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starsstuddedsky · 1 month

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Blonde Phase

Renjun x gn reader

summary: spontaneous hair decisions always end in regret. that's what you expect to hear when you tell renjun you're bleaching your hair, but instead you find support, and even his help. you should appreciate his wholehearted support but instead it has you wondering: why doesn't he care?

genre: fluff, minimal angst, technically they're in grad school but that's not particularly relevant, non idol au,

warnings: swearing, mentions of drinking, spontaneous hair decisions (i do not endorse), lmk if I missed any

wc: 4.4k

a/n: in the immortal words of charles boyle, the most intimate thing you can do with a lover is wash their hair. yknow i made fun of him for that until i wrote this. i see it. also its been so long since ive finishing anything, pls forgive me if this is bad. renjun i love u. as always I'd love to hear what you think <3

“I’m bleaching my hair.” If you say it fast enough, Renjun won’t be able to talk you out of it. The plastic bag swings around your wrist as you walk across the parking lot. “I’ve already bought the bleach and gloves and stuff, and I’m going to do it, today.”

He’s quiet for so long you check to make sure the call hasn’t dropped. “Okay.”

You almost drop your phone. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” he says, drawing the word out. “Was I supposed to say something else?”

“Um, yeah?” You say. “You have opinions about literally everything. You talked me out of buying those pants two days ago.” You finally get to your car, tossing the bag onto the passenger seat and half-falling behind the wheel.

“That’s because they were made of polyester, and the thrift store was still charging $15,” he says immediately. “That was a scam.”

“Money is temporary, drip is forever.”

“Those pants would have lasted a year max, before they fell apart, and you still haven’t learned how to sew so you wouldn’t even be able to mend them or upcycle them.”

“You know what, I didn’t buy the pants, so this fight is moot,” you say. You set the phone on speaker, turning the engine on to blast the AC.

“Well, not moot. Technically I won,” Renjun says.

“I’d respect you more if you weren’t insufferable.”

“Here I was thinking you appreciated my insight,” he says. “You even asked for it.”

“I did not!”

“You literally asked about bleaching your hair.”

“I said I was surprised you didn’t have an opinion, not that I wanted to hear it,” you say.

“Semantics,” Renjun says. “So what time do you want to come over?”

You frown. “Tonight?”

“The roommates are out of town for the whole weekend, and I have way better ventilation,” he says. “I’d much rather bleach it without passing out.” He pauses. “You do want help, right?”

“Honestly, I was not expecting support. I was fully ready to fight you on this,” you say.

He snorts. “Come over whenever, I'm not doing anything today.”

“See you in twenty minutes.” You hang up, feeling a strange ball of tension roll around in your gut. That was… too easy? Renjun always has something to say about your admittedly impulsive tendencies. But if he’s going to help you’re not going to reject it—knowing Renjun he’s probably already watching Youtube videos and learning more than you will ever know about bleaching hair.

And it’s Renjun. When have you done anything without his help?

Renjun opens the door wearing a wearied expression. He doesn’t bother to greet you or even smile, just unlocks the door and steps to the side.

“Hi to you, too,” you say, trading your shoes for the spare slippers resting by the doormat. You follow Renjun into the space that serves as kitchen, dining room, living room, and Jaemin’s miniature gym, with weights and mats stacked next to the television.

“Who the hell clogs a toilet and then leaves for the weekend,” Renjun says.

You set down your plastic bag full of hair products and frown. “That’s disgusting.”

Renjun leans against the counter. “And you didn’t have to spend the last forty minutes trying to unclog it.”

“So which of the guys are you going to murder?” You try to guess, running through his roommates: you find it hard to believe Jaemin would do such a thing. Jeno maybe, and Donghyuck would certainly think it’s funny. But, in all honesty, it could have been any of them.

“Don’t know,” Renjun says, “but knowing them, they’ll make a pact to protect each other.”

“Seriously?”

Renjun pauses, gaze sheepish. “It’s what I did when I accidentally killed Jaemin’s little succulent that survived his college dorm.”

You fake a gasp, placing a hand over your chest. “Every day I learn something new about you. That’s devious.”

“I was drunk!” Renjun says, holding up a finger. “And Jeno and Donghyuck pushed me into it, so it was equally their fault.”

“If you say so.” You glance around the apartment. “Where are they all?”

“Jaemin’s visiting family, Jeno has a soccer tournament, and Donghyuck said he’s going camping with Yangyang.” Renjun says, counting off with his fingers.

“Donghyuck and Yangyang are friends?”

“Yeah, according to them they bonded over dealing with me.”

“Those were their exact words?”

“Dealing with my ‘stupid ass,’” Renjun says.

“That’s more on brand.”

Renjun nods.

You think about Yangyang, Renjun’s friend from when he was a kid. You’ve met him a few times now, especially since he’s moved half an hour away from Renjun. He’s fun, always bringing out a chaotic side of Renjun whether it’s dancing on a bar or bringing out angry-Renjun. But Yangyang and Donghyuck?

“That’s a terrible friendship. They’re going to ruin you.”

Renjun nods again, but you see the smile hiding in his eyes. He can rant all he wants, you know he’s excited his friends are getting closer with each other.

You point at the bag. “So where are we doing this?”

You half expect him to lecture you about rash hair decisions but he just gestures to the kitchen. “I figure right here should be fine. The tiles should be pretty easy to clean and probably could use some bleach anyway.”

He drags the chair with a rickety leg from the dining table. You dig through the bag and set everything on the counter. While Renjun cracks a window open, you begin to mix the developer and the bleach, curling your lip at the sharp scent. Renjun joins you, pulling on a pair of gloves.

“Wow that’s strong,” he says, wincing.

“Yeah,” you say. “Definitely a good idea to do it here.”

When the powder is finally combined, you sit on the chair, Renjun following behind you. You section off your hair together, then he grabs the bowl and the brush.

He holds the thick paintbrush brush up against your hair, glancing at you, giving you one last chance to back down. You give him the nod of approval and he shifts back to focusing on your hair, brushing the bleach into it as carefully as he spreads paint on a canvas. He works section by section, carefully drenching your hair with the creamy solution.

“So, are you going to tell me why you decided to do this?”

You can’t resist turning and glancing at him. “I thought you approved.”

“I didn’t try to talk you out of it,” he says, “that doesn’t mean I’m not curious about how you came to this decision.”

You nod until Renjun uses his gloved hand to hold your head straight. “I suppose that’s fair.”

You pause, trying to find the right words. But you find yourself drifting back to Renjun. Why didn’t he ask this before the bleach was in your hair? It’s not like him to keep his opinions to himself. When you first met him, he was yelling at Donghyuck for going to a philosophy seminar just to fight with the notorious bigot of a professor (which Donghyuck did and then got kicked out, and proceeded to get the professor suspended). You only knew Mark back then, a friend from another class who invited you to meet some of his other friends in the dining hall. When Renjun turned to ask what you thought, you said Donghyuck should do what he thinks is right. Renjun didn’t hesitate to call you an idiot then. So why isn’t he calling you an idiot now?

To his credit Renjun doesn’t rush you. He continues to paint the bleach into your hair, content to wait for you to figure out an answer. Except you’re thinking about all the wrong questions. Like, seriously, why do you want him to call you an idiot?

“I want a change,” you finally say. “I’m stuck in a degree that will make me absolutely no money when I graduate, I can’t afford to break my lease, and don’t have any major relationships that need upheaving, so, hair.”

“‘A change?’” Renjun repeats. “Like, you woke up this morning and thought, today I’m going blonde?”

“Like, I have this feeling in my chest, this aching feeling that there’s something I need to do, someone I’m supposed to be, something more than the person I see in the mirror but I’ve made my decisions and I’m happy with my decisions and I genuinely like who I am. So, hair.”

You see Renjun’s hand falter out of the corner of your eye, halfway between the bleach mixture and your hair. He freezes for a heartbeat then continues to move, lifting some hair off your ear, careful not to brush the bleach onto your skin.

“‘So, hair,’” he says.

“Are you really going to repeat everything I say?”

This gets a short laugh from him. “I think the fumes are getting to me already.” He pauses, setting down the brush and stepping in front of you. “For what it’s worth, I like who you are, too. I’m really glad we’re friends.”

You smile at him. “Me too,” you say. “I definitely would have fucked up trying to bleach this on my own.”

“There’s still some bleach left,” Renjun says after he finishes with your roots. “You’re sure you don’t want your eyebrows to match?”

“Why don’t we do your eyebrows,” you say. “Better yet, why don’t we shave them off?”

Renjun sets down the brush. “Okay, no eyebrows.”

You grin at him. “That’s what I thought.”

He helps you get a plastic bag wrapped securely over your head, then sets the timer.

“What do you want to do for the next half hour?” You ask. “Preferably something that requires little to no movement.” You gesture to your head. “We’re not winning any frisbee tournaments tonight.”

“It was one time,” Renjun mutters, shaking his head and stepping around you plop down onto the couch. “We can watch something.”

You follow him, sitting on the other side, a cushion between you. The space feels strangely empty. Though you’ve spent plenty of time alone with Renjun, even alone with him at his apartment, the silence is usually interrupted by one of the guys getting bored of playing League, or coming back because they can’t go out to a bar without someone forgetting their ID, or in desperate need of Renjun’s expert advice (read: Jeno never remembers to ask Renjun to look over his submissions until 12 minutes before they’re due). The cushion between you never stays empty for long but the moments stretch on, only making the distance feel greater.

You wonder, not for the first time, how long it’s been since you’ve thought of Renjun as just a friend. If he was just a friend, you wouldn’t care so much about what he thinks. And if he was just a friend, you wouldn’t care so much that he suddenly doesn’t think.

You sneak a glance at him, fiddling with the remote for a couple seconds before realizing he grabbed the wrong one. He’s certainly always been handsome—that was undeniable from the moment you met him. But more than just being good looking, it’s Renjun himself. Not just those dark eyes, but the way they burn with passion (even when he’s arguing about the proper number of appetizers to order). It’s his perfectly shaped lips, the way they betray how he feels with a slight curve up or down—and his smile. Always, always his smile, beautiful and breathtaking even though you’ve seen it a thousand times.

He turns, a little furrow in his brow. “What?”

“Hm?”

“You’re looking at me funny,” he says. “Did I get bleach in my hair or something?”

You turn to face the TV, trying to pay attention to the show Renjun chose. “I wasn’t looking at you funny,” you say. “I wasn’t even looking at you.”

“If you say so,” Renjun says, “but if there’s a blonde spot anywhere in my hair, I’m so making you pay for it.”

