Second Life

Let’s pretend that we’re taking one of those logic tests.  Now, which of these words do not belong in the series:  REUSE, REDUCE, RECYCLE, WEAR.

a)      a) Reuse

b)      b) Recycle

c)       c) Reduce

d)      d) Wear

e)      e) None of the above

f)       f)  All of the above

g)      g) Next question please

I see furrowed brows. I see thought bubbles sprouting with a huge question mark right smack in the middle of it.  So who’s got the answer?  Give up?

If you are a denizen of our world it would most likely be (d) – Wear. But if you live in the world of Ros Flores  of Junkshop Abubot,  the answer would be (e)  - None of the above.

More furrowed brows.  More thought bubbles.  Wait – let me explain.

Ros is a firm believer in making use of every teeny-tiny bit of material she can lay her hands on.  Discarded bottle caps, old buttons that have seen better days,  scraps of metal,  keyboard keys, lengths of cable, electrical wire and other things that have been given up for dead are rescued from the trash pile and reborn into wearable pieces of art.

Don’t believe me?  Here’s proof:

 Those are actually used up colored pencil stubs turned into earrings.

And these are made from discarded aluminum soda cans.

Are these more your type?

For the geek - LAN cables turned glam

 Her early training under her mother (a great seamstress ), taught her to do fine needle work by hand and was, by the time she was in 5^th grade, her mother’s assistant tasked to do the beading on the gowns and dresses her mother made.  (At  5^th grade, I didn’t even know what a thimble was!).  Watching her mother sew and alter dresses and other clothing influenced Ros greatly .  Growing up with artistically inclined siblings also trained her eye and it was easy for her to put this and that color together, or experiment with different materials in her creative work.  Ros tells me her siblings are her mentors. 

She never sketches out her designs - she picks up her chosen material and plays with it until she comes up with something beautiful.  (The operative word here is PLAY – I told you making art is play!) In fact, she says she has often surprised herself by how a seemingly useless piece of plastic or metal can look so pretty sitting among other resurrected “jewels” like this button bracelet:

Ros confesses to not being past stooping down in the middle of a busy street to pick up an interesting piece and she has sourced her computer LAN cables from the office she used to work for, giving the cables a glamorous second life as necklaces, rings, and belts.  Even plastic bags are not spared. 

While she enjoys creating  art-to-wear pieces out of junk, Ros has a deeper motivation for doing what she does – she firmly believes in the benefits of recycling and the good it can do to a planet that is already straining under centuries of abuse, pollution and senseless waste.  Ros says every little bit helps and if doing our share means wearing such lovely, quirky accessories – then I don’t see why this is a bad idea.   

Her pieces are sold at handmade bazaars and you can catch Ros and Junkshop Abubot at the Triple Treat Tiangge in October (she told me that she’s working on new pieces for this event!).  If you can’t wait till then, visit her Facebook page or get in touch with her through cell number 0906-395-3061 or via email at  ros.rflores@gmail.com.

 (All photos courtesy of Junkshop Abubot)