So for Valentine's Day I bought my true love a card that had been made from recycling take-out coffee cups. I paid £3.95 for it, which considering it was for a special occasion, I didn't mind the price tag. It wasn't something I planned on, but our local Oliver Bonas store had so many lovely things to choose from and I couldn't resist, and they have a really positive Environmental Policy, which has got to be a good thing! The card has been designed by the gorgeous Katie Leamon, and if you are not familiar with her style of stationery and notebooks, please check her website out.
So when I read an article about taking used coffee grounds to coat yarn to create a brand new type of fabric, I was intrigued. Apparently the origins of this new product came from a guy who walked into a coffee shop and asked to have some of the waste coffee grounds. The Barista asked what it was for and he told them that he uses coffee grounds to rub on his clothing after sport so he doesn't smell as much of sweat!
So this is what Jason Chen and his wife Amy, President of S.Café, have done. Coated yarn in used ground coffee beans to create a new fabric that is great at odour control, drys 200% faster than cotton, offers a natural UV protection and is ice cold to touch. Incredible story really, but I would imagine we will just read more and more innivative ways of reusing traditional "waste" products. To read their full story, visit their website www.scafefabrics.com.
So when you take your mum out for Mother's Day on Sunday 22nd March, think about those incredible things that can be created by reusing "waste" products. My mum is no longer with us, so I always find Mother's Day a bit tough. I'm sure there are lots of you out there who, like me, spend the day reflecting and remembering the times together. I now make the most of my Mother's Days with my Lottie, and will try to see Oliver who is away at Uni.
I find stories such as Katie's recycling coffee cups, and adding coffee beans to fabric to create something new is really inspiring. Here at Emma Bunting, we are always thinking of ways to reuse waste fabric, those little half triangle pieces of fabric that are left after cutting out our triangles. We sometimes give bin bags away to local schools or charities, or create mini cake bunting or use it as lettering for our bespoke work. But over the years we have amassed quite a bit.
We print a lot of our bunting too, so create the design our customers require and print directly on to 100% cotton. Just recently we had a bride who wanted vintage USA and UK flags - so we created a design that looks like the flags have been left out in the wind and rain for years. We've done this before, so this in itself wasn't new, but our client also wanted mini cake bunting in the same flag style to match. We've never printed cake bunting before as it just isn't cost effective, but it suddenly dawned on me we could use the end half triangles to create the mini bunting. DOH! We could have been doing this for years!! So from now on, each design we print we will be adding a mini cake bunting design to the "waste" ends so that we can reuse the fabric and create something new. So, not only are we being less wasteful with our fabric, we can offer the printed cake bunting at a reduced RRP and if you are anything like me, you'll keep your cake bunting to use year after year!
REduce. REuse. REcycle.
Note for your diary......
Don't forget that the UK Bank Holiday Monday 4th May, has been altered to celebrating 75 years since VE Day on Friday 8th May! The decision was taken before most calendars were printed, so it might be confusing. However, if you use an iPhone for your calendar, it's automatically been update. I can feel lots of parties coming on, so if you need cake bunting or larger room bunting, we can help you.
If you want to download our own VE Day design paper cake wrap including the official VE Day Celebration logo, you can in our shop here. We have asked for a £1 donation on each download, but this is for the British Legion; 100% of your donation will be donated to them. Or create your own using our HOW to GUIDE . So this is how it can look.... (with a little bit of our Union Jack or USA bunting)