You shake your head. Where the hell did those thoughts come from? Renjun, more than a friend? Sure, you’re close with him and sure, he’s objectively attractive, but you’ve never had those thoughts before. Well, at least not sober.

“Um, why are we watching Singles Inferno?”

“Because I asked and you were too busy not staring at me to answer, so I put it on,” Renjun says. “And don’t you dare try to tell me you don’t like it. I saw you rant on your Instagram story the other day.”

“Okay, but you don’t get it,” you say. “This bitch really has the audacity to to—”

“I saw your post,” Renjun says. “Believe me, I get it.”

“If you didn’t want to hear about it you should not have turned it on, because now I can’t stop,” you say. Renjun rolls his eyes but even as you delve into a full on essay about the horrible men particularly common in dating shows, you see the corners of his lips tilt up into a smile.

The timer goes off halfway through an episode.

“Saved by the buzzer,” Renjun says. “I’m putting a ban on anything reality TV related for the next three hours.”

“You’re the one that brought it up,” you mutter without any real annoyance. Despite his banter, Renjun dutifully listened to your rants, and even got mad along with you.

You drag a chair to the sink while Renjun drapes a towel over your shoulders. He puts on gloves and unwraps the bag, letting your hair fall into the empty sink.

“Close your eyes,” Renjun says gently. He tilts your head back, cupping the back of your head for a moment before pulling the head of the sink faucet out. He runs the water, long enough for you to peek your eyes open.

You’ve gotten used to seeing Renjun focused. He gets a little furrow in his brow, always glaring at his work. Before you were friends, you used to think he was actually angry, that his frowns and short tone were real. You’ve learned since then, it’s not his emotions, it’s his passion. The frown only comes out when he’s focused, trying to be perfect. When he cares.

“Unless you want bleach in them, close your eyes,” Renjun mutters, with absolutely no malice behind the words. His eyes shift to meet yours and that’s how you know you’re right. He can glare and bluster all he wants, he can’t hide his eyes, warm and shining. Like when he’s looking at his art, his gaze is a combination of soft and intense, creating something stronger than affection. Except he’s not looking at his art, he’s looking at you.

You squeeze your eyes shut, feeling your heartbeat pick up. Despite every attempt to shut down the thoughts, they race through your head, a stampede grown out of control. Renjun, who you’ve only known a year and a half but who has become one of your closest friends. Renjun, who never fails to share the only opinion you really care about. Renjun, who you can’t imagine life without. Renjun, who you’ve never dared to imagine life with.

He places a hand on your forehead, bringing the faucet closer to rinse your roots while keeping the water from pouring onto your face. You prepare for a cold shock but the water that soaks into your hair is the perfect temperature—not scalding hot, not freezing cold. Some water sprays over his hand, falling onto your eyelids and cheeks.

“Sorry,” Renjun murmurs. He holds the head farther away, running his fingers gently through the roots of your hair. He’s so close you can feel his breath, warm against your temple. You can feel his body, hovering over yours, and maybe it’s just your imagination, but warmth seems to emanate from it.

His friends would laugh at you if you described Renjun as soft to their face, but it’s the only adjective that captures the way he works the water through your hair. Soft and gentle and careful and nothing like the Renjun that has to corral everyone into his car at 3 in the morning. And yet this Renjun doesn’t feel like a stranger to you.

Washing your hair takes a lifetime, but as soon as he steps away and turns off the water, you miss it. You miss him, even though he’s only a couple feet away.

“You can open your eyes now,” he says. As soon as you do, he tosses a towel at you. It hits you in the face before you can get your hands up.

“Hey!”

“Sorry,” Renjun says, not sounding sorry at all. He manages to hold back the laugh but still grins at you, unashamed. He steps forward and pats your face dry, with the same gentleness as before, though there’s still a mischievous glint in his eyes. You yank the towel away before he gets any ideas, drying off your face on your down and wrapping it around your hair. You wring it out a couple times before letting go, doing your best to get it to fall evenly around your head.

You raise your eyebrows at Renjun. “Okay, how bad is it?”

“Okay, first of all, I’m insulted that you think there’s any way I’d fuck up you hair,” Renjun says. “And it looks really good. Blonde suits you.”

You take a deep breath and pull out your phone, studying yourself in the mirror and… he’s right. The color is even, somewhere between blonde and orange that is unavoidable when using bleach. Radical hair changes generally end in tears but looking at yourself in the mirror, you don’t feel the usual dissonance. The hair is different but somehow more familiar than the “normal” you that doesn’t feel right anymore.

“I’m right,” Renjun says.

You smile. “Yeah, you are.” You put down your phone, meeting his eyes. “Thank you, Renjun.”

“For what?”

“Doing all of this for me,” you say.

“It’s the least I could do,” he mumbles. “You’re my friend.”

You shake your head. “Thank you anyways.”

Renjun just shrugs and grabs the bowl, rinsing out the bleach in the sink. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he’s avoiding your eyes.

You do your best to clean up the bleach from the floor, busying yourself until Renjun finishes. You wonder if you’re imagining the tiles getting a little bit whiter. Finally, he turns off the water and glances at you.

“You’re really happy with it?” He asks, sounding more like he doubts you rather than changing his opinion.

“Yeah,” you say, standing up. “I think it’s the ‘me’ of right now, you know?”

“Not really.”

“Like, I feel disjointed, and blonde hair is definitely not me, but it's the me that feels kind of all over the place, so even though it doesn’t look like me, it looks like me.” You wring your hands together, fingers tinged red.

“That makes no sense,” Renjun says, “but I think I get what you mean.” He smiles. “And I’m glad. I wouldn’t want you to have any regrets.”

So he did think this was a potential mistake? Why didn’t he say anything?

Renjun turns back to the sink, but before he can turn the water on, your voice calls his name. “Renjun?”

“Hm?” He doesn’t turn around.

“Why didn’t you fight me on this?”

He doesn’t move for a long moment. You wish you could see his face. “I have been told by certain people,” he begins, which is code for Donghyuck and Yangyang certified their position as Renjun’s worst nightmare. He turns to face you, wiping his hands on a towel.

“That I have a tendency to be overly opinionated in a generally negative direction. And I thought about it, and I realized I'm never really fully supportive, whether it’s a big decision, or, like, coffee, and I’ve always been this way, but, apparently, it’s especially… apparent with you.” He frowns. “This is all coming out wrong. I’m trying to say that it’s different when I’m around you. I’m different.”

Your eyes jump between his, trying to decipher what he’s saying. “Different?”

“I care a lot about you,” Renjun says, “more than anyone, actually.”

“Oh.” You blink once, twice. “Wait, you like me?”

Renjun’s eyes shift to the floor. “Yeah.”

You can’t help but let out a short laugh, reeling at the absurdity of it all. Renjun likes you? But he’s Renjun. Even though he’s the most common main character in your daydreams, you never once realistically thought he might be fantasizing about you too. But he likes you.

“I really didn’t want to say anything, I mean, before anything else you’re my friend, and I don’t want to ruin that,” Renjun says rapidly. “We’re good friends, and I really didn’t want to be the guy that pretends to be your friend but just wants to date you the whole time, that’s really not what I was trying to do, it’s just—”

“Renjun.” You put a hand on his shoulder and he freezes mid sentence, mouth still hanging open a little. Before he can move, you lean closer, the type of line you’d only dare to cross in your dreams.

“I’d like to kiss you,” you say softly. He blinks, eyes darting between your eyes and your lips.

“I’d like that,” he finally breathes. So you kiss him.

It starts light, his lips exactly as you imagined—soft and warm. His arm works its way around your waist, pulling you closer. The other works its way into your hair, still wet and sticking to your head. Renjun kisses like he’s been planning this for a long time, and maybe he has. Every movement is slow and careful, until he’s stolen all your air and even then you don’t want to pull away.

Your bravery fades the minute you meet his eyes. You bury your face into his chest, your cheek resting against your own hand. Renjun wraps both of his arms around you, holding you snugly in place.

“I like you, too,” you say into his chest. It’s the cowards route but if you look him in the eyes the words will never come out. “If it wasn’t obvious.”

“It wasn’t actually,” he says softly. “I think I drove all of my friends insane trying to figure out whether I should confess or not.”

“They all know?” You groan. “We’re never going to hear the end of this.”

“Yeah.” When Renjun laughs, it shakes your whole body. You can feel the rumbling, overtaking his heartbeat. “It’s okay though. It’s worth it.”

You turn your head, emerging from the sanctuary of his chest and tucking your head so that you can see his face. He smiles at you with the familiar warmth you’ve come to expect.

“Yeah,” you say, “it really is.”

Renjun grins.

“Your hair on the other hand…” He says.

“I thought you liked it!”

“I like it,” Renjun says, “but when has Donghyuck ever liked a single change to anyone’s hair?”

“Since when do you care what Donghyuck thinks?”

“I’m just saying now that we’re officially dating, my friends are going to be extra annoying,” Renjun says.

“Extra annoying? I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Don’t underestimate them.”

You groan, pressing your face back into his chest. “It’s not too late to get some hair dye.”

“You are not changing your hair because of my dumbass friends,” Renjun says.

“You like it?”

“You like it,” he says. “That’s the only opinion that really matters.” He pauses then adds, “But yeah. I like it.”

You grin, lifting your head to kiss his cheek. “Maybe we should dye your hair too.”

Renjun snorts. “Oh yeah?”

“We could have matching couples hair.”

He laughs out loud this time. “Maybe we should just get some shirts.”

“Three minutes of dating and you already want matching shirts? Huang Renjun, be honest.” You push off of him until you can place your hands on his shoulders and look him in the eyes. “Are you obsessed with me?”

“Yes,” he says, layering his voice in sarcasm that still isn’t enough to hide the truth of the admission. “All day every day, all I think about is you.”

“Well, see, that can’t be true because if you were that obsessed and I’m this close, you would already be kissing me because—” You forget whatever you were going to say, but it doesn’t really matter. Not when Renjun is kissing you like this. Your hands at his shoulders slink around his neck, while his wrap around your waist, leaning so close to you, you feel your back begin to dip.

Huang Renjun is poison, the kind that turns into a heart-shaped puff of pink when the bottle is opened. You melt into his kiss and it’s still not enough. You could die, right this instant, and you don’t think you’d notice. Death itself wouldn’t be able to tear you away from this moment.

“Renjun!” Donghyuck’s voice thunders through the kitchen. “How dare you? You bastard, you’re cheating?”

You jump apart, turning to see him looming in the doorway. His glare settles on you, and you see the exact moment he realizes he recognizes you.

