Just fount out my super talented next-door-work-neighbor has a website. Check her one of her designs:

I particularly love this use of color!

Check out Edun’s Fall 2012 line. Three cheers for fashion with conscience.

In addition to Mouse and Moe, I also have the extraordinary privilege of designing jewelry for Ember Arts, an ethical company working with women in Uganda who’ve overcome extreme poverty and a devastating civil war. Ember works with their co-op to direct design and distribute their paper bead product line, helping them pursue their own dreams and build better futures for their families. 

Each year I get to spend a few months in Uganda, hanging out with 27 (now 28!) of the most remarkable women I’ve ever met. Ember just launched their spring line, you can check it out here. 

Mouse and Moe Spring/Summer 2012. 

www.mouseandmoe.com

Since 1999 Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang have been collecting plastic debris from one beach in Northern California. Each piece of plastic Richard and Judith pick up comes back to their studio, where it gets cleaned, categorized and stored before being used for their art. The couple makes sculptures, prints, jewelry and installations with the plastic they find washing up, raising a deeper concern with the problem of plastic pollution in our seas.

Beach Plastic website

I just placed a big order for sterling silver from fair trade supplier, Shiana. I’m so excited for 2012! Knowing that the artisans making the components for my jewelry are being paid fair wages is very important to me, and I’m so glad I’ve finally been able to afford the transition. If you’ve bought a Mouse and Moe product this past year, you’re part of making that happen. Thanks!

This past month, the Lux Art Institute has kept a full stock of Mouse and Moe jewelry in the lobby of their beautiful facility as a unique gift options for patrons of the art center. Thanks, Lux! 

If you’re ever in the Encinitas area, make sure to check them out! http://luxartinstitute.org/

“Lux Art Institute is redefining the museum experience to make art more accessible and personally meaningful. At Lux, you don’t just see finished works of art; you see the artistic process firsthand, engaging with internationally recognized artists in a working studio environment.

Their current artist in residence is Emilio Perez of Brooklyn, New York. He’s been living and working at the museum for about a month, and his work will be there until the end of this year. 

His beautiful, organic paintings are made by layering coats of latex paint and acrylic paint over one another, then carving back into the surface with an x-acto knife to expose the layers of color beneath. 

In addition to offering the opportunity to see Emilio’s stunning pieces, Lux Art Institute is nestled on a beautiful hillside near the San Elijo lagoon, and would definitely be worth a visit.

Sundance. www.mouseandmoe.com

Santa Fe. www.mouseandmoe.com

Arroyo. www.mouseandmoe.com

Now this would be a great place to work from… If only. 

candyjones:

Green Rainforest (by ►CubaGallery)

Winter 2011 preview. Stitching away!

Goodsie’s new promo video has a little flash of Mouse and Moe toward the end.

As if we didn’t love them enough already. That’s pretty awesome.

Via @ecostiletto

Here’s an eco-friendly bridesmaid option: rent from Little Borrowed Dress! Brilliant. http://bit.ly/gu080N

This week (and for all of April) I’m thinking about how scarves and accessories can dramatically change an outfit, and looking at the versatility of the clothes I buy as a part of Six Items or Less, a project that challenges participants to pick just six items of clothing to wear for 30 days. This excludes things like pajamas and workout clothes.

I’ve chosen a black tank top, a grey cardigan, a grey t-shirt, a white skirt, skinny jeans, and an awesome maxi dress.

You might think I’m crazy, but I’m definitely learning a lot. What six items would you choose?

Six Items or Less is a web challenge that asks participants to choose six items from their closet and to wear them for a month. It excludes items like shoes, underwear, pajamas, coats and accessories.

Starting tomorrow, I’m going to be a participant. I’ll be attempting to post my outfits each day, even though it’s going to feel a little odd. I’m usually on the other side of the camera!

I think this is a very important experiment as a eco designer. Part of being ecologically conscious, at least from my perspective, is learning to live more minimally, and putting quality over quantity. That aside, here are my other reasons for participating, as posted on the Six Items or Less blog.

________________________________

I can’t remember how I stumbled across this project, but a couple years ago the first thing I checked on the internet every morning was Sheena Matheiken’s Uniform Project blog, so needless to say, Six Items or Less has me very intrigued.

I travel a lot and try to live pretty minimally, so “less-is-more” is definitely on my radar. And other than a few basic staples like t-shirts or an irresistible dress from one of the independent boutiques in my neighborhood, most of my clothes are thrifted or hand-me-downs. But lately I’ve been seeing my closet swell pretty dramatically.

I think I know why.

I’m an artist, and due to space constraint and a variety of other factors, I’ve been pointing my creativity toward jewelry and accessory design. I’ve had some wonderful opportunities, like traveling to Uganda as a designer to work with the amazing beadmakers behind Ember Arts, and also learning to navigate the business world as I try to launch my own sustainable jewelry line, Mouse and Moe. But keeping an eye on the fashion industry in an attempt to be better at my job has definitely put a little bug in my operating system. Lately I’ve found myself buying clothes not because I need them, or even because I love the fit or the design or the story behind them, but because they’re the sort of thing you’re “supposed to have” this season.

And I don’t really want to go down that road. I think it can be very stifling both as a person and as a designer. Not to mention that it skews my perspective on what really matters in life.

I’ve spent a long time in the last couple of days figuring out which pieces of clothing I actually like (and not just the ones I think I ought to like), and I’m hoping that during this project, I will learn, once again, to shop minimally and with the same values and priorities that have driven me in the past.

Really intrigued by Avantgarb{age}, “The Art in Wearing Trash,” a collaborative project between designer Aidana Baldassarre and photographer Caitlin M. Kelly.

goodsie:

Goodsie-powered store of the day: Mouse and Moe.

Mouse and Moe is a sustainable jewelry line, committed to creating jewelry and accessories that don’t sacrifice aesthetics for environmental consideration. Each piece incorporates heat-fused, recycled plastic shopping bags, and is handmade by Emily Grace Goodrich, a painter, photographer and jewelry designer from San Diego, California.

Our favorites include the Canopy Statement Necklace, Alloy Statement Necklace and Alloy Triple Earrings.

Prices start at $34.

Thanks for the mention, Goodsie! I am blown away by the customer service so far and am looking forward to working with you.

Fascinating sculptural costume design by Klara Kalicz