Diane Cassada creates original handbags from one of society’s most abundant trash items: grocery bags. And there is a never ending supply of “thread”!

Grocery bags must be cut in strips that are then used to crochet these sturdy and very handy bags. Diane sells them to friends and family, currently hardly keeping up with the demand. No surprise: she sells them for around $25-30, only a token for the hours spent creating each bag. She delights in “creating something out of nothing” and absolutely loves that her materials are free. She’s experimented with different colors, too, some bags come in bright yellow, green, or blue.

This is, in my eyes, the ultimate form of recycling: Re-using, re-purposing (although the purpose actually stays the same here). If you are interested in buying one of Diane’s bags, carry them in your environmentally friendly retail inventory, or would like more information, please email me for Diane’s contact information.

Elizabeth Layton was an elderly woman who had suffered severe life-long depression as a result of bi-polar illness. She healed herself through the use of contour drawing, which she began in 1977 at the age of 68.
visit her site to learn more