“Jesus Christ, you could have knocked or something,” Renjun says.

“I live here too,” Donghyuck says automatically. He squints, then looks at Renjun, then back at you. “YN? Your hair is blonde.”

For some reason, you raise your hand and wave at him. “Hey!”

“Oh my god!” Donghyuck cries. “Yangyang owes me thirty dollars!” He races back out the door, screaming something that’s lost as the door swings shut.

You glance at Renjun. “Cheating?”

He frowns at the door, still a crack open. “Did he… seriously think you were someone else? That I was cheating on my unrequited crush?”

His eyes shift to yours. A heartbeat passes and you burst into laughter. His friends might be annoying, but they’re still endearing. You press a messy, smile-infested kiss to his lips and wonder if you’ll ever get used to the giddy feeling.

There’s plenty messy in your life, plenty to doubt. But watching Yangyang and Donghyuck drag their backpacks in (apparently Donghyuck forgot his power bank and they decided to give up on camping) as they attempt to interrogate Renjun on every detail, you can’t help but feel like it doesn’t really matter. You don’t doubt Renjun. You don’t doubt blonde suits you. And you don’t doubt the power of a last minute hair decision, not anymore.

thank you for reading!! likes, reblogs, and comments are always appreciated

#🌟 stars galaxy #nct #nct dream #nct x reader #nct dream x reader #nct reader #nct fanfic #nct dream fanfic #nct dream fluff #nct fluff #renjun #renjun fluff #huang renjun #nct renjun

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paradigns · 11 months

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🌦 « ( nichole sakura, thirty-two, cis female, she/her ) ☼ congratulations, kaede nakano, you’ve been accepted as a park ranger in hampton valley in grand hazel national park this summer! we could tell from your application that you are eccentric and defiant, so we are so pleased to welcome you from redding, california for your fifth summer on staff. hopefully you can check singing to wild animals, watching the sunrise at the peak, and configuring the perfect camping set up off your bucket list. please consult your employee handbook with questions! ↷

( @npbulletin ) hellaur i’m anne <333333 there is a brief bullet mention drugs in the intro below! like this and i’ll seek you out on d*scord or you could just message me first if you’d prefer at bigtimerushstan there!

kaede was born and raised in san diego, california. that was her home with her moms <3 but then she moved to get closer to the redwood national park where she usually works full-time. she wanted to explore a lil more so she negotiated a part-time summer position at grand hazel.

she also sells upcycled jewelry on the side -- you’ll probably find her outside looking for usable materials. maybe you’ve found her by a trash can, maybe behind the park buildings. nature is bountiful. the business is on hold during the summer while she builds up her collection and focuses on her job at grand hazel.

she’s a vegan and she won’t kill spiders. maybe a stink bug if they get annoying but she’ll try not to!!!

she’s pretty empty-headed sometimes, and she kinda lives in her own world. she’s like a mixture of synclair james from living single and phoebe buffay from friends.

live laugh love is literally her life motto.

avid w33d smoker.

she has so many plants in her home it’s like a plant nursery. come to her if you need help with your plants.

i’ll copy and paste some of the wanted connections, but i’m always up for a good ole brainstorm!!!

mortal enemy who believes in the exact opposite of what she believes in (veganism, nature is best, live laugh love, killing spiders is bad, etc)

best friends who’s just like her

best friends who’s not like her at all but they’re supportive <3

friends who’ve bonded over her plant knowledge or her jewelry or whatever

friendly acquaintances who are still getting to know each other

petty rivals (she will NOT move her little plants from the common area)

enemies because of something personal (they’re exes, they dated the same ex, they said the other person’s hair is ugly and they’ve been personally offended ever since, shut up about the flowers already, etc.)

childhood friends/enemies/lovers

unrequited crushes (kaede crushing on your muse, your muse crushing on kaede, either or <3)

regular and casual hookup

i am up for anything tbh just lmk <3

#ghintro

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therapy-recycle-and-exorcise · 2 years

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🖌🎨COLLAB WITH @totemarte GOES ON! Second round of works! The STOP pant is a generous donation from @paschmannalexandra hand painted by us and our friend artist. The fotos were taken at his atelier in Berlin Lichtenberg. ⚠️All pieces now online FOR ONE MORE WEEK! Then we go offline for the winter 🫶🏽 ⚠️ 👉🏾Searching for a #store to showcase this collab 👈🏾 REACH OUT IF YOU ARE OR KNOW THE ONE.⚠️ A bit about us⤵️ Hello! I’m Angie! The half of tHERAPY in Berlin. Soon I’ll be reunited in my country of origin Argentina with my sister Poli @therapy_argentina for our usual get together there. Then back to Berlin. 🫶🏽 ♻️All you see here is experimental reusing of textiles and other materials. We do this ourselves and with one seamstress at each side of the ocean. We are a family, female-run business started by me in 2012 in Berlin in a desperate search to connect with my inner self, after 8 years trying to adapt and integrate into a different culture. 😅 I’m simply a maker. Love doing things with my hands. This is therapeutic for me. For us. There is where the name come from. If you like our work, please support us. And all small businesses. If Google, Facebook are having hard times, imagine the seamstress from around the corner. 🤪 Supporting means: ➡️ comment this post ➡️ sharing this post ➡️ recommending us to a friend ➡️ giving credit if you got “inspired by our work ➡️ choosing original designs from us or other colleagues and not supporting brands that copy (Instagram + your city high street are full of them) ➡️ renting our pieces ➡️ buying our pieces ➡️ donating old clothes to us for upcycling ➡️ hiring us to rework, repair, give workshops at schools, companies or events. ➡️ write us for whatever proposal that involves a support to our work THANK YOU FOR READING ! 💚🙏🏽 #therapyberlin #upcycling #art #reworjedvintage #reuse #create #therapy #therapeutic #smallbusiness #femaleentrepreneur #creator #make #recycle #berlin (hier: Therapy Recycle and Exorcise) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClqRi5WtV-y/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#store #therapyberlin #upcycling #art #reworjedvintage #reuse #create #therapy #therapeutic #smallbusiness #femaleentrepreneur #creator #make #recycle #berlin

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nwbeerguide · 2 years

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Hopworks Urban Brewery in cooperation with maltsters Country Malt & Great Western team up to recycle malt bags via Vancouver Plastics.

Press Release

PORTLAND, Ore. and VANCOUVER, Wash … In a collaborative effort to reduce brewing industry waste, Country Malt Group (CMG), Great Western Malting (GWM) and Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) have teamed up with Vancouver Plastics to create a simple, effective program to recycle hundreds of thousands of empty malt bags each year.

The project was spearheaded by Christian Ettinger, owner of Hopworks Urban Brewery, where reducing waste is integral to the company’s mission and a significant part of its B Corp commitment. Ettinger leads the sustainability committee of the Oregon Brewers’ Guild and was seeking opportunities that would impact the industry beyond his own company walls.

"As an eco-freak, I’m always looking for ways to reduce our solid waste,” said Ettinger. “Plastics are unique in that they are widely used, but rarely recycled properly, so it made sense to look at our plastic waste for opportunities to do better. Grain bags are sturdy and useful, and they deserve to be recycled rather than discarded after a single use. Thanks to our partnership with GWM and Vancouver Plastics, I am super excited that we finally have a simple, effective way to recycle malt bags!”

An average Pacific Northwest brewery uses approximately 1000 malt bags annually. These #5 polypropylene bags typically become landfill waste, with no viable recycling option until now. With this program’s launch, CMG and GWM collect the used bags and deliver them to Vancouver Plastics, where they are processed so that they can be upcycled in future plastic items – including new malt bags – helping to close the recycling loop and reduce environmental impact.

“As craft brewers, it is imperative that we do our part to protect our planet, and recycling as much as possible is a significant part of that responsibility,” continued Ettinger. “From the oceans to the landfill, we need to recover as much material for reuse as possible.”

“We’re thrilled to offer this simple, straightforward service to brewers in the Portland and Vancouver area,” said Bryan Bechard, founder of Country Malt Group and president of warehouse and distribution for United Malt Group. “This partnership is the third of its kind for Country Malt Group and one we hope to replicate in as many of our locations across North America as possible. Integrating sustainable solutions into everyday operations, making them easily accessible to customers, and forming strong partnerships – like this one with HUB – are critical to reducing the environmental impact of our industry.”

Free pick-up of the used bags is provided to CMG and GWM customers within the dedicated hot truck radius. While CMG and GWM customers account for a large percentage of the region’s breweries and distilleries, those that don’t use their malt can drop off their own rolled-up “logs” of bags by appointment at the CMG distribution center in Vancouver, Washington.

ABOUT UNITED MALT GROUP Country Malt Group and Great Western Malting are part of the United Malt Group family of brands. United Malt is the fourth largest commercial maltster globally, with approximately 1.25Mtpa of capacity across 12 processing plants in Canada, United States of America, Australia and the United Kingdom. It also operates an international distribution business, which provides a full service offering for craft brewers and distillers, including malt, hops, yeast, adjuncts and related products. Learn more about United Malt here.

ABOUT HOPWORKS URBAN BREWERY Founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2008 by Christian and Brandie Ettinger, Hopworks Urban Brewery creates world-class beer and food with sustainable business practices that protect the environment and support our community. Family-owned and operated, Hopworks sources thoughtfully, operates efficiently and minimizes waste in an effort to protect the planet. The company’s 20-barrel brewery produces 10,000 barrels of beer a year for Hopworks’ brewpubs and distribution throughout Cascadia. Hopworks is the first Certified B Corporation brewery in the Pacific Northwest.

