eco tips : shredded paper is funtastic!

Here is another new addition to our blog : eco tips!

There are so many little things you can do in a day to be greener.
We try everyday to be as green as can be!

What do you do, to make a difference?
Do you have an eco tip you would like to share?
Contact us!

The tip of the day: use shredded paper in your packaging instead of foam peanuts

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boucles négatifs recyclés . recycled negatives earrings

We felt like tooting our own horn. Toot! We dont do it that often, so : Toot!

We love these earrings! They are made out of recycled film negatives, including 35mm movies strips, 8mm movies, camera film negatives strips, and mounted on hypoallergenic hooks.

Toot!


On se lance des fleurs, allez, ça arrive pas souvent:

Voici notre dernier dada. Ces boucles d'oreilles sont faites de pélicules de films, de 35mm, de 8mm et de film photgraphiques recyclés montés sur des boucles hypoallergènes.

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a thrifted life

Here is the first installment of a thrifted life, a new column we would like to add to our blog

We love to thrift shop! and roam in flea markets, and go to garage sales!
We enjoy every single second of it!

Its not only a good thing to do for the environment, its also economical! Its especially good for people who, like us, dont like to be part of a fad and like to stand out... Out of style fashion is your thing? Nostalgic of an era? Thrift shops are there for you!

Here is an ode to thrifting.
We will start by a picture of one of our latest good thrift finds.
Later on, you will meet other thrifters and their treasures.

Have a great item you found and you want to share?
Contact us!


1930's Art deco china
Myott Son & Co’s Pottery, Staffordshire, England
The entire 4 service set is now ours!
:o)

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we want : vintage kimono fabric

by togei

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nouveau point de vente : Rose Bouton

Les bijoux et accessoires .tomate d'épingles. sont disponibles dans un nouveau point de vente depuis mai 2009 : Rose Bouton!

Rose Bouton est l'atelier-boutique de Marie-Noëlle Bellegarde, designer de la ligne de bijoux Marie-Noëlle Design, et c'est aussi une vitrine pour designers d'ici et d'ailleurs....

387, rue Saint-Jean
Québec

Voyez ici les bijoux et accessoires .tomate d'épingles. qui sont disponibles en boutique en ce moment

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indie find : eco yarn

Jes from http://jessprkle.etsy.com has a new store where she showcases all her hand-made yarns.

I have always loved yarn and use it for a bunch of stuff... i use it for anything except for knitting : i cannot knit to save my life! haha

My latest obsession: eco yarn!

In this new shop, jes spins offers some sustainable options. They are not only green, they are GORGEOUS!

Plastic grocry bag yarn (plarn)

silk Paper yarn

Newspaper yarn
Do you guys knit?
Have you ever use deco yarn?
If yes, i'd LOVE to see pictures!

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tutorial : how to clean silver ... the eco way

This tutorial is originally from 7 Yaks Design's blog, How to clean your tarnished silver jewelry the fast, cheap, and easy way We would like to add: the eco way as well, for you do not need to use that tarnish remover chemical product you would normally use.

Enjoy!

You can make all your tarnished silver jewelry look like new in 10 minutes using materials you already have laying around the house.

This technique works on all your sterling and fine silver jewelry. Also, it’s safe for delicate stones and pearls. Unlike the acid based cleaning solutions!

And unlike acid based cleaners, you don’t have to buff and polish the finish back onto your pieces. It is such a mild process that it eliminates any handwork.

Here is all you need.

Baking Soda
Aluminum Foil
Glass Casserole Dish

To get started line a glass dish with aluminum foil and place your jewelry on top. You can fit quite a bit in but don’t overlap pieces and make sure each piece is touching the foil.

Sprinkle the baking soda so that it covers the jewelry.

Note: Don’t put any kind of steel in with your jewelry to be cleaned.

Boil enough water to cover everything, either in the microwave or on the stovetop, then pour this over the jewelry and baking soda. Let soak for 10 minutes.

Once the time is up, rinse under WARM water and put on a towel to dry. You don’t want to shock your jewelry with cold water because this has the potential to cause delicate stones and glass to crack or break!

The tarnish is transferred from your jewelry to the foil effortlessly. For pieces with excessive tarnish it may take 2 dips to make them completely shiny.

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twitter giveaway!

we have almost reached 500 twitter friends!

follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/tomatedepingles and you could win!

one of our new friends will win a surprise gift, selected in our summer collection!

maybe one of these? :o)

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we are looking for : zippers!

