Green Handmade Jewelry - Why It is Important

I write a lot about Recycling and Reusing and living green.  I also write about my green handmade jewelry.


But why?


I make jewelry out of items that could otherwise be discarded because I am worried about the earth.  I think that we are destroying it and I want to do whatever I can to stop it.  


I don't think that my little business with it's game tile pendants, hardware jewelry and other funky jewelry is going to save the earth.  


However, I think know my customers are going to save the earth.


Step-by-step, one little can, newspaper, plastic bag, whatever it is, at a time.  Everything we do does make a difference.  If I can reach more of you, then more people are thinking about the planet and all the little steps and all those steps of all of us do add up.


What I'm trying to do here is bigger than fashion, or the perfect gift or a memory.  It's bigger than a couple of tips.  I'm calmly and slowly fighting for our planet.  Fighting for the generations that will come after us.  I want them to see trees and butterflies and flowers and know the beauty that I see.  I want them to know what it's like to take a hike in the woods and see a waterfall.

What can you do?


1.  Read my weekly green tips and try doing something new.  Already living green?  Add to the conversation!  Add a comment to this post or any of my Green Tips Posts!  


2.  Tell your friends!  Share with them about little steps they can take or share with them what you do.  Be a living example!  Direct them here on Tuesdays for a tip!


3.  Support Green Businesses.  I am one, there are others!  (I'm the proud new owner of the 2012 National Green Pages, so I'll be sure to share other businesses, too!)


4.  Purchase my eco-friendly jewelry!  (More on this below....)


5.  Do your very best every day.  You'll screw up sometimes.  (i.e. I forgot my canvas bag at the store today) but just do your best.  


6.  Like green tutorials?  I have moved my tutorials over to my new blog at KimberlieKohler.com  Learn how to reuse all the stuff that is clogging up our waterways and land and don't let it get there.

Using Green Jewelry to Start a Green Conversation


Beyond just saving a game piece or another small object from the landfill, and beyond not using resources to make new materials (both of which I think are important and helpful), wearing my eco-friendly jewelry can help you start a conversation about green issues.  You could give someone information that didn't have before.  You never know how you can affect those around you.  You never know how that person can affect others....and so on.  You could start a whole green team, and not even realize it.


I try to make it easier for you by giving you something to wear to get a conversation started.



Here are 2 sample conversations you can try out.  One if you really do want to get into a conversation about it; one for if you really don’t want to have a whole conversation, but want the jewelry to speak for itself. 


Sample Conversations: 


She says:  “Hey, girl!  I love that cool pendant you have on!” 


You say:  “Thanks so much!  It’s an actual scrabble tile (flip over tile and show her) and the designer recycled it into this cool jewelry.” 


She says:  “Wow that is awesome.” 


You say:  “I like helping the environment in any way I can.  We keep destroying it at 
such a fast rate, every little bit helps.” 


She says:  “I didn’t know that you were so eco-friendly.” 


You say:  “It only takes a few small steps to make a difference, and it doesn’t feel 
like it’s really taking more time or effort than if I weren’t being eco-friendly.” 


She says:  “Tell me more.” 


Then you can tell her some of the ways you are eco-friendly:  recycling, using a drying 
rack instead of a dryer, using recycled paper, etc. 


You can also suggest she checks out www.BBBellezza.com for easy tips and 
handcrafted green jewelry.  (Thanks!!) 



Conversation #2:


If you don’t really want to get into a whole conversation about recycling, try this: 


She says:  “Hey, girl!  I love that cool pendant you have on!” 


You say:  “Thanks so much!  It’s an actual scrabble tile (tip over and show her) and the designer recycled it into this cool jewelry” 


She says:  “Wow, that is awesome.” 


You say:  “You should check out her website at www.BBBellezza.com”  (Or, if you are in Lancaster, PA, you can tell her to check out my booth at Building Character.) 


She says:  “Thanks, I will.” 


Then you have pointed her to my website, where she will find tips for greener living and handcrafted green jewelry.  I'll take it from there.  :)  


Plus, you have my unending gratitude. 
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I just finished writing a mini eBook:  "Jewelry Trends and Being Eco-Friendly."


