Upcycling Spotlight: Ornj Tote Bag

When I started making things, I was really inspired by the dirty streets of Washington, D.C. Monday morning trash was always the best. Walking to work down 16th street, I always found the most interesting things. Dropped shoes, dozens of flyers from a closed cell phone store, broken bike parts, thank you cards never mailed. For a long time, I collected these things, these forgotten treasures, plotting their revival. Little did I know that I wasn’t the only one. The practice of using waste materials to produce useful products is called upcycling.

My own attempts at upcycling never really produced anything “useful.” Necklaces made from wine corks found behind the Mayflower Hotel? Um, gross and not at all useful. So I am always fascinated to find crafters who are creating useful products from waste materials. It really is a challenge. Trash is, well, trash, which means it can be dirty, smelly, damaged, etc. From time to time, I will spotlight upcycled products that actually work. I will actually purchase these products and test them out.

First off is the Ornj Tote Bag by David Shock Designs out of Detroit.

Ornj bags are created out of recycled construction fencing, pulled off city streets and abandoned fields. Brilliant. I don’t know how many times I have thought about how beautiful that orange construction fencing is. So orange and lovely.

The bag is well made and very very sturdy. The handles are reinforced so that they don’t hurt your hands. I picked up the bag, thinking I would turn it into a diaper bag, but this is not the best use for it. Diaper bags tend to get too full of toys and stuffed animals and sippy cups and this bag doesn’t like to be over-filled. It gets bulky, etc. It does make an awesome book bag or shopping bag for a quick trip to the market.

You can also pick up a felt liner for your bag:

So far, this is the best upcycled product that I own. It is functional, sturdy and best of all, stylish and fun.

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com. She thinks you are rad.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 9:12 am and is filed under Etsy, Upcycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.