Hi everyone! You might be wondering what this post is all about. Well, this is not a book review or a weekly meme but still book related. I want to share you guys how awesome Trashy Crafter is. Yes, that’s the name of their jewelry shop.
Miss Kimberly, the owner/crafter and a book-lover, emailed me and asked if I would like to review one of their products and as a person who loves books and accessories, who am I to say no, right?
After a few days, I received a very cool two-piece bracelet set made out of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. Aside from this is so far my favorite book from the series, I chose this because Harry Potter books make me feel young. Reading these books makes me believe in magic and it’s a great experience.
One of the things I like about this shop is its uniqueness. From the packaging (all envelopes are handmade from old maps/atlases) to the product itself. The idea is so clever. Used beads together with pages of a damaged book turned into beads . How cool is that? Plus, I was shocked with how fast the package came in our mail. To think that I’m here in Germany.
I personally love the bracelet because it’s easy for me to pair it with any of my outfit. It’s comfortable to wear because it’s light and I can also wear it in any occassions because it looks classy.
This is a perfect gift for all occassions! Aside from bracelets, Trashy Crafter also have necklaces, earrings and lanyards. There is a wide variety of themes you can choose from. Either you love novels, children books, comics, maps or music.
– also, YOU GUYS CAN GET “15% OFF” ANYTHING IN THE SHOP.
JUST USE THE COUPON CODE : BOOKLOVER
(SEPT 24 – OCT 24)
So, let’s get to know the shop and the team.
How It ALL Began
“Books are magical, they give you the ability to go on a jungle safari one minute and a deep see dive with mermaids the next, but what happens when books has gotten lots of love from years of use? The pages get creased, dog-eared and ripped, the bend or even start to fall off. That’s where my Mom Helen and I come in, and this is where the story of Trashy Crafter begins.
One day while I was in my senior year of college and my Mom and I went to the local thrift store. While there we noticed they had these auction bins out front of the store full of damaged and outdated books. We found out that when books would not sell at the thrift store because of being damaged or outdated, they auctioned them off, and if the folks sifting through the auction bin thought could not sell the book or it was too damaged it was just thrown away. Needless to say my Mom and I were heartbroken that all those beautifully illustrated children’s books were just thrown away… so we grabbed about 25 books each in our arms and took them home.
I was very lucky to have a 3rd grade teacher that was very crafty, her name was Mrs. Bryant. She had taught us how to roll magazines pages into paper beads (I’m sure many of you have done this in girl scouts or grade school). I made my first few beads and knew from then I was hooked, the most magical part about it to me is that you not only create beautiful, colorful unique beads made from something that was going to be thrown into a landfill, but you know what book or item it was made from!” – Ms. Kim
The Process
“My Mom Helen and I gather the books from a lot of different places, sometimes we find them in cardboard boxes outside of library’s, in thrift stores on the clearance shelf or in the bins, and even get books, maps or sheet music donated from folks that love and support our mission. Once we gather all of the books we measure and hand cut the book pages into long narrow triangle strips and roll them one at a time onto lollipop sticks. Once they are on there we coat each bead 3-5 times depending on the thickness of the paper. Once that is done we spray them with a matte finish and then we start to make them into the finished jewelry.
We purchase damaged necklaces and bracelets from the local thrift store and strip them apart to repurpose the beads. We create the jewelry with a mixture of the paper book page beads we made along with the repurposed beads. Once that is finished, we hand cut recycled cardboard bracelet holders and place the book labeling on to each set so folks know what book their bracelets were made from.” – Ms. Kim
the Reason behind all of these
“Everyone has stories, and connects with them so well, the reason we continue to create recycled book beads, map beads and sheet music beads is that when people purchase a set at a local craft show or online they have a story behind what they wear…. Perhaps they went on a road trip across the country, and that map bead bracelet they wear reminds them of the fun they had, or they had a band teacher that taught them to play an instrument, so they give them a sheet music bracelet as a token of appreciation… or even a gift for a mom or teacher that read you a book as a child that connected with you and stayed in your memory to this day. As humans we all connect universally with stories, and it’s a beautiful thing to throw away, so my Mom and I plan on fighting the good fight and continuing to turn old books into beautiful, wearable works of art.” – Ms. Kim
How much do you love books/reading?
“I grew up on Dr. Seuss that was what I read with my Grandma every day before and after school, Hop on Pop was my favorite, but I loved many others too. Pretty much from a young adult to now I love non fiction books, I am an audio book fanatic, I like to be doing something while I listen to books. My favorite books are self help books, motivational books and business books. It’s such a treat to get home from my day job and listen to a book by Napoleon hill, Daren Hardy or Seth Godin among others. I have always been the nerdy kid that loved the boring non fiction books haha :)” – Ms. Kim
I would like to thank Ms. Kim and the team for being so generous and for giving me this opportunity. You guys are amazing! ♥
