Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others. - Orson Wells
You can be stylish and eco-friendly, as long as you know your style.

At our local Thrift shop on Pender Island, I have found fabulous pieces of costume jewelery, several paintings from local artists and groovy furniture - much of which you would find in a chic boho boutique in New York. In order to do this, you need to actually enjoy the adventure of treasure hunting, and have enough self-knowledge to recognize a recycled treasure when you find it.

TREASURE HUNTING: Trash or Treasure? Know the difference.

Some people just aren’t comfortable wearing some old lady’s tweed skirt even after it’s been dry cleaned, but I like finding something unique that’s well-suited to my own style. In a world of so much homogeneous design (that invariably ends up in land fills) it is refreshing to find something that’s already been made, and isn’t costing the earth in anyway.

KNOW WHAT YOU LOVE

Some of my most stylish friends collect recycled treasures. My architect friend, Howard, buys old history books to fill his cottage library. My friends, Ben & Ingrid, furnished their contemporary house with look-alike Noguchi lamps that they found for two dollars. They know what inspires them, therefore they know when to spend and when to walk away. Treasures don’t come with price tags, they come with a feeling.

There is value in giving things away. Wearing something that has its own history makes me feel connected to the period of the piece, and very much in my own unique style. (By the way, my Style Statement is Refined Treasure.)

RECYCLING MAKES A DIFFERENCE: For me, for my community, and the world

I recently found a painting that cost $8.00, including the frame. I offered them $5 for the painting so they could keep the frame and recycle. It was good for them, and good for me! Thrift shopping can be all the more special because profits often go to community-building. Last year my local tiny shop raised $100,000 that went towards building the school, creating art shows, and funding children’s sports. I need to know where my money goes at the end of the transaction. I won’t shop at the ubiquitous Value Village anymore because it’s now owned by Walmart!

I am ruthless about what I bring into my home and therefore I am ruthless when I am shopping. No plastic, no crocheted owls (although I have sneaking suspicion they will be popular again). The litmus test is: do I love it? When I look at my cherished possessions, I see that many of the things I hold dear are from the Sally Ann, church bazaars, and my family.

Using my own style, I am a selective shopper, with a relatively small green imprint who contributes to the community.