Art with a Heart at 'Ellie Ellie'

I first came across the 'Ellie Ellie' website when I was looking for gifts for Christmas presents.

Tired of seeing the same old stuff in shops and bored of purchasing the obligatory 'smellies' gift set, it started to dawn on me that 'thought' in the old saying 'it's the thought that counts', wasn't coming into my purchase decisions at all.

Questions began to rattle through my brain, why can't I buy something thoughtful for a change? Why can't I buy something that would actually be meaningful to the recipient?
And why can't I buy something that is going to be treasured rather than thrown away?

So in a quest to buy something meaningful and sustainable I decided to start my search online. Typing 'Unusual gifts' into Google, I discovered notonthehighstreet.com, a wonderful online emporium of unsual and quirky products, it is here that I stumbled across Ellie Ellie.

With Scrabble letter jewellery,  Ladybird book covered sketch pads, clocks made from old vinyl records and accessories made from Lego (yes Lego!), this virtual stumble had led me to the prize in my quest for the perfect gift. 



Love is...a best friend Lego necklace set

 

The personalised up-cycled vinyl record clock, the perfect gift for music lovers 




A reminder of fond memories my beloved Scrabble necklace

  What first struck me about 'Ellie Ellie' products is that they're not just mere objects, they are small reminders of fond memories.  The Scrabble necklace, which I incidently bought, was a reminder of the Scrabble tournaments I had as a kid with my Grandfather. And the personalised Simon and Garfunkel vinyl record clock, wasn't just another record, it was a reminder of the music that my friend listened to when she was growing up.

Another great feature of these products, is that they haven't been newly designed or manufactured.The items have been lovingly redesigned, recycled and upcycled from existing objects. Yes, this is indeed art with a heart.

Shockingly, and as the 'Ellie Ellie' website rightfully points out, TRAID (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) statistics state that over '1.4 million tonnes of clothing' get thrown away by us, the consumer, every year. And these clothes aren't just adding to the ever increasing mountain of landfill, they're also having a hideous knock-on effect on pollution levels. Wool textiles, for example, decompose, but as they do they 'produce methane', a gas 'which contributes to global warming'.

With all this waste produced from fast fashion and bearing in mind the depletion of resources when fashion items are intially created, I am of the opinion that we need to take a step back and consider our fashion purchases more carefully. Fast fashion needs to slow down, rather then producing a brand new accessory or item of clothing we should consider what we already have and make it into something new.

We should as Danielle Plowman, founder of 'Ellie Ellie', succinctly puts it 'Re-design. Re-cycle. Re-love.'



Taking inspiration from 'Ellie Ellie' by putting old bottles to good use


Photos: http://ellieellie.co.uk/
http://www.traid.org.uk/index.html