Spotlight - Ocean Sole

I'm recently joined this fun Facebook group that shows off interesting thrift store finds, and was amazed to see a colorful lion (like the ones pictured below!) that the owner described as being made from "some type of foam". I recognized the lion from some cool videos I had seen last year and did a quick search to see if I could learn more.

The company is called Ocean Sole, and believe it or not, these colorful creations are made out of flip-flops! Ocean Sole was founded by Julie Church, who noticed children making toys out of washed up flip-flops on the beach, and recognized the potential for families to make income from the sandals, while also having a positive environmental impact.

Ocean Sole is providing:

• full time income to 100 Kenyans
• some income for 1000 Kenyans
• education initiatives benefiting 10,000 
• recycling of 750,000 flip-flops

The sandals are collected, washed, melded together, then hand-carved, sanded, and finished. Check out this short video on the process:

I'm just loving how creative these creatures are, and they seem like a fun gift for the animal lover or conservationist in your life. The small sculptures average about 6" in the largest dimension and $23-29, and the medium are about 11" and $42-49. (Feeling bold and have a large space? The XL giraffe is 54" tall and $675!)

For more information, or to support them, check out the original website here, or the US shopping site here.

Used Doesn't Have to Be Inconvenient

I love thrift stores and second-hand stores like Half Price Books. But when you are looking for something specific, it can be a challenge to find what you want. Fortunately, thrifting can be done from the convenience of your couch and with delivery right to your door.

For clothing, there are numerous sites like Thred Up and Swap.com. Recently, I needed a popular book (thanks Allison for inviting me to book club!), and after checking my local Half Price Books, turned to trusty Amazon.

If you're used to just clicking "Add to Cart", take one additional step to buy second-hand: for books, click "Used From" underneath the format you like, or for other types of products click "New and Used From". This will bring you to the page with all of the sellers for that product.

Scared to order something from someone other than "Amazon"?

Just look for these clues for a good experience:

1. Condition: there are various used conditions. I usually filter for Very Good or Like New. 
2. Total price + shipping: you don't want to end up paying more for used because you didn't see the shipping. 
3. Delivery Time: you probably won't get 2 day shipping, but also probably don't want 6 week shipping from China. You should see options for a week or less. 
4. A high star-rating (I only buy from sellers with 4+ stars): and if you have any trouble, you can still contact Amazon customer service for support. 

I ordered my book from, guess who... Goodwill! That's right, even your thrift store may be online-savvy.

I ordered Used - Good condition, and was pleased that the only damage was some bending on the back cover. 

All in all, I saved $5.22 on the book and had it delivered to me, and gave one book a second life.