HopworksBeer.com | @hopworksbeer

from Northwest Beer Guide - News - The Northwest Beer Guide https://bit.ly/3sBh7fY

#Beer #News #Brewery

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gohyuck · 4 years

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reposting this because tumblr sucks

pairing: university baseball team captain!jeno x tiktok fashionista!reader

genre: fluff, smut, miiiiiiild crack

word count: tbd

warnings: i mean… sex lol, tiktok, bad jokes because the writer has a garbage sense of humor

let me know if you want to be on the taglist! synopsis and preview under the cut.

synopsis: jeno doesn’t know what a bobbin is and has only maybe (you aren’t sure) heard of the renegade dance. you run a diy fashion account on tiktok with over 600 thousand followers. you don’t know what a checked swing is. your boyfriend is the captain of your school’s award-winning baseball team. you both love each other, and you both support each other.

this love and support does, of course come with stipulations: while jeno doesn’t mind partaking in trends and challenges with you on your account, he isn’t always the biggest fan of being on camera. after all, he’s an introvert through and through. that, and he has a goal in mind: finally, finally sharing a home with you. it’s because of this that he puts into place a three-strike system.

it’s simple: once you have him do three videos with you, you’re all struck out with jeno’s patience with the camera. he, on the other hand, will be batting a thousand: getting to see you laugh and smile as you read through comments out loud, knowing that he’s part of the reason you’re beaming so brightly. if he’s lucky, he might even hit a home run, if you catch his drift. you don’t live with him yet, and he’s been trying to figure out a way to ask the question for a while. he thinks ‘it’ll be easier to pimp me out to your audience if we sleep in the same bed and have the same living space’ is a compelling argument if any.

it’s not a matter of if you get to three strikes; frankly, it’s a matter of when.

on the other hand, you have no idea about the three strikes. you don’t even know that you’re a player in the game. what you do know, though, is that there’s been a recent before-and-after trend going around: juxtaposing videos of yourself before and after what tiktok has dubbed as a ‘d appointment’.

you do plenty of couple trends with jeno. why would this one be the exception?

preview:

the game only comes second to you.

it’s not that jeno’s some kind of fanatic when it comes to baseball; after all, he literally plays the sport. his ability to call literally anything and everything back to the game might be frowned upon (by you, mostly), yes, but it is understandable. it’s hard to not be obsessive over something you spend hours upon days devoting your blood, sweat, and tears to, and it’s really hard to not be obsessive over the reason you don’t have to pay for tuition or lodging at your otherwise expensive university. jeno’s a nerd by self-admission (though you have no doubt that chenle is the one who’d assigned your boyfriend the label in the first place) who genuinely enjoys studying for his architectural design courses, and you know for a fact that he doesn’t take the fact that he’s on a full ride gently. he lives and breathes baseball - you suppose it’s only fair.

so, all things considered, you can see why jeno relates everything, everyone, and their mother back to baseball. when you’d first started dating, not soon after being introduced to each other at a Habitat for Humanity outing by your bio lab partner (and jeno’s best friend) jaemin, your boyfriend’s tunnel vision for mitts, bats, and baseballs had you perplexed at best. now, when he’s halfway into his first semester in junior year, you’re starting to really, truly get it.

it helps that jeno assures you you’re first in his heart. of course, you wouldn’t mind if you came after baseball, not when the game has given him so much. you don’t admit to anyone but yourself that you’re truly relieved you outrank the game, even if it’s marginally. if you hadn’t, you don’t think you’d be able to persevere through the sheer amount of baseball analogies that goes on in your boyfriend’s apartment. unfortunately for everyone, but mostly you, he talks more about the game when he isn’t playing it rather than when he is.

it’s currently late november, and season starts mid-february. three months until competitions start up, until you can paint signs and hold them up, screaming your voice raw, from stadium stands as your boyfriend cracks ball after ball up into the air with his powerful swings. you, for one, can hardly wait.

you love jeno, you really do, but if you hear him fondly refer to his cat eating its own puke as being ‘his own little cleanup hitter’ one more time, you’re going to fashion one of his prized baseballs into a ball gag. a baseball gag, if you will. you don’t even think that’s what cleanup hitter means, but at this point, you’re too afraid to ask.

in the end, it’s okay if you don’t have an extensive knowledge about baseball because your boyfriend, for his own little segment of ‘things about my s/o i’m clueless about but supportive of’, has almost no idea what the hell you do on social media all the time. sure, he knows you upcycle clothes you find at thrift stores into outfits you’d actually wear out, and he finds it immensely sexy of you to have an artistic vision in that way, but he doesn’t know a singular thing about your sewing machine. he can (kind of) darn his socks by hand, but that’s the extent of his knowledge on the topic.

jeno doesn’t know what a bobbin is and has only maybe (you aren’t sure) heard of the renegade dance. you run a diy fashion account on tiktok with over 600 thousand followers. you don’t know what a checked swing is. your boyfriend is the captain of your school’s award-winning baseball team. you both love each other, and you both support each other. complementary colors, rather than shades of the same.

you’ve been going strong for just over two years. the universe is a funny, funny place.

#first #five #tags #dont #work #jeno smut #jeno fluff #jeno #jeno scenario #jeno scenarios #jeno x reader #nct dream #nct dream smut #nct dream fluff

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prongsisabadger · 3 years

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The Wolf Pack Chapter 7

The gathering had only been the beginning. We still had to assemble our lightsabers on our own, granted with the help of professor Huyang. It was quite shocking for us younglings to have a droid for a teacher and not a Jedi master. The temple employed droids for maintenance only, so having one serving as a professor was a little disorienting. But professor Huyang was professional, knowledgeable and patient. He explained things clearly and reformulated concepts if one of us hadn't understood something. He had taught thousands of generations, he'd said, and we would be no different.

A lightsaber was part of who a Jedi was, so personal design was often encouraged. Most Jedi chose something familiar to them, oftentimes reminiscent of their own cultures. I decided I wanted to pay homage to the Tuskens. Rough around the edges, practical, ruthless, but honest, and humble and honorable. Most metals used in weaponry in the outer rim was second hand or recycled at best, scavenging was a full-time job in Tatooine, and it was the biggest provider of raw materials. So I did what no one expected, but I knew was right: I asked huyang to give me all the pieces no one wanted, those that had been in storage the longest. He did seem quite surprised but didn't question my decision, and neither did Master Yoda.

Once we had been given everything we needed, it was time to get to work. Each youngling had their own working space, and in the middle of the room there was a hologram with the plans to lightsaber building. We were told to use the force to build it, and so we did.

I didn't start building right away, instead, I studied the plans closely, took notes and tried to figure out where the best place to start was. It wasn't easy, Jedi were no engineers unless they'd had training before being taken into the order or studying to become one after being knighted. So I had to use every ounce of logic and common sense I had. I might not have been brilliant, but I knew how to read instructions and think for myself.

There were at least two failed attempts in the other workstations. If built wrong, lightsabers would explode and leave you with nothing but your crystal. One of those explosions was Nahdar's, but I didn't dare tease him or I'd lose my concentration. It was tricky, it was complicated and it was also a very long process, but once I figured out the best way to assemble the weapon that would be with me the rest of my life, I got to work.

I closed my eyes and reset my breathing pattern. The pieces lifted up in the air before me and aligned as I had pictured them in my mind's eye. Slowly, patiently, I put them together, one by one. Piece by piece, fuse, cable crystal and switch. They all came together as if they'd been meant to be there, the final step was to put all of it within the outer casing: a cylinder made out of a matte gray metal that resembled an upcycled exhaust pipe. The outer casing was not just that, it had been modified to be as ergonomic as possible, so the grip was non-slip and there was a metal hook in the end to attach it to a belt.

When I opened my eyes, my lightsaber was finished and spinning lazily in front of me.

"Oh, good. That looks very good, Kriari," Said Huyang beside me. "May I see it?"

I smiled lightly and grabbed the lightsaber from where it was floating and handed it over.

Huyang turned the saber on and the green light of my saber illuminated the dimly lit room. I was mesmerized to say the least. It was beautiful, harmonic and powerful. But it also had the potential to be dangerous. It was a weapon that inspired both awe and respect, and I loved it.

"A job well done, that is, young Foreas. Yes." Said Master Yoda when he saw me staring at my new companion. "Care for it you shall, and care for you it will. Hmmm"

"Yes, Master Yoda." I said before turning it off and hooking it to my belt.

…

The graduation trial was simply put, a lightsaber competition. For us to have made it to the top ten of our class, we already had to have excelled in every other discipline and class, so the only thing left to test was our skill in combat. There was no point system, we were not graded, but that didn't make lightsaber dueling more important than the other disciplines. Masters looking for a Padawan were given a report on each of us, which detailed how we had done in each of our classes and any thing of note our instructors believed to be important. But that did not mean the lightsaber competition wasn't the main event. It was. They took place in the Temple's Arena, and most members of the order attended: Masters, Knights, Younglings, and even Members of the council. It was stressful, nerve wracking and there was nothing for me to do other than my best.

We would duel each other at random until only one was left. The duels were not to death, of course, but the aim was either disarm the opponent or incapacitate them. All while blindfolded. Being blindfolded was not something that concerned me, in fact it gave me a little comfort to know I wouldn't be able to see all the people around me. It had become a habit of mine after all these years, to close my eyes and feel for the Force when I was stressed or trying to concentrate.

And then the trials started. One by one we got called into the ring and given our blindfolds. One by one we gave all we had to try and secure our place as a padawan. When my turn came, I had a strange sense of peace. I should have been nervous, I should have been afraid of what would happen if I failed. It was what I would have done in any other circumstance. But not that day. That day I decided to meditate before going in, and the Force took all my fear, all my anxiety, all my worry and spirited it away. When I stepped into the ring, I bowed before my opponent, a girl from Naboo two years my senior. We were given our blindfolds and were told to start on the master's mark. The lights went out and I couldn't see, but that was okay. The arena went silent, and then I heard her left foot shift. Being unable to see was not a hindrance, in fact it was a blessing in it's own way. I had been forced to concentrate, to feel around me through the Force, to hear my opponent move and act accordingly. I didn't give her time to go on the offensive. I struck first. Blow after blow I struck once, twice. Reversed my grip, turned my saber left then right then right again. I sweeped it under her feet and pushed and pushed against her defences. I was at peace, I was concentrating and I was being ruthless and merciless, but there was no malice behind it. She was just my opponent for the day, she just happened to be there. Finally, I managed to disarm her, and once her saber hit the floor, I powered mine off.

I was sweating and a little out of breath, but that was all. My opponent on the other hand, was not. The resentment and hatred in her eyes when she took her blindfold off shocked me. I hadn't meant it as a personal attack on her person. I had just been doing what I had to. She didn't stay to bow before leaving the ring. She simply called her saber to her with the force and left. And that was the end of my first duel.

The rest of my duels were nothing like the first. We were all evenly matched, and I only came out in third place because Nahdar had managed to find a pattern in my fighting style.

"You rely too much on your physical strength and tire yourself out," He explained as we left the ring. "You should try to incorporate the Force and increase your stamina."

He was right, of course so I took his advice and continued to talk about the trials. Nahdar came out on top, followed by a Twi'lek boy and finally me in third place. Now, all there was left was to wait for a Master to choose us as their Padawan. It didn't take long, Master Kit Fisto chose Nahdar as his Padawan that very day, and the Twi'lek boy got selected by a master I didn't know. No one came for me that day, but that was okay, I was in no rush.

