Spotlight: Fremont Vintage Mall

I don't explore my own city enough, often falling into a routine, and visiting the same places over and over again. So when I had a staycation day last week, I visited an oldie but goodie: the Fremont Vintage Mall. 

A short explanation in case you are unfamiliar with thrift vs consignment vs vintage and other types of stores: They are all great ways to recirculate second-hand items. Thrift stores get their products donated to them, and because of that, they are the least controlled for quality and least curated. Think of thrifting as where you can often get the best prices but have to wade through volume. Consignment stores purchase their inventory, so they are more likely to search for items of higher quality, both in terms of condition and meeting a certain bar for theme or brand. Vintage is also very curated, and tends to also represent a specific time period. Vintage and consignment will often have higher prices than thrift, but you'll be more likely to find that treasured or collectible item. 

In the case of Fremont Vintage Mall, it is a collective of 40+ vendors, so you'll see a broad variety throughout the store, but a distinct personality in each section of the store. Here are just some of the amazing items I spotted: 

This awesome vintage Jessica McClintock wedding gown for $85. 

Look at that detail!

These panda and fox flats. So fun!

They even fit. I may have to go back and retrieve these!

For the local sports enthusiast, a vintage Husky mascot. Collectibles was a big theme at the Mall, ranging from sports memorabilia to military patches, to silver spoons and lunchboxes. 

Now that record players are back in style, you should check out their sizeable record collection. (They also have cassettes and CD's if you are rocking the Walkman.) Most vinyl ranged from $.99-$5 each. 

They had several pieces of this vintage Amish design Pyrex as well as many popular designs of china and crystal. 

And the famous turtle lamps. These same lamps are going for $80 or more new, so $48 is quite the deal on this guy. You know your end table is looking for some style!

Or, if classic is more your style, they had multiple Tiffany-style lamps, including this one with built in porcelain sculpture. 

While I'm kicking myself a bit for not bringing home the cute fox shoes, I did bring one item home: this sassy lady fabric. It was a section of over 4 yards for $16, which is a pretty decent price (about the price of the cheapest cotton fabric at Walmart and 50% less than the cheapest at Joann's). 

So, if you're looking to break out of the rut at your regular thrift shops, head on over to a vintage shop, on you may find some unique finds, or even that piece to complete your collection. If you're looking for the Fremont Vintage Mall specifically, it's in the heart of the Fremont shopping district, but keep your eyes open; it's in the basement level, so you're looking for a door that takes you downstairs vs. a storefront. Happy shopping!

Eco-Friendly Exercising

So this story starts with a fencing project. We had a couple sections of fence that were rotting and about to topple over. T started the project, demoing the wood panels with our neighbor. I come to check on the progress, and T says: "Well we got the wood down. Now time to dig up those cement plugs that were holding the posts. Your turn."

Whaaa? Well, challenge accepted. I start digging, and lift out one of the 50lb cement blocks. I'm feeling pretty She-Hulk about the whole thing, like look at me LIFT!  The good news is I know to lift with my legs and didn't hurt my back. The bad news is I don't do a lot of weight-bearing exercise, and the next day my thighs were 100% in pain (can Jello hurt?). 

(How I felt until the next day. But really this is an awesome collector figurine from Kotobikuya.)

Now it's in my head that I should probably start doing some weight bearing squats, and all I have at home is 3lb dumbbells. 

The great news is that as things are starting to re-open, including gyms, the thrift stores are starting to fill up with the fitness equipment that gym-goers had purchased to bring their workouts home. I've been easing my way back into the office, working 1 day/week downtown, which is conveniently 1 block from a Goodwill. I check it out for goodies during my lunch break, and have seen the supply rotate each week, and just a few weeks in, I scored: a pair of 8lb dumbbells for $6 each. 

The cheapest I'm seeing these new are $17 each. Savings for the pair is $22, and I've kept a like-new piece of equipment in circulation! With the supply-chain constraints for various products, it's an added benefit to redistribute as much existing supply as possible. 

It leads me to wonder what other at-home hobbies we'll start to see flood the thrift stores and garage sales: puzzles, games, craft supplies?

Upcycled Bike Waste Makes a Happy Dog!

I love seeing my Aunt T. COVID meant over a year without our usual holiday weekends, but vaccines mean we now get to visit! 

Meeko loves seeing Aunt T almost as much as I do, as she gets plenty of massages and treats when T is around. This past weekend was no exception. T shows up with a gift in hand, which led me to discover a new company! 

Cycle Dogs is a Portland, OR based company, which originally started by upcycling old bicycle tubes into dog collars. They have since expanded their efforts into beds, toys and more, each using post-consumer materials. 

"Cycle Dog has reclaimed hundreds of thousands of discarded inner tube rubber targeted for landfills."

So if you aren't into making your own toys, or just want to support a local business, check out Cycle Dog. I love that they proclaim to help you and your furbaby "lower your carbon pawprint". Not in Portland? You can also find their products at Mud Bay.

Meeko's pretty sold on it too. What do you think? Are these toys just as fun as their traditional counterparts?

And at $8-20 each, these toys are competitive with other quality pet toys. 

Conscious Travel with Carbon Offsets

After 15 1/2 months of COVID, I am *ready*. Ready to start returning to normal, which includes things like travel. We finally booked our first flight since this whole thing started (Vegas here we come!), and I couldn't be more excited. 

Now, air travel is pretty horrible from an environmental perspective, accounting for about 2.5% of CO2 emissions and 5% of global warming (due to other non-CO2 factors). While air travel is becoming more energy efficient, it can't keep up with increasing demand. Folks, this is horrible news! 

If you are able, train travel is a great alternative, especially if you live somewhere with high speed rail, like much of Europe. 