We are looking to swap supplies, hugs, jewelry or home made lemonade against ZIPPER HEADS.

Please tell us if you are interested!
Either by email info@tomatedepingles.ca or by leaving us a message here on the blog.


We have TONS of supplies we can offer! We actualy have no need for the zipper slide, which is the fabric and metal part of it, and have tons of vintage coulourfull slides we can offer too!
We are even willing to buy them from you if you dont want to swap!

Thanks!

Merci!
Guylaine & Isabelle

.tomate d'épingles.

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gone fishing

Recyclure - recycled materials transformed

into decorative fishing lures, by teddmcdonah

we are gone fishing!
literally :o)

We are on a small fishing trip with our Dad today!
Happy Father's day!

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eveything happens for a reason

Our friend Jancik of neawear blogged us today! Merci Janick!

Read her blog post here - and discover her fabulous, popular blog at the same time! I read it everyday!

Everything Happens For A Reason print, by theloveshop.

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LOULOU loves .tomate d'épingles.

To celebrate the fact that we made it to the
June LOULOU magazine (French edition) we are giving you
25% OFF
on ALL .tomate d'épingles. items
in our online store!

To get the rebate, just write LOULOU in the "Notes to seller" section of the check-out process.

thanks Janick for the pictures!

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LOULOU aime .tomate d'épingles.

Pour fêter notre parution dans le LOULOU de juin 2009, obtenez
25% de rabais
sur tous les items .tomate d'épingles.
dans notre boutique en ligne!

Afin d'avoir le rabais, indiquez LOULOU dans la section "Notes to seller".

merci Janick pour la photo!

Courrez vite acheter le tout dernier LOULOU, en kiosque depuis le 1er juin 2009!

Vous y verrez, page 40, la chronique sur le magasinage écolo : Des bijoux éthiques, écolo et québécois, dénichés par Mlle V
En vedette, ada jito, miss wilcox et .tomate d'épingles.!

Un grand merci à Valérie Schiltz!

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Le Festival mode et design de Montréal , du 17 au 20 juin

Le Festival mode et design de Montréal fera vibrer le centre-ville de Montréal du 17 au 20 juin prochain. Place à la mode, au design et à la musique !

Sur deux scènes, dont une réservée au design émergeant, une programmation riche et diversifiée vous est proposée afin de découvrir les tendances de l’été sur l’une des terrasses, aménagées spécialement pour l’occasion.

Dans une ambiance libre et éclatée, le public assistera à des défilés saisissants, accompagnés des prestations live de chanteurs, musiciens et DJ reconnus.

Découvrez la programmation complète des événements !!!

À ne pas manquer :

HIGHLIGHT SUR LA SEMAINE DE MODE DE MONTRÉAL au profit de la Fondation du cancer du sein du Québec, avec entre autres Simon Chang, BODYBAG by jude, Philippe Dubuc, Envers par Yves Jean Lacasse, Harricana par Mariouche, Marie Saint Pierre et Muse par Christian Chenail!

MONTRÉAL ♥ FASHION

Découvrez les collections de 50 créateurs d'ici, dont Andy par Andy Thê-Anh, dans une ambiance survoltée, gracieuseté de Beast sound system.

TRANSCANADA RUNWAY

Les créateurs canadiens de Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Nunavut, Toronto, Atlantique et Montréal prennent la route, afin de vous offrir sur une même scène, leur vision de la pop-culture canadienne.

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La Gaillarde @ Festival mode et design de Montréal

"Le plus grand événement mode en Amérique du Nord"

La Gaillarde participera au Festival mode et design de Montréal, une fois de plus cette année. Cet événement aura lieu du 17 au 20 juin de rue McGill College au Centre-ville.
La Gaillarde présentera des capsules ludiques et écologiques plusieurs fois par jours sur la scène SÉLECT. (Merci Isabella!)

Voici l'horaire des capsules
Mercredi 17 juin: 18H25 et 19H25
Jeudi 18 juin: 18H25 et 19H25
Vendredi 19 juin: 18H25 et 19H25
Samedi 20 juin: 17H45, 18H25 et 19H25

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indie find of themoment : Rackk and Ruin

Shop name: Rackk and Ruin
Shop address: Rackkandruin.etsy.com


In a nutshell:
I started to develop Rackk and Ruin this past winter as a way to rid the winter blues. . . I originally planned on making jewelry for friends and family for Christmas but when i realized how much i loved doing it, and the response from people was quite positive, i decided to try selling to local boutiques and on Etsy. Rackk and Ruin jewelry has been selling quite well on Etsy and I'm so excited to see where it will take me.

