, shirts, and other old artifacts. Peep this video here. And here is a more in-depth print article on the man himself. I can totally identify with this guy in my itch for thrifting and hunting for stuff. This dude takes it to the extreme, I’m sort of jealous he gets to do what he does – for a living! Print article and video short links here lifted from Draplin.com

I haven’t had much time to hit the stores lately. So next week I’m sure the itch will overcome me and I’ll hit up some spots. I mean, you gotta let the good stuff build up right?