I spent the rest of the day talking to Ahsoka. We discussed the trials, the new Padawan, what she hoped to accomplish when her time came. Ahsoka had always been ambitious, and I'd always supported her because there had never been malicious intentions behind that ambition. I simply wanted to become a Jedi Knight and help keep the peace. We balanced eachother out, always had.

We were outside laying in the afternoon Coruscant sun when a master finally approached me. It was Master Plo Koon. Ahsoka greeted him with a smile before leaving us and winked at me before rounding the corner.

"I believe you know why I'm here, young one." He said before sitting on one of the benches.

"I do, Master." I answered.

"Have you decided if you want to embark on this journey with me? The road ahead will be treacherous, many trials await you."

"I know, master. But I believe there is no one that could guide me like you. It was you who found me, it is only fitting that you are the one to guide me the rest of the way."

"Then so be it, we will depart for Dorin in the morning."

"Yes Master."

#TWP #fanfiction #star wars #clone wars #plo koon #obi-wan kenobi #ahsoka tano #padawan!oc #captain rex

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steve-rogers-new-york · 4 years

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August

Warmest greeting my sweet, soft snickerdoodles <3

Last Month — July

What a shock! Last month I got up-to-date on all my physical perks, posted all my scheduled posts, and made great headway on one of my long-term, major-massive-huge projects for the blog. So progress. So success. So respectable adult! It was so cool to post two posts I had been looking forward to: The US flag one and the Dip Pen’s post :D I hope you guys enjoyed them! I also revived our old love: Recipe Wednesday! I’ll try my best to keep them up.

The aforementioned mega-huge-totally-all-the-work project is an extensive list of period accurate slang terms. If you’ve been with me a while you may know I have a gorgeous 720-page dictionary of slang (”The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English”) that is a beloved fixture of my small SRNY-related bookshelf. I have been, for a while, going through and compiling a list of terms that are historically-accurate language that would relate to both our boys, as well as Steve’s mother, Peggy, and the other Commandos. It really is a long-term project, and I am only just finishing up the C’s, but when I’m done, I’ll have the full list available to everyone for fic (and other) reference, as well as a series of themed posts!

Aside from posts, I have been trying to be more sociable. I’ve been semi-active on the Put on the Suit Stony Discord server, so if you see me (Owlish Fun) over there say hi <3 I’ve really enjoyed chatting with peeps over there about fic and cannon, and you know, whatever. And obv, I’m still loving the SRNY Discord, we’ve getting some new members recently and we’ve been having some great research-related chats!

Upcoming Posts — August+

August is a little behind on the post due to some health issues I’ve been having the last couple of week (see later in this post), so I might not get as much up this month as I would like :( I alway have a number of projects on the go, so below are some you can expect to see in the next month or so:

Asthma Cigarettes — Part of Patreon Ephemera Club Perk

Art Deco (art, furniture, architecture etc — on special request)

More Recipe Wednesday!

Coney Island’s Thunderbolt — Part of Patreon Ephemera Club Perk (late)

More 1920s-1940s slang

August Ephemera Club Perks (Patreon)

This month’s perk theme is medications, and will include...

ONE box for "Dr. Guild's Green Mountain Asthmatic Cigarettes" and TWO matchbooks featuring advertisements for medicines available during this time period! I was so excited when I found these boxes, and I’m really excited to share them with your guys! They have all the directions and commentary for the products, as well as price. I still have two more sets of these items for new subscribers in August, so if you would like to receive your own and support the blog, you can join the Ephemera Club tier over on the Patreon!

What’s Up with Me

So, as you may already know from my earlier post, I’ve been dealing with a rather persistent ear infection this past couple of weeks. Not only is it really painful and annoying, it also makes is nearly impossible to focus properly. As such, I’ve pretty much been unable to work on the blog for more than short bursts, and I’ve not written anything new in a while. I’m trying to be productive despite this, doing some clean-up of existing research notes and minor additions. Mostly, I’ve been working on the aforementioned vocab list of slang-terms from my dictionary. It’s just absent minded enough I can do it without too much trouble. I’ve actually made great progress actually, finishing the B’s and soon the C’s! I’m new about 1/4 the way through the dictionary! Very excite.

So yeah, I’m still under the weather. Most of the stronger pain is going thanks to a course of antibiotics, bit I’ve still only got about 20% hearing in that ear, near-constant ringing, regular discomfort and with occasional stabbing pain, and just generally feeling off thanks to having a problem ear. I guess the good news is that two doctors have said their pretty confident I don’t have COVID, so joy? It’s not fun guys — 0/10, would not recommend.

Beyond all that, I also moved at the beginning of this month, and how is that not the biggest news I have?? Dang health. I actually just moved (quite literally) around the corner from my other place, so with the help of my old housemate the move was quick and easy. The house is lovely, my new human housemate is great, and my new feline housemates are good company, if crafty and mischievous. Only downside is that I am allergic to cats xD Not extremely, but i get all-day sniffles if I don’t take antihistamine daily. Totally worth it.

August is a bit of hurry-up-and-wait. I start my Masters programme next months, and nearly everything is sorted by this point. I was lucky enough to be in a small programme so I got into all my first choice courses (enrolment was at 6am on the the day I moved, such fun!). This week I’ve been giving my credit card a work-out getting supplies so I’m ready for courses, including notebooks and other stationery products. I’m pretty picky about notebooks, so it took a month to finally settle on which ones I wanted to get. I might be mad.

I guess the last life note to make is the fun mid-point I’m occupying between intentional deluded calm and constant panic over my finances. I’ve been luck enough to live in a country that is providing financial support for those effected by COVID, so I have been receiving financial aid from the Canadian government since March. However, it’s going to be coming to an end soon, and with me starting a Masters degree in Sept, and my job still not really existing because of the pandemic (I work in tourism), it’s unclear what I’m doing for money come October. I have a line-of-credit set up to cover rent/food should it come down to it, if I cannot get any government assistance and my job continues to be unable to get my work. But that will just add to future Me’s debt coming out of my Masters, and a course I’m trying to avoid. I wasn’t able to get any scholarships this year, which was a huge let-down, as I had the academic clout that should have made me a shoe-in. While it is weighing on me, there is only so much I can do about it, so I’m keeping positive and know I have the worst-case safety-net of credit if it comes to it. In the meantime, I’m working on framing some vintage prints and comic book covers to offer on Etsy — something I’ve been wanting to do for a while but kept putting off. They’ll be items at a higher sell price and hopefully will bring in a little more income from the store. I’m also looking for suggestions on what other things people would like to get out of the Patreon, things that might make it more appealing for new and existing Patrons. I have recently added a Patrons-Only perk of a Masterlist of and access to my full research notes for existing and un-finished blog topics.

Ugh, this personal section won’t be this long in future, It’s just been a very eventful month so far. Love you guys, D.

[ Support SRNY through Patreon and Ko-Fi ] And join us on Discord for fun conversation! I also have an Etsy with upcycled nerdy crafts

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dippedanddripped · 4 years

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Upcycling boundary-pusher and ex-Reebok graphic designer Nicole McLaughlin has turned making something out of nothing into an art form. For her, sustainability starts with the urgent need to repurpose waste. The footwear industry alone pumps out 24 billion pairs of shoes a year, and much ends up in landfill. But it doesn’t stop there. Designers must think differently, says McLaughlin, and make sneakers circular. One thing we can do to fast-track it? Collaborate

Allbirds: How do you approach sustainability?

Nicole McLaughlin: “You can’t just kind of be in it; you have to fully be in it. I wouldn’t want it any other way, now that I’ve dipped my toe into to the world of sustainability, mostly through upcycling and having conversations with people who are much more expert than me. I’m learning as I go.”

Allbirds: What do you see as the most pressing sustainability issues in fashion, and how are you trying to overcome them?

McLaughlin: “Overproduction and waste. I used to work within corporate fashion and footwear. Coming into the industry as a lover of clothing and shoes, then being faced with the reality of working in the field, seeing the scale and travelling to factories - all that made quite an impression on me.

“I look at sustainability from a social perspective too: how you are paying your workers and how they are treated. The human side is very important. But I felt, honestly, that Adidas and Reebok had pretty good factories, so the thing that really got me motivated was how much product the industry produces. It’s crazy to see that in its full form. It changes you. Also, just being around piles of clothes and shoes in the office, you start thinking about using what’s already available.

“It’s definitely wild to see the scale of waste, and I don’t think most consumers really know about it. I’m trying to raise awareness without putting companies on blast. Rather, to help them, to be like: What are the things we can do creatively to address the problem? Because this is not about one brand or another brand; this is about the culture as a whole.

“Sustainability within sneakers is just starting to become a more discussed thing, but from an upcycling perspective, it’s not brand new. At one point Reebok used recycled tyre rubber to create soles. There’s so much that can be done if we’re more resourceful. Actually, Allbirds was my first real introduction to a sustainable brand that puts materials first, and I’m not just saying that!”

Allbirds: You did a collaboration with us, together with Chinatown Market, in August, donating the proceeds to charity. How did our materials inspire you?

McLaughlin: “I wanted to highlight Allbirds’ amazing materials and still have the fun, playful aspect. It was during peak quarantine, and you shipped me three or four huge boxes of sample materials, including these square swatches that were perfect for patchwork.

“It was my first time working with wool [and] it was cool to understand how it folds and moves. A lot of my process is sculptural because I am physically putting it on my body, seeing if it’s a malleable material, what I can do with it. I designed some bags, I did a vest made from shoe uppers, a shoe ,which was really cool, and a really fun basketball hoop bra.”

Allbirds: You use humour to cut through. Let’s unpack this statement from your website: “This unexpected translation of materials allows her to uniquely highlight the message of sustainability.” How do you talk to your community about your ideas and values? What kinds of reactions do you get?

McLaughlin: “Humour can break the ice. I’m trying to say there’s a lot of stuff already made, in a funny, practical way to get people thinking. I get messages pretty much every day from students, or people into sustainability that get it. Then I have other people who’ve followed me for a long time and it suddenly clicks for them; they’re like, ‘Oh, I see, all of this stuff is secondhand…’ That’s something I really love.

“My approach to upcycling and sustainability is a little bit different than the traditional way of creating a sustainable collection. For me, design - and the way that you perceive it - comes first. You think about the sustainability after you have been interested in the invention or the idea ... I don’t want to say it’s sneaky, because that’s not the right way of doing it, but you know what I mean. There are people who don’t want to be lectured to.”

Allbirds: You’ve made working with other brands’ deadstock into an art form, but what do collabs mean to you beyond their physical possibilities?

