Cyber Monday Etsy Sale!

This is the Biggest Sale of the year!

It's time to shop for the holidays and inspire the crafter and environmentalist in your loved ones.  Check out our Etsy store today and get a big discount on any of our unique, handmade, upcycled art.
Hit the jump for the 30% OFF Discount Code.

If you go to Vancouver, go to Granville Market

Kevin here,

Recently I took a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia for a few days.  I was tipped off by previous Canadian travellers to make it a point of checking out Granville Island.  This is just a quick overview of some fun stuff anyone can enjoy there, especially people who love art and food!

Granville Island is across False Creek from downtown Vancouver.  It is an entire island of art, food, galleries, fresh markets, aquatic rentals, and it's only joined to the main land by a park!  Also, the topography is peppered by the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, which is a perfect location near artistic galleries and an active creative environment.  Seemingly more than just a tourist trap, I decided to spend much of my free time there.

Public Market
This building features the Organic Market and Food Vendors.  This is the reason you could spend a whole week on the island.  I arrived for breakfast and was overwhelmed with options.

all independent businesses, no big chains

hmmm fresh bagels, tomatoes, or chocolates....

I went for an authentic Canadian maple donut.  Ok.....2.

Shops
When I walked through the various craft businesses, I really got excited about the future of CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles.  There's range of unique mediums and a great sense of community here.  The mix of workshops and stores really made the whole atmosphere feel creative and involving.

It's like you are in Disneyland and every one of the facades actually had people in the windows creating.

I peaked in and saw various architecture models.  I totally geek'd out!

This shop lets you customize your own purchases.

After all my stories, KC is now daydreaming of an alternate Canadian life; studying at an Art and Design University a few steps from great breakfast options and future opportunities like these places:

If you ever want to take a sweet trip to Vancouver, I'm now one of the people telling everyone about awesome Granville Island.  If you have any suggestions or hot spots that I forgot, comment below!

Kevin Sears

Review: Organix Hair Care Products

So, I am super picky about my conditioner. I've got thick hair that likes to frizz. I've also recently had a keratin treatment done on my hair (all natural, no formaldehyde) and I color it so that means I need to use a shampoo that doesn't contain sulfates. A friend had left her Organix argan oil shampoo in my shower and I gave it a try. Pretty good (not super foamy because it lacks those sulfates, but good).

Photo from Organix, www.organixhair.com

The next time I was buying conditioner I looked to see what Organix offered. I was a little skeptical if it's going to be as good as what I currently use, but I was also looking to find something that was a bit more eco-friendly so I gave their keratin conditioner a shot. I have to say I was VERY impressed. Super smooth, moisturizing and silky. Only complaint is that it is a little hard to wash out.

NOW, to the "green" aspects to this line. It's always hard to know when to trust manufacturers on this stuff and also know exactly what you are putting on your hair without a chemistry degree. So, this becomes hard for the lay person to figure out sometimes. I've read a few things that say they use other not-so-great ingredients in place of the really bad ones. That's not cool. 

In other aspects, the bottles are made with recycled materials, the labels use environmentally friendly inks, and the label film is made from corn (so that's also controversial at a certain level). It's also not tested on animals (I mean, it's 2012, why would any product like this still be doing that, but I guess not everyone does). 

As someone who doesn't have a lot of money to spend on salon haircare products (or time... this stuff is right at Target where I'm already doing some shopping), and as someone who likes green options but also options that work for my hair, this product seems like a good compromise. But I'm open to others. Anyone else have a great shampoo and conditioner that is also green? And how do you define green?

http://www.organixhair.com/

Unique Find (and Review): Further

My current obsession-- Further products!

Locally sourced depleted vegetable oil is refined into biofuel (so amazing already) THEN the folks at Further take the pure glycerin byproduct to produce their exceptional product line.

Their story is just as wonderful as their unique fragrance. I am pretty addicted on this stuff on the wonderful fragrance alone. It smells fresh, clean, and the hook for me is it has more of a masculine scent.  I don't really like floral, or musky scents so I usually go for unscented.  Once I picked up a Further hand lotion at Unique LA's Holiday Show I couldn't imagine not getting to slather this delicious scented lotion on my skin. It is thick enough to feel helpful on soothing dry skin while smooth enough to not feel greasy or sticky.

