Vinylize Makes Groovy Glasses From Old Records

I really need to set up an eye exam, and know it's time to replace my glasses, which are starting to get pretty beat up. So I've spent a bit of time thinking about glasses lately, and wondered if anyone out there was making glasses from reused materials. I came across Vinylize, made by Tipton Eyeworks in Budapest, Hungary, a company that creates eyeglass frames from old vinyl records.

According to material on their website, Tipton Eyeworks' founder, Zachary Tipton, was inspired to try old records as a material, by his father's old record collection in his garage. The first collection, made in 2004, was created from records salvaged from flea markets, fused with "biodegradable cellulose-acetate to insulate it from the effects of heat...As often as possible we use vintage acetate (always used on the Limited Edition series)." After milling with a precision CNC machine, they tumble each frame for "72 hours with wood cubes to make them smooth and shiny." See the "Quality and Design" section of their site for more information, and check out the video below, which provides an abbreviated overview of their process. On YouTube, you can learn about a limited edition set made from Pink Floyd's album High Hopes.

This article from the Budapest Times provides further info. Lovers of vinyl might be scandalized by the statement, "In the digital era the records have little use," but heartened to know that Tipton doesn't always send records the proverbial chopping block. When he finds one in good condition from an artist he likes, it ends up on his turntable instead.

Alas, Illinoisans, there appear to be no shops within our state that carry these frames, but if your heart is set on advertising your love for vintage vinyl, reuse, or both, on the prime real estate atop your nose, you can always shop online. The handmade grooviness is pricier than what you're probably used to, and probably out of my personal price range, but they're handmade and unique. I suppose some folks spend as much on expensive shoes, clothes, or jewelry. They even come with cases made from upcycled 7 inch vinyl singles--clever. And really reuseful.

Beyond Geek: Making Old Tech New Again

While enjoying our winter break, the kids and I came across an interesting series called Beyond Geek. We caught an episode that really piqued my interest, highlighting reuse AND electronics. Host Dan Reynoso interviews a married couple that make beautiful music together--using old computers and game consoles. Their instruments of choice include the Commodore 64, Apple II, and Gameboy handsets. They've even developed software (on floppy disks!) to use this old technology to generate electronic music. Where many see electronic waste, these folks see--and hear--art. Score one for reuse!

The episode also highlights the practice of "homebrew" NES game creation--intrepid geeks programming new games for the Nintendo NES system. Some of these "homebrewers" reuse old cartridges to house their new 8-bit adventures, while one pair actually have a manufacturer create new NES cartridges (read "job creation"). I love to see ingenuity extending the useful life of a product, and these folks are providing fun and nostalgia for gamers with technology that most would consider obsolete.

Check out a preview of "8-Bit of Fun" below.

New Year's Re-Solutions

We're on the brink of a brand new year, but as we consider our resolutions, let's try to make the year one of the few "brand new" things we look forward to. Make some "re-solutions" instead of "resolutions" by resolving to reuse items and materials as much as possible in 2013. If you no longer have a use for something, donate it, sell it, or give it to a friend or relative who can benefit from it. Need something you don't already have? Look around at what you DO have and try to come up with a way to re-make your current under-used possessions into the "new" item that you need or want. If that turns out not to be possible, try to find what you're looking for at a thrift store, or online from a previous owner. Consider sharing items that you only use some of the time with friends and neighbors instead of owning something exclusively. Investigate how to recycle or donate most, if not all, of the items you might normally consider trash. There really are companies that will take just about anything--from old hole-ridden clothes, to used shoes, to your old furniture--I'll write about some of these options in the coming weeks and months. Try your hand at composting to turn even your food scraps into something new.

However you decide to approach the challenge, do your best to find as many ways to reuse in 2013 as possible. Our resources truly are precious; it can be so easy to forget that living in a privileged nation where most of us have want we need. Always remember that not all of us do in this world, and that if we do not value what we have been given, the day may come all too soon when resources that were once plenty are scarce. Show your gratitude for what we have by refusing to see any of it as waste. "Waste" is a failure of the imagination, a misnomer, a miscategorization. Be more imaginative in 2013. Seek out new friends, new experiences, new memories, new hopes, new dreams, new ways of looking at things, but not new things.

Peace, and Happy New Year! ~ Joy S.

Cap-tivating Whistles

People who know me well know that I have a minor obsession with, and modest hoard of, metal bottle caps. I just can't toss them into the trash, or even the recycling bin. I love the different designs and colors that can are printed on them, and their size and composition mean they can be easily repurposed into lots of things. I've used them to decorate bird houses and make magnets. I've glued them together and attached floral wire to make Christmas tree ornaments. When I make Christmas tree ornaments out of old painted light bulbs, I sometime use them for "hats" on the snowmen, penguins, Santas, etc. that I paint. I've used them as mini paint pots when my kids are making art and need just a little bit of paint from a big jug o' paint. They make great mosaic fodder. They can be made into beads and other jewelry. They can adorn belts. I've even seen them turned into cool fishing lures. And now that spring has sprung, and I'm outside listening to my glass wind chimes, I'm itching to try making some bottle cap wind chimes.

But I would never have thought of the application I just came across, and it may be just about the coolest bottle cap reuse yet. Loran Scruggs uses bottle caps and pieces from old tins to make working whistles. Check out her Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/BottleCapWhistles. The use of the caps for the whistle sides shows off the artwork on them. I'm delighted to see some of the same caps I've saved because of the unique animals or other graphics used in her whistles. My kids would recognize them as matching some of our Christmas tree ornaments. She even has a whistle with one of my favorite caps--an owl from Hitachino Nest Beer--as her profile image. I have bought that beer just to get more of those caps (it's not bad beer, but the cap is the real draw for me). Now I desperately want some of her whistles for me and the kiddos. If I ever decide to unload some of my cap hoard, I may have to see if she would accept them. Reuse, bottle caps, and kid friendly items--this makes me smile.

Loran's other items include toys and art made from caps, tins (like old Altoid tins), and cans. Very creative!

A Time for Reuse

Kudos to the Finger Lakes ReUse Inc.'s eCenter program and the Ithaca Youth Bureau's Computer All Stars program for offering a workshop in which participants can dismantle an old computer and use salvaged parts from it to make their own clock. Space is limited for this workshop scheduled for June 26, 2010 and a $5 registration fee will be charged. For more information, see the Finger Lakes ReUse web site.

Talk about making time for reuse! Turn too much e-waste on your hands into too much time on your hands. Save time in a bottle while saving time from a landfill. I could sit here coming up with groan-worthy phrases all day, but thankfully, I won't. :)