What is Earthwise Emporium all about? Is it just making things from second-hand fabric? That’s just part of it. It’s about taking fabric that someone else was going to craft with; a person with plans and intentions; a person who chose the fabric because they loved the color and envisioned making something beautiful with it. Time and circumstances changed all that for them.
Some fabrics came from people who wanted to clean out their shelves because crafting is no longer a part of their lives.
There are the ornaments honoring our faith, country, and police; some of these fabrics came from other small businesses who are working and struggling to make a success of their work!
Early lessons of frugality came from my grandmother who would take her children’s outgrown clothing to a rug maker who would make them into rugs. Later on, my mother and her sister would enjoy playing on the rugs and identifying their old clothing!
This was just one aspect of my grandmother’s frugality and lack of waste; after years of wastefulness in our culture, this attitude has been making its way back into our lives!
The mission of Earthwise Emporium is to follow my grandmother’s wisdom but instead of rag rugs, I’m making project bags for crafters which can also be used to organize other items and accessory bags, as well as ornaments.
The products offered may be a drop in the bucket of repurposing but it’s my hope that others will appreciate these products and join in on living a low-waste life!
About Ellen
I’m a Christian, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and have been a crafter for over 50 years. My specialty is repurposing high-quality fabric by making beautiful, simple, and practical products for the conscious consumer!
When I was about seven, my Army family was living in France and a woman who worked for our family taught me how to knit. She didn’t speak English and though I was learning French, I was too shy to talk to her so I learned by watching. I loved it!! My first project was a hat for my doll which I still have all these years later.
My mother taught me to sew when I was about 12 and like the knitting, I loved it!! In high school, my best friend taught me to crochet. Later, a friend of my cousin taught me cross-stitch and later still, a dear friend taught me quilting.
As a stay-at-home mother/homemaker, I’ve used all these skills through the years to make clothing for my family and myself, to make curtains and decorations for our home, along with creating presents for family and friends.
After my children grew up and bought their own clothes and home decor, the need for creating never stopped so I began to funnel that energy into charity crafting and then into opening my own shop on Etsy and now my website!
It is my sincere hope that you will find products that will suit your tastes and your tastes and lifestyle!