This eBook includes lots of great information, including:

• Glossary of eco-friendly terms
• Trends in Jewelry and How to do them the Eco-Friendly Way
• Sample Conversations to help you use your eco-friendly jewelry to start a conversation (or how to still get your point across without having a lengthy conversation.)
• Plus, bonus 14 Simple and Easy Tips for Greener Living.

How much for all this great information in one place?  FREE!!


Just sign up for my email newsletter and it will be emailed to you after you confirm your subscription.  (PLUS, you get a free shipping code to use in my online shop!)

Also, if you are in Lancaster, PA, make sure to click the box to get on my special local email list and get notified whenever I'll being special events in the area!

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Plastic Bags and What You Can Do

Plastic bags are everywhere.  You buy groceries, they put them in a plastic bag.  You go to a store, your purchases are in a plastic bag.  Even at the farmer's market you'll get a plastic bag if you forget your market basket.

If these bags aren't recycled, they end up in the throats and stomachs of wildlife, they clog gutters and sewers and they float on waterways.  The design of a plastic bag is perfect for getting caught around the neck of wildlife or a fin of a fish, and if it gets stuck on the head of an animal they'll suffocate or die of starvation. 

Plastic bags photodegrade, meaning that they break down into small toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways.  They simply don't disappear.

Plastic bags are a major threat the to environment.  They are one of the 12 most found items in cleanups along the coast.  Americans throw out 100 billon plastic bags each year.

What can you do about plastic bags?

It's really easy to avoid all of this.  Just do not use plastic bags!  Take your own reuseable bags to get groceries or when you go shopping! 

I know that it's not always easy to remember, even for me.  Make things easier for yourself: 

• Get one of those folding bags and after you get home and unload it, fold it back up and put it in your purse or put it by the door. 
• Keep extra canvas bags in the car.
• If you can manage without a bag, just ask not to have one.  I actually do this more than I remember to bring my own bag.  I either put the stuff in my purse or just carry it to my destination.

If you do end up with plastic bags, make sure they get to the recycling bin.  (Even this isn't 100% effective.)  Better yet, find creative ways to reuse them.  (I'll be sharing some tutorials on my tutorial website this week.)

How do you avoid getting plastic bags or reuse the plastic bags you get?

Inspiration from Nature

I think a lot of creative people say that they draw their inspiration from nature. But what does that mean specifically?

For me, it's a couple of things:

1. Most importantly, it means that I love our planet! I love the plants and trees. I like it the way it is or I don't want it to get even worse. I think we can clean it up, but I think we need to first do no additional harm to it. So, I am generally inspired to create things that cause no further harm to the earth. Additionally, I like to save ordinary things that are no longer useful to people to make them cool and pretty and useful again. (And to keep them out of the dump.) I like that when you wear pieces that someone made from recycled items, it can raise awareness to the possibilities of rethinking what we do with items. (Think about reusing before you chuck stuff!) It can start a conversation.

2. Colors of nature. Maybe this is what most people mean when saying they are inspired by nature. We cannot make anything more beautiful than what our earth already provides, in my opinion. The colors of each season are gorgeous.

Now, I am pretty open about my hatred of winter. This is mainly because I hate being cold and there isn't enough light in the day. I also love flowers and the growth of green. And it's either snowing (and I feel bound to the house) or it's dreary in winter.

However, this past weekend when my boyfriend and I were on one of our road trips it occurred to me that winter is beautiful, too, even without snow.

Did you ever notice how gorgeous the sky is in winter? And the bare trees are so pretty against the blue. I love brown and blue together.

I am going to try to really appreciate each season for what it offers and the beautiful colors it offers, instead of trying to just "get through" all my least favorite seasons (autumn and winter) to get to my favorites (spring and summer).

Vintage Brass

Brass Dragonfly Necklace 3, originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

I am loving brass lately. This piece was made from vintage brass chain, a vintage brass dragonfly and little glass flower and leaf beads. I will be making just a few of these lovelies and one is available in my Etsy Shop and will be available at artMarket at Building Character in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.