McLaughlin: “It’s funny to see the evolution because now brands are reaching out to me. When I started, I was using [items from] brands I liked, that I felt passionate about, just on my own. Now it’s great to have the opportunity to work together on finding solutions. There are more younger designers getting these collaborations, which is awesome. It goes both ways: we’re teaching these brands methods of dealing with waste, and they’re giving us a larger platform.”

Allbirds: What would real change look like for you?

McLaughlin: “I think a lot about circularity. It’s a daunting task for larger brands that have been in business for longer than I’ve been alive; they’ve put out years and years of product, and to change the whole way they work, and take back all that product, is asking for something major. But I see the value in brands that do take their product back, or have repair programs. Or if something’s too damaged to fix, they will take it back and re-use the materials. If you want to get really deep into it, there are so many layers driving the problems - consumerism, fast fashion, social media - but ultimately the solution that I find has the best design integrity is circularity.”

Allbirds: It’s interesting that you began by talking about takeback schemes and looking at responsibility for a product’s end-of-life…

McLaughlin: “I just don’t believe that brands should be like, ‘We made all this stuff, you buy it and then it’s your problem.’ I don’t think that’s the way we’ll do it in future. I mean, that’s what we have been doing, as an industry, and look where we are. More accountability would change things. Thrifting and donating is awesome but people don’t realise how much stuff is sitting in warehouses and on palettes, or getting burned. I think new technologies and new materials are part of [the solution], but what are we going to do with all the stuff we already have? We need to change the way we think about trash.”

Allbirds: Where do think the big opportunities lie for shaping a different kind of fashion industry? What gives you hope and why?

McLaughlin: “I am super hopeful when I do my workshops. Honestly, the most inspiring thing is to see people come up with solutions and make them happen. You could sit in a board room and chat all day about 2025 and 2030, all the targets you want to reach, but to make something together, a physical, tangible thing, is to be like: this is possible!

“It’s been amazing to have some of these brand partnerships on the workshops too. So you’ve donated Allbirds stuff you don’t need as the base for a workshop. Or Adidas helped me host one in China, where we also had people bring in their own things, which was really good because thrifting culture in Asia is very different. There’s the language barrier, but design is a way to communicate without words.

“I’ve held workshops all over, some in the UK, and around the States. All kinds of people come from different backgrounds and skills levels, not just design students - teachers, hospital workers, it’s crazy! People can come with no experience and leave with something amazing. They’ll bring their own items from home that they don’t know what do with anymore, and we find ways to rework them. It’s a very intimate process, of going around learning about each person and what they’ve brought, and creating a project around that. The most inspiring is when they start to work together and give each other advice. I miss the pre-COVID physical events.”

Allbirds: What have 2020’s disruptions highlighted for you as a business?

McLaughlin: “I’m going to go back to that word: resourceful. I really had to use what I had. Some of my old projects I took apart and remade. I literally used kitchen items from my house. It was like going back to my early days of designing. You run out of white thread, you have to get around it.

“I also think this year has pushed me more on connection and communication, to bring people along. Even just taking the workshops digital. You don’t have to be a designer or be able to sew to make better decisions about what do with the trash that you have.”

Through Waves of Change, Nicole McLaughlin is supporting Sunrise Movement to fight the climate crisis, and The Okra Project, a collective that brings culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People.

#sustainability #nicole mclaughlin #the okra project #waves of change #sunrise movement #upcycle designers #deadstock fashion #repurpose fashion #luxury sustainability #streetwear blog #fashion blog #urbanwear blog #urbanfashion

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puffballwitchery · 4 years

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This photo was taken a little over a year ago, on the top of my parking deck. I was timidly “charging” my little crystal collection under the full moon and “cleansing” my Tarot deck... but I wasn’t sure if I believed anything was “really” happening. It was cold and kind of spooky up there by myself. I felt ridiculous. When this was taken, I was much less open about my Craft. I wasn’t daring use the word “witch”.

My best friend and my partner would both describe me as a witch. I’m still not sure how I magically identify; I am a manipulator of energy and advocate for the natural world. I am a politically active feminist. I believe in taking an active role in my life and working to make positive change. I believe that our collective intentions and actions can change the world, and I believe that using the influence I’ve been granted is a part of that. I believe that there is a “bigger picture”, or “universal pattern”, and that each of us awakening to and continuously developing our inherent abilities - to connect, to nourish, and to uplift each other - is part of that.

I love love love a nice witchy aesthetic. You’ll see it in my posts. However, I feel much more powerful when I’m phone banking, or upcycling, or tending my plants all by myself, nary a “like” or “reblog” in sight. These are things that I believe to be “real” magic, of sorts: they work to bring about my desired outcome. Re-arranging my crystals and reciting verse over my altar might assist that outcome, but I don’t think spell alone is sufficient. I fear that if I let myself think it is, then I will lose the drive to pursue the coincing actions. I’m not interested in crafting recipes from Pinterest (or buying all those ingredients) and calling it “good” when there’s Work to be done. That work takes boots on the ground. What I have noticed, though, is that performing a spell makes me want to make it come to pass. If I do a spell for physical energy, I am more inclined to work out: I want to see the spell taking effect. This doesn’t happen if I don’t perform the spell. Perhaps that trick of perception is the “magic”, the intention made tangible and the actions accompanying it.

To me, “magic” is “manipulating reality towards one’s will”. This is an incredibly broad definition that could include literally anything that involves creating desired changes. This means that brushing my teeth in the morning and adorning my toes with warm socks is doing magic just as much as lighting a thoroughly dressed pillar candle and speaking an incantation over it is. I want a clean mouth, warm toes, and an energetically cleansed space. So I bring those to pass. Magic isn’t a bystander sport; you get your hands dirty, and sometimes (often) that looks just like the mundane. It’s another reason I hesitate to call my Work witchcraft... in a lot of ways, it’s just work.

What does draw me to the Craft, and why I’m writing under a “witchling” screen name, is because sometimes that Work is tiring. I’m allured by the idea of having deeper reserves of personal power to draw on. Witchcraft describes itself as a means of activating personal power and leveraging the energies of the natural world to create a desired outcome. I’m intrigued by the idea that there are Powers That Be, of the universe, of deitie(s) maybe, with whose interests my own are aligned, and that in working with their energies in concert, I am supported. I want to keep fighting for a more equal, greener, and brighter world: witchcraft promises to feed that flame. And so, here I am, a witchling.

#urbanwitch #urban witch #witch #witchblr #witchling

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sandrachile · 5 years

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A Zero Waste Wedding in Pittsburgh

If you have been on Facebook lately, you have probably seen videos of turtles tangled in plastic, birds whose stomachs are full of plastic, and reports about Global Warming.

Whether your political inclinations deny or are against global warming, the truth is, our planet is polluted, and right now, you are either part of the solution or part of the problem, there is no middle ground.

But the problem is that when it comes to bringing environmentalist values to wedding planning, if you are not in California, or don’t have a 6 digit budget, it becomes a little hard, and you might end up giving up for the sake of the circumstances.

So I want to show you, where you should be focusing your energy and resources, but first, let me introduce you to the “Buyerarchy of needs” which will be inspiring our whole journey, and I hope you look at this, read it, meditate on it, and then apply it.

1: Focus on the things that don’t cost you anything, pick a vibe, a feeling as the guidance for your wedding day.

If you look around for wedding day inspiration, everything is based on color palettes, flowers, or decor. However, since we are trying to be intentional and not use as many material things during the wedding day, it is better to base your inspiration on intangible things rather than material things, instead choose to get inspired by feelings, or the vibe you want your wedding to have. For example, the vibe for the image below was: contemporary, artsy, and fresh.

2: Focus on finding the core vendors for your wedding

(Yes, before setting up a date or even the location). Once you pick the vibe, you will need to gather the elements that will bring your vision together. But Unless you are working with the proper people, translating a concept to reality within a budget, can be hard. So, before even selecting the date for your event or the location, we highly encourage you to select the group of humans that will bring this to life. The core vendors are: Wedding Planner Venue Caterer Officiant Photographer Since the “ethical” journey begins before the wedding day itself, when reaching out to vendors, ask them upfront about what environmental practices they have in place.

Asking this up front will set the tone for the rest of the planning process, and if this is something that is not present in their practices, your question will surely push them in the right direction.

3: Where and When?:

Choose the date and the venue.

Whether you decide to marry at home, or in a big space, there are some things that you need to take into consideration, such as accessibility for your guest, location of your party hub, weather, and of course, environmental practices.

If you go for the most popular choice, a venue, ask them and yourself the following questions:

Does your venue send all the garbage to a landfill, or does it have any recycling practices in place? Do they offer furniture, or do you have to rent these items separately? Does the venue have decorative elements, or is it a plain room that needs a lot of stuff to look good? Does it offer in house booze/catering, or can you bring your own?

So many questions, right?

From the low waste perspective, it is a priority to choose a space that offers dishes, cups, and straws that are not plastic.

(I doubt you want a turtle in the Caribbean to swim among the straws from your wedding day, right? … #justsayin)

4: Let’s tell the world: The stationery (Oh poop! When things get real)

Although an online invitation is often times more eco-friendly, in practice, not everybody is a fan of receiving an email, and being inclusive of older generations who are less e-literate, is a good way to honor them. So when it comes to papers, what alternatives are low waste?

The invitation is the first thing your guests see, it sets the mood for the day, it tells your guests whether joining is going to be worth it, and it announces what kind of party this is going to be. Once the invitations are sent, things get real, and telling your guest that this is an environmentally friendly kinda day deserves to be announced in an environmentally conscious way. Here is where the value of a designer that can custom work for you is a thousand times better than printing some DIY, but make sure the designer is open to working with eco-friendly papers.

Have you heard about paper made out of elephant poop?

When it comes to being low waste, there is nothing better than options that ethically made, creative, and contribute to giving opportunities to economically and socially marginalized groups. So do your research in regards to papers, and if you are feeling like DIYing, you can DIY the envelopes from the newspapers at your grandma’s house.

PS: Oh! And forget about RSVPs! Nowadays everybody texts, so you can use an automated text message RSVP service which is the easiest way to gather replies from your guests, and automatically organizes and counts for you. SCORE!

(If you never saw paper made of poop, now you did | Stationary by the kick ass: Fresh Cut Prints )

5. Creating a wedding atmosphere: Decorations

One of the things about low waste, is that sometimes it might be a little on the plain side, so for a wedding, which we want to look special, we really have to put thought into what we bring in.