We were lucky enough to have the dish soap and the hand soap sent home to test out for our review when I purchased a hand lotion at the last Unique LA Spring Show. I feel confident that I  have used everything enough to give a truthful review of my findings in case it is a product that you would enjoy too. Using the full product line is really wonderful if you like the scent. The fragrance holds strong, but doubling up the hand soap and the lotion is a home run!

When I was a teen I was obsessed with the sales at Bath and Body Works. I was that girl. As I got older I was either too broke to continue my habit or my taste had shifted to where I would spend more if I just found the right product (eco, thoughtful, smells good)-- I just was too broke to test everything out to find which one I loved. Whatever ratio and recipe Further came up with, they found the yummiest fragrance for their lotion that totally fits all my requirements for a forever favorite. The dish soap, which is available in person at events like Unique LA, smells so good it is actually pleasurable to do dishes! The price tag for the dish soap is a bit pricey for dish soap, but if I had a guest house or had a situation where the soap wasn't used too frequently this would be a perfect investment stocked in the kitchen. They would all be great housewarming gifts or a hostess gift for crashing at a friends place and saving them from using up all their products too! Overall, I think you would really enjoy adding some of this in your life if you like bergamot scent. And if you don't know if you like bergamot you should totally give it a try because it is awesome!!

Best part for us Culver City shoppers is their products are sold in my favorite retailer Ludeen's in downtown Culver. Another must to check out if you haven't already. It is like a Unique LA + Patchwork + CRAFTED in a small boutique just east of the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City!!!

XOXO, KC

What I Wore: Friday 7/6/12 & CRAFTED Links

Today will be my first Friday that I leave for the Port and can share my outfit. Yay! 

The necklace is from my dear friend and super talented designer KSaintP and the dress was purchased in NYC because I was a poor packer and didn't seem to bring enough casual clothes with me. Unfortunately it was from Forever :( I really try not to purchase new clothing, but once in a blue moon something catches my eye, or out of necessity I need to purchase it.  In the grand scheme of things I shouldn't be so hard on myself about getting something at the store, but there are so many factors that go into garment manufacturing that I try to find things that I am not the first time user.

Last week I wore this outfit which I could throw together and look presentable at a reasonable time. Last Friday we had to arrive really early to be there in time for the Good Day LA News taping and it was way too early for blogging. 


I am super excited for my weekend at CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles!!! It should be a great weekend :) In case you missed the Grand Opening last weekend, I have included some links to all the details and fun.

Link round-up all about CRAFTED:
LA Weekly
Mr.Kate 
LA Times 
Hearts and Laserbeams
Daily Breeze 6/26/12
Daily Breeze 6/29/12 (I'm pictured on it!)
LAIST
Curbed Los Angeles
Cruise Industry News
Travel Pulse


I am bringing a TON of supplies down to the Port. Stop by and see what mystery supplies I have that you can play with. ;)


I'll share details Live on Twitter @MakeShopLive and Instagram @MakeShopLive 
XOXO, KC

Grand Opening of Our Shop at CRAFTED Tomorrow!

We are so excited... this is happening tomorrow! Please join us for the grand opening... but if you can't make it, we will be at CRAFTED at the Port of LA every weekend!

Dekalb Market in Brooklyn, NY

Dekalb Market has a motto "eat.shop.drink.play."  That sounded like something that approaches a lifestyle similar to our Make Shop Live community.  Located relatively near the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, NY this outdoor vendor market has a unique and upcycled design.  All the retail shops are in freight containers!

The bright colors really caught our eye from the street.  We grabbed some breakfast sandwiches and walked around the market on Memorial Day.  Unfortunately, it was generally sparse for the holiday, but we still each found a store we loved.

The community garden is arranged at the entrance and is full of life! 

This is Kevin's favorite.  Check out the vintage toys!  Nice clean display too.  Tron action figure from the 80's!!

The shipping containers are stacked so you can see the sides uniquely colored and numbered with each market stalls for easy visibility and maneuverability around the marketplace. Plus, it looks really great too!

If you are ever in Brooklyn, and want a nice place to shop outdoors that would entertain a whole family, go to there!

