Print Print Print!

We've been buried in fun fabric jobs here at Reuse First HQ! This past month we worked together with a fantastic couple who collected vintage handkerchiefs and sought us out to print their wedding invitations on them. The couple worked with Jeshurun Webb to design them. It took some configuring and thankfully we had printed a handful of t-shirt and fabric jobs to warm us up and get used to working with the new press and flash cure unit. Have a look see at the end result, we were quite pleased!

 We've also been working closely with Hemlock Records to print t-shirts and other promo materials for Orange Drink's newly released album, Minotaur.

Split fountain t-shirt print!

Fresh off the press

Another exciting print project we had the fortune to work on was Let's Be Friends circus punk plushies and tags! Stitched and designed by the lovely Felicia Koloc. We love these little guys!

Photo by Felicia Koloc

Where Have the First Four Months Gone?!

Is it really almost May?! Eek! We've been keepin' busy here at Reuse First HQ. We've printed a handful of posters, done a complete redesign for Ipsento, participated in the Bloomington Handmade Market and printed/designed lots of wedding invites! We've also started printing tote bags, t-shirts and fabrics. We don't have too many big summer plans as of yet, a few local/midwest shows and lots more printing! We are working on creating a wholesale wedding invite book for Inkling, and trying to get things together enough so we can finally take our honeymoon! Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to! As always, more to come!

The new Ipsento Bags! We'll soon have photos of each new design!

Gabi & Manuel's Wedding invites! Custom portrait by Jana Kinsman.

Bloomington Handmade Market 2012

Working on our garden plans for 2012

Jeremiah working hard to eliminate our morning glory problem!

New Year + New Goods

We've had a great start to the new year! We've picked up a few new clients, made a couple new greeting cards, got some new equipment and started working on several wedding invitations/save the dates! We're looking forward to an exciting and productive year!

2011 Chicago Renegade

A big thanks to all those who came out to show their support last weekend! It was a perfect day for the fair and lots of friendly faces popped into our booth. This year we had a few new items that turned out to be red hot sellers! We were amazed at the positive response to our hand poured soy candles and plants in our hand cut liquor bottles. We've applied to the Renegade Holiday Fair here in Chicago and if we get in you better believe there will be a booth chock full of yummy scented candles and soothing succulents in liquor bottles!

Here are a few photos of our new products and some booth shots!

Lovely little aloe vera plant.

The evil Bunny Ear Cactus! Beware of its spines!!

Rainy Day Savings Jug

Before and after shot at the beginning and end of day 1
We went home and made a couple dozen more over night!
Our motto, "Sleep is for the weak!"

The right side of our booth.

Reuse First's Wedding Invites

Seeing as how we make cards candles and books regularly, it was the natural choice to make our own save the dates, invitations, thanks you's and favors for our wedding. It was important that we upheld our Reuse First values to show our friends and family our dedication to being creative with discarded materials. Designing the invitations was definitely a challenge, we had two separate receptions as well as chair cards for immediate family members. We had to create a coded check list in order to keep track of the replies. As far as the bicycle  and flash mob theme goes, we should probably explain! The two of us met over bicycles twice, randomly on the street. The second meeting was at a midnight bike ride through downtown Chicago. Bikes have always been a part of our relationship. Jeremiah's proposal even took place during the monthly Critical Mass bike ride. We originally joked about doing a flash mob ceremony, but as we explored other options, the flash mob stuck out as the most fun and well, affordable! There was no synchronized dancing, we just told everybody to show up at the same place and same time and to disperse quickly.

All that being said, here are the save the date, invite, thank you, and favor photos.

Hand poured soy candles in assorted reused jars with scrap wrapping paper wraps.
Photo by Clarissa Bonnet of I Luv Photo

Hand silkscreened jotter with custom wrap.

We do custom jobs for any occasion! We love when people have an idea and we can actualize it! Contact us at reusefirst{at}gmail{dot}com

Coffee Bags and Sleeves

Some of our latest endeavors have brought us into the wonderful world of independent coffee roasters! Upon meeting Grinderman, an independent roaster who offers bike delivery service, we not only fell in love with his coffee beans, but also started silkscreening his coffee bags, which are biodegradable! His bags were previously made using a hand cut block print which was beautiful but laborious and would run if it came into contact with moisture. Check out what we made up for him!

 Grinderman then turned us on to Ipsento who was also looking for some custom silkscreened bags. Again, we fell in love with their beans and adore their cozy store front coffee shop with their portable roasting machine (which, I should add, they take to farmers markets in the summer months). They used to print off their logo and coffee types onto stickers which they would position onto each bag. Check out how vibrant the silkscreened bags look!

After successfully printing the Ipsento bags, we then started silkscreening their coffee sleeves which were originally stamped and a bit difficult to read.

End of 2010 Recap!

The last few months of 2010 proved to be a busy time for Reuse First! In November we headed down to lovely Chattanooga, TN for the first ever annual Chatty Crafty event. We met tons of wonderful independent artists/crafters, the degree of friendliness there was refreshing! Here's s small handful of our favorites:
Let's Be Friends
Devochka
Buffalo Blue Designs
Hollandsworth

Then we zipped down to Athens, GA for the Winter Craftstravaganza event where we had a great day of selling and of course, meeting the other lovely vendors. Upon returning to Chicago we did a small pop up craft show at the Weekend Handmade Gallery. Then, we organized the annual Indie Arts Holiday Market that takes place at Schubas Tavern in Chicago. Buzz buzz buzz, are you getting tired yet?! How about some photos of our latest creations!

Unicorn Card

T-Rex Card

100% Soy Wax Candles! 

Absolut Mango Long Burning Soy Candle

Jim Beam Long Burning Soy Candle

Absolut Citron Long Burning Soy Candle

Stay tuned for more product updates and exciting news! We are currently waiting to see if we will be a part of this year's Austin, TX Renegade Craft Fair.