Create your own Makedo Christmas tree these...

About

Your daily source of inspiration for creative reuse and mindful consumption.

Join us on Facebook and Pinterest, too.

We welcome your tips, suggestions, and feedback. Contact: unconsumption@gmail.com

[Background on, & press coverage of, Unconsumption can be found here and here.]

Consumption is a word used to describe acts of acquisition – generally, the acquisition of things, in exchange for money.

Unconsumption is a word used to describe everything that happens after an act of acquisition.

Unconsumption is an invisible badge.

Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.

Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) to find a new home for the functioning DVD player you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.

Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.

Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.

Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.

Unconsumption is free.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Founder & Editor: Rob Walker, journalist, Savannah, GA

Editorial & Community Manager: Molly Block, marketing and business development geek, Houston, TX

Brian W. Jones, designer & writer, Göteborg, Sweden

Kashvi Kumar, Environmental Studies and Economics major at New York University

Deirdre Nelson, ever threading artist, Glasgow, Scotland

Shanna Trenholm, writer. catalyst. force of nature. San Diego, CA

* * *

Alumnus & Unconsumption logo creator: Clifton Burt, graphic designer, Portland, OR

Further information about Unconsumption can be found here.

9:14 am - Tue, Dec 20, 2011: 30 notes

Create your own Makedo Christmas tree these holidays. All you have to do is download the template file available here on instructables and go to mymakedo.com for a Makedo KIT for THREE.

I read the above passage (on Instructables, here: Makedo Christmas tree) and said: “Cool! … What?”
What I mean is: This cardboard-box tree looks appealing, but what is “a Makedo KIT for THREE”?
Here is what I found:

Open ended creativity: Makedo’s family-sized set of award winning connectors: Turn cardboard boxes, paper cups, plastic bottles, lids and other household packaging into amazing recycled artworks with the Makedo Freeplay set of connectors.
Makedo’s Freeplay Kit provides all the tools and reusable connectors to build your own masterpiece. Kit for Three is the perfect family sized set with plenty of parts to make 7-8 smaller creations or 1-2 that are really big. You decide.
This kit includes two plastic safe-saws for punching holes in thick cardboard or plastic and cutting it down to size; and the clever re-clips and lock-hinges let you connect materials together quickly and easily. Makedo parts are reusable so next time create something totally different. And then do it all again.

I wasn’t familiar with Makedo, but its offerings sound like a potentially helpful way of converting all kinds of secondary materials into amusing new items — not just for the holidays.

Create your own Makedo Christmas tree these holidays. All you have to do is download the template file available here on instructables and go to mymakedo.com for a Makedo KIT for THREE.

I read the above passage (on Instructables, here: Makedo Christmas tree) and said: “Cool! … What?”

What I mean is: This cardboard-box tree looks appealing, but what is “a Makedo KIT for THREE”?

Here is what I found:

Open ended creativity: Makedo’s family-sized set of award winning connectors: Turn cardboard boxes, paper cups, plastic bottles, lids and other household packaging into amazing recycled artworks with the Makedo Freeplay set of connectors.

Makedo’s Freeplay Kit provides all the tools and reusable connectors to build your own masterpiece. Kit for Three is the perfect family sized set with plenty of parts to make 7-8 smaller creations or 1-2 that are really big. You decide.

This kit includes two plastic safe-saws for punching holes in thick cardboard or plastic and cutting it down to size; and the clever re-clips and lock-hinges let you connect materials together quickly and easily. Makedo parts are reusable so next time create something totally different. And then do it all again.

I wasn’t familiar with Makedo, but its offerings sound like a potentially helpful way of converting all kinds of secondary materials into amusing new items — not just for the holidays.