Tell me a little about yourself ...
I was born and raised in Burlington, Vermont and graduated from The University of Vermont in 2006 (double majoring in sociology and studio art). As a child my mom swears i didn't know you could buy new things in stores until the age of 12. i was raised on yardsales, flea markets and thrift stores. I've always loved recreating pieces of clothing so my jewelry line (using mostly upcycled materials) is just a natural offshoot of my daily lifestyle. I have also been working with my boyfriend on his organic vegetable farm for the past four seasons.

What are your favourite materials?
My favorite materials are leather, old zippers (i get my leather and zippers from a great little leather shop in my town. . . the zippers are usually from old leather jackets people bring in to get a new zipper in. . . the owners set aside the old ones for me to have) I love using natural fibers like feathers and horse hair (trimmed from horses at a barn where my friend works and from old violin bows) I love chain and antique trinkets and found objects. I've been working with spent brass bullet shells and crystals a lot lately.

Do you remember the first thing you made? What was it?
The first piece of jewelry i made this winter was a necklace made of feathers, leather, zipper and studs that i gave my sister for christmas. When i look at it now i see how far my designs have come. . . but i still love the necklace.

What's new and exciting in your store?
I'm always adding new jewelry to my store but i think the newest most exciting pieces are my Crystal Bullet on a Chain necklaces and I really love my vintage motorcycle jacket leather fringe and studs necklace. It just looks so fantastic over a beat up old shirt!

Why should people buy handmade?
People should always buy handmade. It is unique, supports creativity, lasts a whole lot longer than some piece of crap from Urban Outfitters and is just more exciting to wear.

What is the importance of being eco conscious for you and your store?
I love using upcycled materials because i don't want to be adding to the waste our culture creates. old leather is always more supple, old zippers are beautiful and made better, and there is nothing better than finding a killer beat up chain at a thrift store when you know what you can do with it! I try to eat almost all local food in the summer/fall so why wouldn't i try to use as much recycled materials as possible for my jewelry line? We have to start being more aware of the affect our lifestyles have on this planet and future generations. Supporting up and coming designers is just one way to take a step back from the globalization that is quickly taking over.

Anthing else?
I'd like you to mention that i will ship anywhere in the world. . . and that i can always do custom pieces. . . or try to re-create pieces that have already sold.

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ask and you shall receive

We have been brain storming about our blog lately.

We want it to be the main source for all information about .tomate d'épingles. and keep it as up to date as we can with news, events, new creations... basically, all the good stuff about us.

But we also want this to be a cool blog to read, so we do not intend to talk about ourselves all the time :o)

We asked for your imput with this little survey:

What would you like to see more of on this blog?

It seems clear that you guys think like we do: a bit of info about us, and lots of info about other artisans.

We will be working on bringing featured artisans in more often (we had already made our monthly feature a bi-monthly one, but we will try our best to make it a weekly thing from now on) and a few new colums about us, and a bit of green tips, for good measure :o)

Do you have other ideas? Things you like or dont like? Things you want? Please tell us!

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we found : vintage keys

found : vintage keys, originally uploaded by .tomate d'epingles..

in this really awesome antique shop just two doors down from our place

guess where we are gonna be spending lots of time this summer?
we are already on a first name basis!

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La Gaillarde : vente surprise!

3 jours de vente surprise en juin - DU 12 AU 14 JUIN 2009!

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Opaline Studio : Pour garder la fibre créative!

