Turning an old aluminum baking rack onto its side...

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

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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.

10:04 am - Thu, Nov 11, 2010: 139 notes

Turning an old aluminum baking rack onto its side and planting it with bamboo wouldn’t seem controversial to most people, but Matthew Levesque sees it as an act of sedition. “It’s really a revolutionary stance against standardized and expensive landscaping,” he says, standing in the compact and colorful backyard of his Alameda [California] home.
“Using indigenous and local materials in garden design opens up a new world of possibilities.”
Levesque’s new book, “The Revolutionary Yardscape: Ideas for Repurposing Local Materials to Create Containers, Pathways, Lighting, and More” (Timber Press; $22.95), aims to demystify the process and provide inspiration.
It is filled with photos and how-to instructions for the projects that fill Levesque’s own yard, from an acrylic downspout filled with eyeglass lens blanks, to garden lighting fashioned from chrome closet poles, to patio areas paved with scraps of granite and marble salvaged from kitchen redesigns.

Full story and other photos: Matthew Levesque reimagines, repurposes gardens — sfgate.com
(spotted on Twitter, thanks to Marilyn Maciel, @MarilynM)

High-Res

Turning an old aluminum baking rack onto its side and planting it with bamboo wouldn’t seem controversial to most people, but Matthew Levesque sees it as an act of sedition. “It’s really a revolutionary stance against standardized and expensive landscaping,” he says, standing in the compact and colorful backyard of his Alameda [California] home.

“Using indigenous and local materials in garden design opens up a new world of possibilities.”

Levesque’s new book, “The Revolutionary Yardscape: Ideas for Repurposing Local Materials to Create Containers, Pathways, Lighting, and More” (Timber Press; $22.95), aims to demystify the process and provide inspiration.

It is filled with photos and how-to instructions for the projects that fill Levesque’s own yard, from an acrylic downspout filled with eyeglass lens blanks, to garden lighting fashioned from chrome closet poles, to patio areas paved with scraps of granite and marble salvaged from kitchen redesigns.

Full story and other photos: Matthew Levesque reimagines, repurposes gardens — sfgate.com

(spotted on Twitter, thanks to Marilyn Maciel, @MarilynM)