Fashion and Beauty: Libunnyfoofoo

Lets play a little game...I want you to think of your favourite accessory. It could be a lovely piece of jewelry, a tie, a bag, a scarf, whatever. Now, use your imagination and think of that accessory as having a personality. Is it bright and cheery? Funny? A diva? Or very sensible?

It's kind of fun to think of our wardrobe pieces having personality and character. Really, we wear our accessories as an extension of ourselves. We want to show our personality to the world through our favourite pieces. It may be kind of silly to imagine our necklaces and hair clips talking with an accent, or having a bee hive hairdo, but when we have a connection with our accessories we're more likely to value them- the materials they're made of, where they come from, and whose hands made them. With value comes respect. Respect for the hands at work, as well as the materials that came from the earth.

Keep our little game in mind as you read my interview with Erin Farmer, owner and creator or Libunnyfoofoo: Handmade, one of a kind, eco friendly headbands, head pieces, hair Bows, and hairpins. Erin is giving poor old, forgotten jewelry supplies a second chance!

'I'm trying to give some really cool vintage [supplies] (jewelry and trim) new life and keep [them] out of the landfills. Almost all my supplies are used, given, recycled, vintage, broken or unwanted in some way.'

'My mother is my biggest inspiration. As a little girl I would sit by her side as she crafted and [I would] look through a box of old buttons that I loved. At Christmas the tree was covered in garlands, strung from vintage necklaces, brooches and earrings as well as a new handmade ornament for every year. So that's where it all comes from.'

'Over the last two years, my father had become very ill and I had become unemployed. We set up some yard sales and one of the things left over was a bag with old jewelry and beads. I wanted to make something beautiful and useful that I could wear, but I'm not really into jewelry. Then I came up with the headband idea. Soon I had 30 headbands, more than I could ever wear and I set up shop.'

'I feel [that] everything sold today is so mass [marketed] at sterile. None of it has any soul and the marketing is so aggressive. You could make or reuse almost anything you can buy, it just takes effort and that's the hard part, even for me.'

'If I need something I try to think of a way to get it without buying something new. Freecycle, craigslist, and Ebay are a big help in this department...Recently I bought 17 pounds of junk jewelry off Ebay. Along with a ton of stuff I can use for my headbands, I got lots of beads and necklaces. [I've] been experimenting with upcycling and repairing the vintage necklaces and earrings so look for that in the next few months, along with more wedding style headbands for the spring.'

'I have the world's best husband and three loving cats that keep me going when I'm feeling down. Many thanks to them, for bringing my life such joy...As for my green live style, I live in a fantastically old 1917 house that I love. It has a huge backyard that we fill with vegetables and flowers and fruits every year. We do a ton of canning and are members of our local CSA. This year we are even keeping bees and have built a bat house to put up on the roof. In the basement we brew beer and sake and mead. My husband bakes the best bread. We have two big compost piles in the backyard and I am a heavy recycler.'

'What I love about Etsy is that every time you buy you are directly impacting another human being in a positive way. Everyone who has bought one of my headbands has also [brought] me hope and happiness. Just try to remember that feeling the next time you see something new and shiny and on sale [at a big box store].'

You can check out Erin's handmade head wear at her online shop, Libunnyfoofoo.