Using what we have, or what you can realistically keep afterward is key. So, first, my biggest and probably most overlooked decoration element that is also functional is: LIGHTS!!! I’m not talking about regular light bulbs, but lighting can make an amazing decoration, which afterward leaves zero trace.

Another suggestion is to use real plants as a decorative item. Not only they will give you a decoration the day of your wedding, but will decorate your house for the years to come, and imagine having the same plants that witnessed you saying “I do”, witnessing your anniversary year after year!

"Did you know that glass can be recycled forever and ever?" -- FUN FACT

Another element that is overlooked but it is quite easy to make, and to compost afterward is dry flowers. You can actually invest time in planting your own and meticulously dry. Finally, for any other need, hit your local thrift store! You would be surprised to see the amounts of linen available there.

Oh! And also… keep an eye on the dumpster! Someone else’s garbage always has the potential to be your treasure.

5. Time to get pretty

An element of your wedding that takes a lot of mental energy, a big chunk of your money, and it makes a massive statement in regards to the environment is fashion. And if you want to make a statement, the options for your outfit are: Ethically sourced. Wear your own. Make your own outfit. Or Vintage. This groom decided to wear his own clothes, and the bride opted for the vintage.

The statement piece for the bride was her earrings, which were upcycled. Altogether their outfits were around $30, which allowed more $$ to be allocated for other services.

As you can see, going this route is a great way to maximize your budget, but if you feel uncomfortable with the idea of wearing a vintage style of clothing, you can always purchase vintage garments and budget for the services of a seamstress that can transform your vintage piece and gives it a modern twist.

6. Beauty

I have to be the first in recognizing that zero/low waste and the beauty industry are not the best of friends. Beauty is perhaps one of the most forgotten subjects when it comes to thinking low waste wedding, maybe, because it is not you using that bottle of shampoo that will end up in a landfill, you don’t think much about it. Nowadays there are many makeup products companies using cruelty-free and vegan options (yay). But I learned from Becky, owner of the hair salon that does my hair, Tula Organics, that certain brands go to the extent of manufacturing products with 100% wind power, and they purchase carbon offset credits to balance any climate impact of their aerosol hairsprays.

She also told me about Dragon Master Foundation, a charity organization fighting to find a cure for cancer, and to whom you can send personal care and beauty containers to be recycled. This is an amazing initiative, to make the world greener and fight cancer at the same time.!

In summary:

A low impact, environmentally wedding is not unrealistic. Even if you don’t live in California, it is totally possible right here in Pittsburgh, and even with a small budget. All you might need, is to think through and plan with time, along with a good group of ethically minded wedding vendors.

Supporting Cast: Planner & Aesthetic designer: Devoted To You Events @devotedtoyouevents Florals: greenSinner @greensinner HMUA: Tula Organic @tulaorganic Venue: Kingfly Spirits @kingflyspirits Lightning: EF Lighting @eflighting Plants + Greenery: City Grows @citygrows Photographer: Sandrachile @sandrachilep Invitation Fresh Cut Prints @freshcutprints Paper Mr Ellie Pooh @mr.elliepooh Cake: Mediterra Cake House @mediterracakehouse Jewelry/Accessories Adaptive Reuse @christineterrell Calligrapher- Scarlet Day Calligraphy @scarletdaycalligraphy

#zero waste wedding #zero waste weddings #plastic free wedding pittsburgh #plastic free wedding #eco friendly wedding #ecosustainable photography #pittsburgh eco friendly wedding #vintage wedding dress #Sandrachile #Sandrachile Photographer #wedding pittsburgh #pittsburgh wedding photographer #photography wedding pittsburgh #squirrel hill weddings #hipster couple pictures pittsburgh #hipster wedding

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diabetesinsider · 6 years

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Mushroom Asparagus Risotto

www.diabetesinsider.tumblr.com

Cruise your frozen aisle beyond the pizza and ice cream sections! There’s more there for healthy eaters...diabetic diets...foodies...I-hate-to-cook types...the full spectrum of eaters. There are many more divergent tasty choices with cauliflower as it’s base. Give them a shot, all you have to lose are higher blood sugar numbers.

2 T. olive oil

2 T. onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped

2 T. parsley, chopped fine using kitchen scissors

1 - 12 oz. pkg. Green Giant Riced Veggies Cauliflower Risotto Medley

1/2 c. half and half milk

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat and saute onions, garlic and parsley for 3 min. or until onions are softened. Reduce heat to low and cook 1 min. Stir in cauliflower mixture and milk. Let simmer over medium heat 4 min. or until cauliflower is softened. Stir in Parmesan cheese cooking until desired thickness is reached. Serve this with a slice of roast beef and crunchy green salad on the side.

I have no connection to any products listed above. I’m just another diabetic looking for fast, easy tasty foods to fix that support my diabetic diet goals.

When I’m not cruising the frozen food aisles at my local grocer, I’m sewing colorful nylon work aprons for my online shop - www.etsy.com/shop/topdrawerthreads . Or I’m merrily crocheting scarves from upcycled yarns as we travel this holiday season for my other shop - www.etsy.com/shop/topdraweryarns .

My daughters have an online shop - www.etsy.com/shop/yesdesigns - where they hand make and sell stretch velour leggings from sizes x small to 2X. My younger daughter has an online shop where she designs and crochets mushroom inspired garlands from upcycled yarns - www.etsy.com/shop/shroombloombags . My older daughter has an etsy shop - www.etsy.com/shop/wildwovenwomen - where she pairs colors and textures of upcycled yarns to knit into warm scarves and afghans.

Looking to be in the know while on the go? Check out my audio book review blog for some thought provoking listens - www.lendmeyourears20717.tumblr.com .

#cauliflower recipe #fast healthy food #foodie find #foodie fun #healthy foodie #diabetic foodie #lower blood sugar #better blood sugar #t_1 #t_2 #t_1 diabetes #etsyfind #Etsy Shops #etsy #topdraweryarns #topdrawerthreads #yesdesigns #shroombloombags

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artreev · 2 years

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Art Event Of The Day: Alhamdulillah..!!! (All Praises To ALLAH) Art R'eev is humbled to announce my 4th Solo Exhibition. Indeed, another milestone in my art journey since 2017 when I've made a choice to be a full fledged Self-Taught Artist. It's through resilience that I've managed to sustain this far. Of course, it wouldn't be made possible without the support from my family, friends, followers & the community. Thank you for your continuous support... 🙏🙏🙏 This art exhibition is in collaboration with the Millet Group @millet_world @tekkaplace.sg @tekka1001.sg Presenting to you... "TRASHOLOGY" Tekka Place, 2 Serangoon Road, #01-02 & Atrium, Singapore 218227 Dates Of Exhibition: 01-30 Apr 2022 Tue-Sun 1100-2000 Hours Close On Mondays We Are Opened On Public Holidays (PH) Upcycling Workshop: "How To Make A Twisted Loop Bag From An Old T-Shirt..???" Workshop is available on every Saturdays & Sundays. 2 sessions of one and a half hour each. 1st Session: 1400-1530 Hours 2nd Session: 1700-1830 Hours Fees: S$65/pax (2 Groups Of 5 Pax Each) ALL MATERIALS WILL BE PROVIDED. To register, you may walk-in to the Customer Service Counter on Level 2, Tekka Place from 1030 - 2000 hours. Opens DAILY. Registration closes on the date of workshop at 1400 hours in the whole month of April. DM if interested to send you the link to register online via Google Form. Click here to register. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHLvbP0H7IhfwUjFZBTfQzvoKRpfuUadyZiOv0DHU0WLUcVA/viewform Immerse yourself in a fun-filled ARTivity on Weekends. Mark your event calendar TODAY..!!! An art event you wouldn't want to miss..!!! Your support helps to save the environment. Progressing towards a sustainable lifestyle. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Mr Dennis Lim @dennisl_65 for this opportunity... 🙏🙏🙏 A special shout out also to @sulaiman_surani for the poster artwork.. Thank you so much.. 🙏🙏🙏 I'm all excited to welcome you there on the date of event. See you..!!! #art_reev #milletgroup #tekkaplace #tekka1001sg #artexhibition #artinstallation #artworkshop #artspace #artworld #artlandscape #artwork #artpainting #upcyclingart #abstractart (at Tekka Place) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbc2xoUBmW-/?utm_medium=tumblr

#01 #art_reev #milletgroup #tekkaplace #tekka1001sg #artexhibition #artinstallation #artworkshop #artspace #artworld #artlandscape #artwork #artpainting #upcyclingart #abstractart

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bangays · 6 years

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Okay y’all, here’s a bunch of stuff I’ve learned about sustainable living and urban farming. Keep in mind, I’m no expert and I’m always learning, but what better way to share my knowledge and learn more than to make a giant post? I’m going to put this under a read more so when I update this I don’t have old versions floating around and so it’s not a super long post. Also, i’m more than happy to answer any questions or add in any knowledge you may have!

This is version 1.0, updated 4/24/18

Anyways, I’m going to do this in three main parts: “I have no yard but I still wanna grow my own shit” “I have a yard and wanna grow shit” and “I don’t wanna grow shit, what else can I do?” Keep in mind that tips for each area could be modified or used if you fit in another category, so reading through the whole thing could be worthwhile! For example, the “I don’t want to grow” category has a lot of tips for sustainable living outside of growing produce. Also, I’ve lived in northeast Ohio my entire life so this specific growing zone (6a / 6b) is what I’m basing everything off of and have experience in. This is a link to GROWING ZONES, which tell you how hardy a plant has to be to grow in your specific location. Most plants on their seed packet will say where they are best for growing.

But first! Good tips for everyone:

Keep all food prep waste and food that’s started to rot for compost! If it came from the ground, it can go back into the ground! Composting is an extremely easy way to reduce your waste and it’s literally free (and fertilizer is so crazy expensive) Here’s a wikihow article about composting!

If you’re going to throw something away, try to think of ways you can use it! I’m not saying keep the button that fell off your pants that you’re never going to sew back on bc you’ll just become a hoarder, but if you have old containers, or something antique looking, see how it could be reused! This is called upcycling! This helps stop waste, reuses perfectly good items, and keeps plastics out of landfills! This is a cute article about upcycling for examples!

Look into specific laws for your community! Some municipalities do not allow for farming on the tree lawn or do not allow for tall trees, fruit bearing trees, etc. If you go to or call your town hall there should be someone there to answer your questions bc going through legal documents is absolutely exhausting.

Look into if your city allows chickens / ducks or if you have a fairly large yard, goats! They’re super great animals (that I honestly have minimal experience with) but do require much more love and care than a plant. Farm animals can live for years and require professional medical care, so if you’re v tight on funds I would not suggest this. Also, if you would not be able to kill a farm animal, there are many places that will do it for you or that you could sell it to for a lil profit.