Dekalb Market info:


Beer + Wine
Sun - Thurs // 12pm - 10pm
Fri - Sat // 12pm - 12am

Food

Sun - Thurs // 8am - 6pm
Fri - Sat // 8am - 8pm

Retail
Tues - Sun // 11am- 6pm

MAP

Open 7 Days A Week

138 Willoughby Street (@Flatbush Ave), Brooklyn, NY 11201

B, Q, R to Dekalb Ave

A, C, F & R to Jay St. Metrotech

View Larger Map 

Long Beach City Guide on Design*Sponge

Sharon wrote an Ah-Mazing Long Beach City Guide for Design*Sponge this week. Major Kudos to Sharon for such a thorough and encompassing list of all that the LBC has to offer. If you haven't had the pleasure of checking it out yet, hop over to her full post here.

Maybe it can inspire some fun weekend plans ;)

We hope you have a super weekend!!! Until next week...

Shop: Fair Trade Low Down

Ever wonder what a Fair Trade label means and why some coffee has a logo and some advertise fair wages but no logo? Me too. A few years ago I somehow got wrangled into presenting on Fair Trade coffee for a group, even though I knew next to nothing about it. When I was living in London, I just remember being stunned at seeing how many more items were labeled Fair Trade and so I wanted to know more. What I found was pretty interesting and there was quite a bit of information I had no idea about. Below are some of the things that came out of that research that I thought might be of interest to the MSL readers (the original presentation was to Orange County volunteers, so some info is very local). Enjoy!

What Does a Fair Trade Label Mean?

If a product has one of the logos below on it, that means it has been officially certified as Fair Trade, meeting the standards set by an independent body. These standards include fair wages to growers/producers, organizational democracy and transparency, direct trade, community development, certain sustainability requirements, fair working conditions (along with no child labor) including foregoing the use of certain pesticides known to be unhealthful to farmer workers. So, Fair Trade is about more than just fair wages (meaning some coffee makers may claim fair wages, but are not able to be certified as Fair Trade because they do not meet the other standards).

US label 

Started in Europe, but is now labeling US-sold products

Products in THE US are only eligible for Fair Trade certification if they are:

1. Coffee, tea and herbs, cocoa and chocolate, fresh fruit, sugar, rice, vanilla, flowers and honey.*

2. Grown in specific “developing” nations (so items grown in Europe and the US cannot be considered Fair Trade because they are not designated as "developing")

*There are some imported items like basketballs that also bear the Fair Trade label that are not this list

Why Fair Trade Coffee?

Coffee is the world's second most valuable traded commodity, behind only petroleum. Coffee producers, like most agricultural workers around the world, are kept in a cycle of poverty and debt by the current global economy designed to exploit cheap labor and keep consumer prices low.

Coffee is the US's largest food import. The US consumes 1/5 of the world’s coffee. Fair Trade farmers sell only about 20% of their coffee at a Fair Trade price. The rest is sold at the world price, due to lack of demand. (taken from www.globalexchange.org) 

Other Key Foods to Consider Buying Fair Trade

Bananas

Cocoa

Cotton

Flowers

Fresh Fruit

Honey

Juices

Rice

Spices/Herbs

Sugar

Tea

Wine

Fair Trade and Ethical Sourcing Resources 

Greenopia:  A ranking of national and local business on their sustainability efforts, including fair trade. There is no Orange County section, but there are ones for LA and national chains.

Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International- FLO: Includes a list of prohibited materials and trade prices in order to meet minimum Fairtrade standards, as well as a list of producer countries that are covered by Fairtrade standards (“developed” countries like the US are not covered).

Trans Fair: The “Where to Buy” feature on Trans Fair’s site. Unfortunately only lists stores that carry fair trade brands, but does not list restaurants/coffee shops. 

Better World Shopper:  Grades products A-F by category on human rights, the environment, animal protection, community involvement and social justice. Has an iPhone app ($1.99) and pocket guide ($10) for easy reference when shopping.

Fair Trade LA: A group committed to making LA more aware about the importance of Fair Trade. Includes a listing of Orange County stores that sell Fair Trade.

Where to buy other Fair Trade items (from Trans Fair’s site):

 A Greater Gift- a program of SERRV International, one of the first alternative trade organizations in the world and a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT).

 Bead for Life- Ugandan women craft beautiful beads out of colorful recycled paper, "eradicating poverty one bead at a time."

 Fair TradeFederation- a membership association of retailers and importers committed to fair trade principles.