|
	JUIN 2009 Découvrez la nouvelle programmation de cours été et automne 2009 Consultez la programmation. Vitrail, fusion et aquarelle Des formules alléchantes et originales pour vivre le loisir artistique dans un climat inspirant! Il reste de la place! Prochain cours de fusion: 21 et 28 juin Dimanche de 13h30 à 16h30 Vous pourrez comprendre les mystères de la fusion du verre dans un climat de détente. En plus de découvrir le comportement du verre durant la cuisson, vous pourrez ensuite l’expérimenter en réalisant vos deux premières assiettes en verre! L’initiation à la coupe de verre est programmée dans le cours. 95 $ + taxes | 35 $ de matériel Des nouveaux artistes exposent dans la boutique Des nouveaux talents sont venus agrandir la famille, venez découvrir les sacs à linge de Danielle Creation, les céramiques estivales d'Edith Monplaisir, les accessoires de Barnum... ou les bandeaux `cheveux de Rien ne se perd tout se crée... et de nombreux autres artistes. Pour des vacances artistiques... Pensez à l’École d’été des arts et métiers d'art de Mont-Laurier. Une programmation impressionnante de cours, de toutes les disciplines artistiques sur plus d'un mois d'été, saura vous séduire. La location d'espace toujours disponible Professeur, étudiant, association ou indépendant vous pouvez venir utiliser une salle fonctionnelle et conviviale, à l'heure, à la journée, au mois ou de manière permanente, demandez notre grille de tarif (des prix spéciaux sont également disponibles). Sources : Jeannette Pigeon 250, rue St Zotique Est T (514) 750-1212 info@opalinestudio.com

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Indie find: Upcycled scraps as wearable jewelry

We adore these simple yet cool seatbelt cuffs!They are the latest by à la mode

She says it best:

"I've been wanting to make this cuff for some time. Using the scraps from my seatbelt bags (I knew they'd come in handy at some point) I burned the edges and added a snap.

This black cuff is lightweight, comfortable, and can be worn by either sex (at any age). The seatbelts I use are new, post production guality (somehow deemed unusable for the auto industry) so, they've found new life and usefulness in this great cuff."

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9 juin 2009 : Ouverture de la boutique Sophiori

Pour célébrer sa 10e année d'existence, la boutique Sophiori s'offre le Vieux-Québec!


Sophiori vous accueille dans sa nouvelle boutique située au

1086 rue St-jean
(porte voisine du Tatum)

Nouvelles collections et exclusivités vous attendent!

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vertes de jalousie avec Stacey Zhang

Grâce à la collection Printemps 2009 de Stacey Zhang, les canadiennes peuvent désormais rendre leurs copines vertes de jalousie en pavanant leurs amours de printemps glanés à la nouvelle boutique en ligne.

www.staceyzhang.com

Pour célébrer le lancement de sa boutique en ligne, Stacey Zhang se fait un plaisir de récompenser une victorieuse victime de la mode de l’une de ses robes 100% bio, personnellement fabriquée sur mesure par la créatrice Montréalaise.

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swap much?

Want to swap with us? Contact us!

I love to swap and I am always looking to get my hands on new stuff!

My want list (incomplete, and always a work in progress, and open to additions hehehe) :

- photo or film negatives, diaporamas, etc
- vintage or antique buttons
- vintage or antique beads or jewelry components or findings or charms or lockets
- broken or unwanted jewelry
- vintage or antique fabric or ribbons
- chain, all sorts
- leather, fur
- lucite anything :)
- silk scarves
- vintage or antique sewing notions
- feathers
- ribbons and lace ...

I have to offer all sorts of stuff, like :

vintage paper ephemera, beads, charms, baubles, yarn and knitting supplies, paper making supplies, patterns and sewing notions, felt, fabric, leather...

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we are looking for : pushpins

We are looking to swap supplies, smiles, jewelry or home made cookies against colour PUSHPINS!

Please tell us if you are interested!
Either by email info@tomatedepingles.ca or by leaving us a message here on the blog.

We have TONS of supplies we can offer!
We are even willing to buy them from you if you dont want to swap

Thanks!

Merci!
Guylaine & Isabelle

.tomate d'épingles.

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we like : fringe

by iheartnorwegianwood

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.tomate d'épingles. dans le magazine LOULOU de Juin 2009!

merci Janick pour la photo!

Courrez vite acheter le tout dernier LOULOU, en kiosque depuis le 1er juin 2009!

Vous y verrez, page 40, la chronique sur le magasinage écolo : Des bijoux éthiques, écolo et québécois, dénichés par Mlle V
En vedette, ada jito, miss wilcox et .tomate d'épingles.!

Un grand merci à Valérie Schiltz!

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LOULOU loves .tomate d'épingles.

To celebrate the fact that we made it to the
June LOULOU magazine (French edition) we are giving you
25% OFF
on ALL .tomate d'épingles. items
in our online store!

To get the rebate, just write LOULOU in the "Notes to seller" section of the check-out process.

thanks Janick for the pictures!

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