If trains aren't a viable option for you, consider carbon offsets. I was pleasantly surprised to see this option presented to me upon checkout with Alaska Airlines. For the low cost of $0.01 per mile ($17.32 for our trip), we can "pay back" our impact by contributing to projects that make a difference. 

What exactly are carbon offsets? Are we sure it's not just green-washing? There are multiple types of offsets, and multiple companies offering them. You will need to look at the particular company to see if it meets your priorities. For example, your funds could go towards planting trees, or R&D for alternative energy and technologies, or installing alternative energy devices, upgrading air travel itself, investing in carbon recapture devices, and more. 

This particular group, The Good Traveler, was founded by the San Diego International Airport in 2015, and partners with 20 other airports and airlines to offer offsets. They use your purchase to fund a variety of projects. Here are just a couple examples: HFC Reclaim is a project in Illinois to recapture and resell HFC refrigerants, prevented use of and emissions from virgin refrigerants. Ball State University has a project in Indiana to install a campus-wide closed loop heating and cooling system that upgrades them from coal. Massachusetts Tri-City Improved Forest Management project was able to protect 17000 acres of forest land. 

Pretty cool all the projects a small upgrade to your travel can fund. A small cost to mitigate the impacts of air travel.

Spotlight: Sugarfox

Wow, folks, what a few weeks! Since my last post, T had some health issues. All is fine now, but a few late nights, a quick trip the hospital, followed by recovery, and needless to say, I took a bit of a break from writing. 

I'm back, and there's nothing better to get me inspired than an amazing upcycler. Meet Stephanie Hongo aka Sugarfox, a self-proclaimed "trash sculptor" from Connecticut. Her work can be found on Instagram (https://instagram.com/sugarfox_art).

Trash sculptor is a perfect descriptor: Stephanie takes discarded objects and recyclables and carefully pieces them together to create detailed 3D portraits of her (usually animal) subjects. Having a background in mural painting as well, she adds painted backgrounds and finishes to her sculptures.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

This colorful tree frog. More than a portrait, this full figure leaps off the canvas. How many trash components can you recognize? I love the spoons as a great representation of the back toes.

Or this amazing fox portrait.  The forks lend such great detail to the fur pattern, while other components, like the stars on the bridge of the nose and forehead, give him an edgy style. 

These incredible bears. A fantastic element of Sugarfox's posts is, she often includes process photos and multiple angles to see the details. She takes you along for the journey of how they come to be and the materials that bring these creatures to life.

If you are a creator, does this give you inspiratoon for alternative materials to incorporate? If you are an appreciator of the arts, please check Sugarfox out on Instagram for many more of her works!

Zac Efron Wants You...

 ... to pick up some litter. 

I was looking for a little motivation the other day. I've been in the quarantine rut with work from home, and minimal outlet. In the "before times", I would have browsed thrift stores just for the fun of it, but I'm still trying to minimize my unnecessary time in public places, and there's nothing on my shopping list. ...Sigh. 

We recently treated ourselves to a subscription to Discovery+, and I should've known they would have some great content to inspire me. Enter: "The Great Global Cleanup", a short 43 minute special celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (which happened in 2020).

What was great about this special was it was light, fun, and inspirational. While some eco documentaries can make their point by showing catastrophe and doom and gloom, this one was like a call to action, showing the amazing work of individuals, groups, and organizations while providing easy tips to get started. 

What do Mardi Gras, Brazilian beaches, and desert 4x4 off-roading have in common? They are all beautiful, fun, wonderful playgrounds that have been *trashed* by humans. But they also have humans who care about then and join clean-ups to restore them each year.

Learn about groups and companies who are innovating to make better products, either through preventing waste or upcycling with their materials, for example a group of surfers that collects abandoned fishing nets, and uses that plastic to make new surfboard fins.

Here are just a couple of the actions you can take:

1. Stop using single-use plastic. Find reusable options for straws, water bottles, shopping bags... 

2.  Participate in a cleanup event. Visit https://cleanup.earthday.org/ to find or create an event near you. While many of the events are on or near Earth Day (4.22 each year) some are throughout the year, or you can start your own!

Side note: while cleanups can be big and organized, they don't have to be! Build litter pickup into your daily routine. Have you heard of "plogging" (pickup up litter while jogging)? Or get motivated by a group like Paws on Plastic, where folks pick up litter while walking their dogs. You can brag about your accomplishments and enjoy everyone's cute fur-babies!

So, if you're seeking some spirit-lifting, check out The Great Global Cleanup, included with Discovery+, or available on other streaming platforms like Prime Video for a rental cost.

 

Mighty Changes in Honor of Earth Day

I've had my eye in Mighty Fix for a while, and lucky me, I was treated to a subscription for a recent birthday. Thanks, P & L!

I'm a sucker for subscriptions. I love getting a surprise each month, and discovering new products. Mighty Fix sends you 1 new item each month for $11 (includes shipping) or $99 for an annual subscription. Like what they sent and want more? Members get up to 35% off anything in the store.

They focus on a simple theme: household products that are good for you and good for the planet, conveniently delivered to you. This is accomplished with just a few high standards: safe durables, toxin-free consumables, reusable, high quality & effective, and reputable makers.

With one new product a month, you can slowly but surely make good swaps in your home, without the pressure of a total green makeover. And each product comes with an info card to provide info on why it's a good swap.

My first month? A pair of swedish dishcloths. These are somewhere between a disposable and a cloth, designed to be super absorbant, durable, washable, and replace your regular kitchen sponges and paper towels. When they've received enough abuse, they are compostable. This pair says they last up to 6 months, but I have a pair that are nearing a year of use.

Not into surprises? You can shop a la cart at MightyNest.