Yeah, literal trash.
All the pieces in this shop are made from garbage picked up during Chicago beach clean-ups.
Chicago-made
I probably fret about landfills and plastics in the environment more than your average girl -- I feel especially anxious about the effects on animals! -- and I wanted to try to do something highlighting this.
Since making wearable art is what really fulfills me, it seemed the perfect medium. And that's how I got started turning trash into treasure in my little Chicago studio.
Buy Better, Buy Less
Buy Less: Our planet is drowning in plastic, and unfortunately it's really, really easy for me to stock up on "materials" whenever I do a clean-up. (Did you know that 91% of consumer plastics are used just one time, never to be recycled?)
Buy Better: each and every piece is handmade by me, in every aspect possible: I pick up the plastic; I clean it; I chop it up; I hand-place about 99% of the tiny plastic bits in each piece; I make the bezels from scratch; I make my own molds; I drill the holes; I string the pieces on chains or attach posts. Every single piece contains literally hours of care and intention.
You're helping save the oceans.
When you purchase a Tiny Sunshine piece, a portion of the proceeds go to the Ocean Conservancy and the Surfrider Foundation, non-profit organizations dedicated to help clean the world's oceans. And, whenever possible, I use recycled, biodegradable, or compostable packaging materials.