Rain barrels! Water from gutters is a great way to water plants, and some people even connect their shower drains (if they use plant-friendly soaps) to rain barrels to reuse the water for gardening! Obviously, do not use rain barrel water for human consumption because it has not been properly treated & we’ve put so much harmful shit into the environment. The simplest way is to get a giant ass bucket (like 20+ gallons) and reroute your gutters into them. (most gutters have one main gutter on the side of a house that most likely drains into the sewer system) (Also, do not make modifications to a house you do not own / are renting / etc) Here’s a simple way to make a rain barrel!

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP BEFORE WE START: If you want to plant something that does not naturally grow in your location, PLEASE make sure it is not an invasive species! This is a link to learn more about invasive species!

I have no yard:

Obviously, not having any green space makes any food production difficult. But! As long as you’re creative, there’s still a lot of ways you can grow your own produce. The best way if you don’t have any green space is to look into a local community garden. This is the best way to learn, because there’s always people outside tending their own gardens & they’ve always been super friendly. Also, this is a great way to get to know neighbors and get involved with your community! I know the community garden near my previous home in Cleveland had a start of the season fee, but they always had a garden coordinator on sight, tools available to borrow, and seeds to plant a garden with. Obviously, even community garden is different due to most being grassroots organizations, so I can’t speak for all of them. But, you’ll get a small square of land that’s all your to cultivate for a growing season! A small garden like this could easily be well managed by a 20 minute visit 3 times a week for weeding and watering. (If you live in a v hot and dry climate, you’ll need to visit more often)

Do you have windows in your apartment? (I sure hope so bc legally you have to) Window boxes are an easy way to grow herbs and small plants! These could be as simple as a old plastic container or if you’re crafty a wooden window box can be super cute! Here’s a link for how to make your own window box!

Do you have doors in your house? (God, again I sure hope so) Do you know those plastic shoe holders that go on the back of a door? Grow herbs in these! Obviously, this has to be in a room that gets a lot of natural sunlight. Or, if for some reason you don’t have doors, or just can’t stop yourself from slamming the door, just hang it up on two command hooks! This is a great way to grow your own herbs, because herb plants are typically p small and won’t rip through the plastic.

Grow your own potatoes / onions in planters inside! Potatoes and onions typically need much less sunlight than above ground plants. This is a link for indoor potatoes! This is a link for indoor onions!

I have a yard!

The first thing to do is see where water puddles in your yard. If you plant something in an area that typically has a 3 inch puddle when it rains, it’s not going to do well. Improving drainage is pretty labor intensive, so another option is to build raised beds! If you have the time and resources, here is an article about improving drainage!

The second most important thing is to look at where your yard has the most and least sun throughout the entire day! Plants are grouped into three specific categories, full sun (6+ hours a day), partial sun (4-6 hours), or full shade (Less than 4 hours). If you plant something that prefers full sun in a full shade area, it’s going to die practically instantly. This is an article that further explains sun / shade!

The next step is to design your garden! Every plant has a minimum distance it must be planted from other plants. Also, if you plan on having dogs or chickens, make sure you leave a space for the dog to poop & the chickens to graze so they do not destroy your hard work! Also, some vine-like plants (Such as tomatoes or beans) need a stake or a cage to grow around. There are many different garden designs and every yard has a different amount of sun, so pre-made designs should be used as a guide, not an absolute. This is a link to 19 different garden designs!

Do you want to grow corn or anything else tall? Great! DO NOT PLANT THESE IN NORTH-SOUTH LINES!! Corn grows to be 6-7 feet tall, and will cast a giant shadow on your other plants! If you plant them in a East-West line, they will cast a much smaller shadow on surrounding areas but will not impede the other corn plants.

I don’t want to grow my own food:

Hey, I get it. Some people don’t have time and some people just don’t want to grow things. There’s a lot of things you can do to help live a sustainable life!

Take the bus / public transportation as often as possible! I know this is a basic example and many people use this as their main trasportation, but there’s so many people that refuse to use public transportation. Yes, everyone has a public bus horror story, but 99% of the buses I’ve been on have been super clean & efficient! Also, if you live ina rural area, I know this is not really an option for you. If you cannot use public transportation, car pool! Currently, 86% of Americans drive by themselves to work, which is super wasteful!

Support your local farmers market! I know they’re known for selling honey for $7 for like three tablespoons, but there really is no better way to support you local farmers than to buy their produce! This also helps remove the grasp big business has on your community and keep money in your community, which most likely will be reinvested in your community! Most farmers markets are weekly and are held on weekends! If you look up your city / neighborhood there should be links to nearby markets!

Offer your yard to someone that wants to garden! I mean, free landscaping and they’ll probably offer you fresh food! But also, make sure you trust this person enough to give them free reign over your landscaping and you wouldn’t mind seeing them 3 times a week when they tend their garden.

Donate! Most urban gardens / garden collectives are 100% grassroots organizations, so donations keep these organizations going! I know living in the rust belt, we have so much land that was sitting vacant that is now brought back to productive use by urban farms! Urban farms help stabilize housing markets in neighborhoods and remove blight, and are one of the best hands-on ways to help fight food deserts in communities that cannot support a grocery store!

If you don’t have a local urban garden, start one! Even if you don’t want to grow food yourself, starting an organization that lets other people grow food in your community is a great way to bring a community together! Many land banks have programs where you can “rent” vacant land from them for a small fee (The land bank for Cleveland is $1 per year, I believe). Also, if you start an official nonprofit, that’s a great thing for your resume and all money you invest into it is tax deductible! giving your community the ability and the knowledge to grow its own produce is an amazing opportunity to bring a community together and has a great impact on a community’s health!

Thank y’all so much for reading & I hope this was even slightly helpful! Any questions, comments, suggestions, etc are greatly appreciated!!

#urban farming #sustainable living #gardens #gardening #sustainability

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elleharperbcu · 3 years

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Evaluation

During this module I have been able to develop my communication and teamwork skills. When starting the module this was something I was worried about, communicating and working as a team online having never met some of my teammates. I made sure I attended every team meeting and workshop in order to feel confident in exactly what I was doing, so I didn’t let my team down and was able to bring ideas, research and completed work back to the team.

In our first team meeting we took time to get to know everyone and learn more about each other, this way nerves were eased. We then started to discuss ideas for our brand. Immediately we all agreed on having a sustainable brand, as we recognized how important it is from past lectures. We then decided we wanted to be size inclusive. This was something I mentioned to the team as being petite I struggle with finding the perfect fit for me with many brands. I always find the petite section within brands is very small. Coming to the end of the module I can proudly say we successfully carried on this vision and purpose throughout our brand. We also decided early on into this module we would want our brand to be colourful. This is because the current market is neutral tones, which is something we wanted to change as a brand and introduce bright colours. We successfully achieved this through our final designs as they are full of colour and patterns.

We was inspired by the WGSN trend Repurposed Rave. This trend not only used bright, bold colours but is sustainable too. We had decided that we wanted to be sustainable through recycled clothes and upcycling garments, reconstructing materials to bring new life to an old garment. Which we did succeed in doing as part of our designs. Repurposed Rave also repair and redesign clothing. This shows the trend Repurposed Rave successfully relates to our brand.

Throughout this module I took part in many core workshops including branding workshops, CAD Workshops and Adobe Illustrator. Honestly, I really struggled with learning these new skills online not being able to have that one-to-one support. However, I did follow Natalie and Will well throughout every workshop, taking notes and screenshots. Even though I wasn't able to complete every workshop due to time I really enjoyed learning new skills and look forward to developing these even further and taking my new found skills through life with me. I was able to use photoshop and use my knowledge and skills from a previous module to help with this module.

I was responsible for the place and promotion side to our brand. Through many lectures and meetings with my team, we discussed launching our brand through a website with a mid-term goal of opening pop-up shops. We also discussed having an instagram account would be a good way of promoting our brand. I succeeded in developing both. After creating a survey we was able to confirm that our target audience find new brands and fashion inspiration from social media and prefer to shop online. The survey helped us to gather information about our target audience so we knew how to attract them.

When starting to develop the website I was unsure what I was doing as I had never created a website before. After a few lectures with Will guiding us through different ways to create a website, I decided to use the website ‘Wix Website Editor’. I chose a template and started to experiment with colours, images and fonts related to our brand. I added our logo, brand name and slogan to the top of the website to attract customers attention. For the different pages on our website I added a, home page, womens, accessories, sustainability, about us, contact and log in. After being worried about creating a website at first, I am very proud with the outcome, it is easy to use and includes colours from our colour pallette, related imagery, key information on our brand, promotions and news for customers. To improve upon my website I would add more related clothing to the home page so it gives customers more of an understanding what kind of style we are. I then went onto creating an instagram page including our logo, slogan, vision and purpose and website link in the bio. This way it gives customers a summary of our brand and people will recognise our logo. I posted pictures of our logo to introduce our brand, our packaging, promotions, events, and our designs. I am happy with the outcome to our instagram page, it is clear, understanding and fun. The colours used related to our brand and the information is short but key for customers.

I really feel our group worked effectively together and communicated well. At first our team was slow and quiet, however we all understood each other and listened to each other's ideas. We supported and understood everyone's roles, creating a successful brand. The brand we created stands out from the fashion industry, we have a USP which makes our brand successful. One issue within our brand is that one teammate did not attend any of the meetings so we had one less person to help with the brand, however we still achieved our goals. The most important part of this module was communication, making sure you are heard and your ideas are listened to. There is definitely elements to our brand that need to be considered about more, for example, donating clothes, if you don’t have a box to send the clothes in, as you haven't purchased from our brand before, there is an option on the website to order a box from us that can be used to send the clothes off in. Also, with accessories we was going to sell sunglasses as well but with time we didn't get round to completing them, this is something we would add to the brand.

Overall, I do believe our team worked very well together and we achieved our goals. I have learnt many skills throughout this module, I have learnt how to use Adobe Illustrator, how to design a website and developed my communication and teamwork skills which will help me through life. These skills are skills I will take with me throughout my degree, which makes me feel confident for my next steps. I have gained a huge understanding about the importance of sustainability which I think is very important. If I was to do a module like this again, I would like to help with the fashion designs, as I’m not an art student I didn’t think I would have been capable but I now realise it’s definitely something I would love to learn and I know I could. However, I did really enjoy designing the website and instagram page. I learnt that this was a skill I had and I was successful which I wouldn't have known before.

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