Custom Upcycled Leather Envelope Clutch with Recycled Glass Buttons - Made in New Orleans

Fellow artist, Yasmin Bowers of YBGreen, recently asked me to upcycle her old Guess leather jacket (that she no longer wears) into a new clutch.  Yasmin is also an upcycler, and has a really cool business in which she collects glass from the 9th Ward of New Orleans, crushes and fires it, and then creates cool pieces of upcycled jewelry.  


Yasmin had the very clever idea to take a few of her creations and blend them with one of my creations for an upcycled gem like no other!  She gave me some cool green glass buttons, a few design requests, and let me take it from there.  
Here is the coat she offered.  Very nice, and still in good condition, but just not something that she wears any more:

A Classic!

Very cool design details - can't wait to use them!

Yes... that is a Guess label.  And yes, I was a bit nervous to dismantle such a nice coat! :)

I dove in to the project, and took the coat apart to see what I had to work with.  The pieces were pretty small, but full of character. Perfect for a small bag. 

And eventually, along came a new clutch - adorned with Yasmin's very own upcycled glass buttons!  I think it turned out pretty well, don't you?

US Army tent interior.

When you get a chance, check out YB Green's website.  I had a great time doing this project - Yasmin was great to work with and has very cool products.  Hooray for upcycling once again!

YB Green Website
YB Green Facebook Page

"YB Green® is a socially responsible and eco-conscious brand of jewelry made of glass collected from the 9th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. YB Green® only uses wasted glass bottles (i.e. trash) from New Orleans in order to raise awareness that the City has not recycled glass since Hurricane Katrina. Over 1000 used glass bottles have been collected and recycled. After I collect the glass bottles, I wash, crush, and fire them into jewelry. 


Each piece of glass is unique and will have slight variations. All jewelry is handmade and represents a recycling service that is needed in New Orleans."




www.uptownredesigns.com 
Upcycled Bags Handmade in New Orleans