 Fair TradeSports- the first sports equipment company in the US. offering fairly traded soccer balls, sports apparel and more.

 GlobalExchange Online Store- shop online with Global Exchange, knowing the products you buy are entirely sweatshop free.

 Mercado Global- a non-profit fair trade organization that links rural and economically-disadvantaged cooperatives to the U.S. market.

Pachamama,World of Artisans- Pachamama works to increase consumer awareness, build equitable producer relationships and bring beautiful fair trade products to the public

 Ten ThousandVillages- One of the world's oldest and largest fair trade organizations, offering jewelry, home décor and gifts.

 World of Good- Berkeley-based World of Good offers ethically sourced gifts, housewares and accessories.

 You may also want to check out my guide to Fair Trade coffee in Orange County. 

Unique Find: Eco Resin

Hi Friends! Got another great find from Unique LA this past weekend. Get this, environmentally friendlier resin... I know! If you are a crafty, you know resin is one one of the nastiest things to deal with, not only because you have got to protect yourself from the chemicals when working with it, but also because those chemicals are no bueno for the earth.

We stumbled across this amazing new product when we were checking out the jewelry by Cast & Combed. Her booth caught our eye with it's funky and bright accessories, but we had to stop by when we saw the sign that said, "Made in LA with Eco Resin." Turns out, the eco resin is ALSO made in LA (double bonus for shopping local and sustainable). The stuff is made by Entropy Resins in Gardena, CA using sap. Genius! And like their website says, "There is no better chemist than Mother Nature." Agreed.

We hope to be trying this stuff out soon on upcoming projects. We're pumped to have found this great product. To see what it looks like fully finished, check out the Cast & Combed website.

Got a great eco-friendly craft product you are working with? Tell us about it and we'd love to review it (or you can too... we are totally open to guest bloggers)!

Unique Find: Upcycled Skateboard Accessories

One of the best things about doing shows is all the wonderful vendors we are surrounded by! Some of them are our friends so it's great to catch up (like Maiden Voyage and Fruition) and others are fun discoveries (like this Otter Wax that I'm sure we'll be writing about later). This last weekend at Unique LA we came across a vendor doing some really rad stuff. As fate would have it he was just a few tables down from us.

Mukee is jewelry and belt buckles that were formerly skateboards. Upcycling +Jewlery= Make Shop Live Love! Designer Derek Keenan used to be in the Peace Corps in West Africa. He was inspired by locals who would not let anything go waste--tops of broken flip flops become muzzles for mules for instance. When he got back to the States he wondered how he could embrace that ingenuity and disdain for waste. And all those wrecked skateboards out there suddenly have a new life!

  

 *photos from Mukee's Etsy site

If you think abou it, skateboards are their own works of art and there's a lot of craftsmanship that goes into making them. It would be really heartbreaking if you couldn't rescue them from the trash heap.

I had to buy these guys... you like?

So cute! I'm in love with my purchase.

Did you find anything spectacular at Unique LA? Please share with us!

-Sharon

What I Wore: Friday 5/11/12

Hi Guys! Kevin helped pack the car last night and I am gearing up to head to the California Market Center to set up for Unique LA. Can you believe the show is tomorrow already?!?

Today I am showing off my fancy nail job and my awesome necklace from Unique LA seller Plastique* who makes these rad laser cut necklaces of the Hollywood skyline. Jen of Plastique* makes some really great laser cut jewelry I strongly suggest checking her out at the show this weekend!

Showing off my nails feels really girly of me, but considering how many nail art posts there are on Pinterest I think I am in good shape. I used to hate getting my nails done because I would ruin them almost instantly. It seems I am always soaking things and wet hands don't make for stellar nails. I also really like using my nails as tools - nails work for so many things that is really bad for keeping your nails nice. NOW, I have found the amazing properties of having a gel manicure. This stuff is genius!!! 

You are probably thinking, what does this have to do with the environment?!? One of the 4 R's is Reduce and this type of manicure totally reduces the amount of manicures. Since it is long lasting think about all the cotton swabs saved by not having to change your polish every couple of days. Extra bonus: It stays shiny for the duration too so it looks super great for well over a week. I can usually make it over two weeks with it looking nice still.

Currently gel nails is my favorite new trend to try out.  If you haven't tried one yet, you should treat yourself to one for Mother's Day :)  

Hope we see you this weekend at Unique LA! I look forward to tons of hi-fives and hugs with my fancy fingers!

