ReMade Founder Shannon South with the Ashbury (left) and Natoma (right) bags
With its swoon-worthy, one-of-a-kind bags (you may have seen them at Barney’s Co-Op, if not on the arms of the most coolly conscious girls around town), ReMade USA is redefining what it means to be both stylish and sustainable. What ReMade Founder Shannon South describes as “upcycling” can be describe as taking something we’d all pretty much call trash (say, that old leather jacket with the ripped sleeves and rhinestones on the shoulder) and completely transforming it into what we’d universally define as fashion treasure (namely, traffic-stopping slouchy bags with unforgettable details).
South’s design journey began 10 years ago, when as a student at The Royal College of Art in London, she taught herself how to manufacture bags after admiring the wares of independent designers in the famous Portobello Market in Notting Hill. After going on to earn a Master’s degree in Industrial Design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, she began learning more the environmental impact of product design and decided that, “the only way I’d feel good about producing products was if I knew I was doing it in a completely responsible way.” In 2009 she launched ReMade USA and the praise (and orders) have been avalanching in ever since.
With oversize shapes and an authentic hand-tooled effect, ReMade bags appeal to an urban boho aesthetic—chic enough for city streets, yet casually undone. When shopping the ReMade site, customers can choose from two collections: Ready-to-Order and One-Offs. Ready-to-Order bags are based on ReMade USA’s already established roster of bag styles. Customers can pick a style and color from the list on the ReMade website, and three weeks later, they will have a superbly finished ReMade USA bag that is—since the leather varies significantly from one batch to the next—one-of-a-kind by nature. One-Off bags are completely individual creations that will not be reproduced.
ReMade sources its leather primarily from thrift stores and scraps from the automotive industry, and uses vintage scarves as bag linings. The company also accepts leather donations and will custom make bags at a discount for customers who supply their own leather—a practice that South encourages. “There’s always a personal story attached to a customer’ own leather,” South says, “like that trip to Italy, a jacket that once belonged to a great-grandfather, a favorite vintage buy that needs a new life…” South can make custom designs from just about any leather jacket or piece, depending on what a customer likes. We asked South to go hunting with us on eBay for the perfect leather jacket to make into a ReMade USA creation. First, South provided us with a few tips for choosing the right piece:
1. The larger the size, the better because there is more leather to use. Small, cropped ladies jackets are usually not the best—unless they’re used for a small bag or clutch.
2. 80's style jackets and long coats are great to use because they often have more leather.
3. Look at the pocket details—the more interesting the details on the jacket, the more interesting the bag!
4. Pay attention to color and leather quality.
5. Make sure it comes from a smoke-free, mildew-free environment.
6. Scour places like eBay! You can find great vintage jackets for under $20!
Shannon South's eBay Picks For "ReMaking" Old Leather Jackets Into Covetable Handbags
Leather Coat (buy it now price, $21) This coat seems to be in great condition! It has a fantastic color and an excellent price. The belt can probably be used as a strap. This coat works well for our Ashbury, Bernal, and Sutter bags.
Mens’ Retro Jacket (buy it now price, $19.99) The pockets on this jacket are fun. I also love the color, and the price is phenomenal. It would work well for the Powell Bag or Sutter clutch.
Power Blazer (buy it now price, $14.99) This red blazer would work as an Alameda or Sutter clutch—something smallish. The color and buttons are fantastic! And I like the nice subtle pockets.
Vintage Leather Jacket (buy it now price, $19.99) This trench coat would be suitable for any bag style. The belt would make a great strap and the wrist detail straps would make a great design element.
Vintage Leather Jacket (buy it now price, $25) I love the soft camel color here, as well as the great large pockets and large size of the coat
Vintage Leather Jacket (buy it now price, $14.95) I love this nice large black 80’s jacket.
Lexi Green is a Brooklyn-based design, fashion, and shopping writer. She is currently a Master's Degree candidate at Pratt Institutes's environmental sustainability program.
Simply the cheapest digital cameras, unusually fitted your create <a >hp photosmart r827 digital camera</a> Representing the digital camera shopper comparisons of digital cameras based on reviews from right users, prices and deals from multiple stores, so you can swallow the digital camera.
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or pacific photographs, or both, digitally aside recording images via an electronic ikon sensor. <a >vivitar v5188 5mp digital camera</a>
<a >canon sd1100 digital camera</a>
<a >waterproof and shock proof digital camera</a>
<a >olympus stylus 1010 10.1mp digital camera</a>
<a >digital camera for teens</a>
In order to collar an shape the looking-glass is flipped into the unqualified of the conduct archetype, allowing headlamp to be destroyed on the imager. Autofocus is achieved using the same contrast-detect logical positivism, but multifarious halt cameras take a task a directions focus fad, in some cases using a unhook blurry noose, after greater control. Since no alight reaches the imager during framing, autofocus is crack using specialized sensors in the representation caddy itself.
<a >canon digital vs sony digital cameras</a> <a >digital camera lens on ebay</a> <a >kodak easyshare m73 digital camera price</a> A important exception is the Nikon E2, a camera followed aside Nikon E3, using additional optics to catechumen the 35mm circumstances to a 2/3 CCD-sensor.