XOXO, KC

Compostable Trash Bags

I hate creating garbage and throwing away a bunch of trash encased in plastic just feels unsettling to me. Regular plastic bags can take 100 years to degrade.  I understand the need for regular trash bags for some things. One of those tips and tricks is using black lawn trash bags to keep light off uncured screens once screen printing emulsion has dried on them in a dark room. They keep light out so wonderfully there is really no other thing that could tackle the job of saving your screen while waiting to burn your image in it.  For everything else, I use compostable trash bags to dispose of our household trash.

There are some "drawbacks" to compostable trash bags when you compare them to something like a ForceFlex garbage bag; for instance they are very thin and are not as forgiving. They do not have fancy drawstrings, and you can't put liquids in them since they are more porous.  If your household accumulates a ton of trash the difference in cost for the compostable bags would really add up. While all these "drawbacks" are true, I think there is something to be said about making life choices that don't include preserving trash in plastic for years to come. Also, as you are utilizing choices that accumulate less trash you will have less need for so many voluminous trash bags.

Since there are no ties up top or anything like a lip to secure the bag, it will slide down (as shown right) if not secured with a very large rubber band. Give this idea a chance and feel better next time you drop the trash off in a compostable bag. Also pictured far right: Using compostable bags for recycling - seems more logical than wasting a plastic bag for recycling. Just a thought.

I have tried World Centric, If You Care, and Bio Bags. All of them will run you from $5 - $7 depending on where you purchase them. The main plus for Bio Bags over the other brands is each bag has four flaps that you can use to tie and secure the bag. Plus the bags are a fun green color :) Usually the World Centric is my bred and butter. Seriously they are all pretty comparable so you can't go wrong.


Live Green,
KC 


I get no benefit from these reviews other than the sheer enjoyment of using the products. I get no payment from affiliate links or off my reviews.

What I Wore: Friday 5/04/12

Hi Y'all! KC here. Last night Kevin and I saw Avengers in 3-D and although we got home at a ridiculous time it was so majorly worth it. I strongly suggest going to go see it this weekend--it is the best super hero movie!!!

The outfit is a screen printed tunic, skinny jeans, a boyfriend cardigan, and the final touch--my favorite yellow shoes! It is not as fancy as I usually like to get but it is so darn comfy that I am okay with it being totally casual. The only thing that would make this outfit way better is if I had screen printed it myself. I totally want to use this top as inspiration now for a line of tunics... hmm.

Today I am off to the Sugar Plum Arts & Crafts Festival in Buena Park to check out all it has to offer. The festival continues on until 5/6/12 so I will post the highlights once I check it out in case you are looking for something to do this weekend.   

Best Wishes for an amazing Cinco De Mayo Weekend!!!

XOXO, KC

UNIQUE LA's 4th Annual Holiday Show 2011

Here is our UNIQUE LA Picture Wrap-Up! Thanks for everyone who came out and said "Hello"! 

Those of you who couldn't make it- here are the Highlights:

Set-up began Friday and Kevin brought up all of our items for our booth. We did one load in our new FIT and it was just big enough to get everything we needed display wise nicely. 

We lucked out and had an obstructive column just outside our booth that we could decorate on and make sure our booth was visible from the aisle way. :)

Kevin made some AH-MAZING record accessory stands for UNIQUE! Here are some of my favorites:

 There were Craft Demos featured by the Craft and Folk Art Museum- Making Upcycled Gift Bows.

If you happened to miss the demo- Here is our tutorial to make upcycled bows this holiday...

Here bellow, are some of our Friends who are based out of LA. I got this picture with Ryan of Magic Industrie, but missed a picture of his booth :( The rest have pictures of their booths/ contact info:

 Enchanted Leaves and Maiden Voyage Clothing was Hoppin'! 

 

 

Monstertrocity (Monster Kat...formerly known as Handmade Store on a Bike)

 Janie XY always has the cutest table set-up and the Handmade Plush toys are so cute I want to burst!

For even more pictures, hop over to UNIQUE LA's Flickr Set...


Also, I want to give a big shout out to Kristin Parker for our new Logo design for our business cards!!! I am really excited to expand off this logo into 2012. :)

I hope you enjoyed the show! 
XOXO, KC and Kevin