In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

TUNE WEAR

In Business, November-December, 2006, Vol. 28, No. 6, p. 29

ECOSTYLE

Delia Montgomery

TUNE WEAR. Or will it be tune-wear? Whatever the description, the concept is on the road to becoming a hot trend. My purpose is to describe jewelry that designers formulate by recycling musical instrument parts and mediums. The creativity is exciting, fun, and an impressive form of reuse.
Let's start with a simple basic. Jeff Davis in Brooklyn, New York, designs cuff bracelets made from the black vinyl of his recycled vintage record albums. His company name is Vinylux, vintage vinyl design. The record black vinyl is bonded to a rho-dium-plated bracelet cuff. You can feel the grooves and tracks of the record which are visible in the high sheen of the vinyl. Cuffs are for small to medium wrists and may be adjusted with careful bending.
All Vinylux products are created from record albums that Jeff transforms into a variety of new designs. He works with LPs, 45s, and vintage album covers to also create bowls, trays, clocks, and coasters ?- to name a few examples. The “Record Cuff” is readily available or truly sentimental customers can provide their own records. Jeff is open to discuss customization.
Xavior Symown, a musician and songwriter, turned jeweler as she grieved over the loss of her beloved rock 'n roll coworker. To preserve his memory, she removed strings from her guitar that he played and made them into bracelets. Strangers and friends were intrigued with positive feedback which caused Xavior to realize her cherished friend left a valuable gift. Xavior created a method to combine her love for music, art and the environment by recycling guitar strings she felt passionate about.
Xavior proceeded to ask the music store managers in Twin Cities, Minnesota, if she could collect their trashed strings. She received lots of baffled looks, but when they cooperated with bags of tangled strings to sort and clean, she would gift them her jewelry pieces. Her collection grew from guitar to bass, violin, viola, cello, and piano strings.
Today a number of stores support Xavior's passion as they admire her jewelry. Xavior is especially thankful for Hoffman Guitars, Givens Violins, and Classic Piano Restoration where she honored retired strings utilized by famed and infamous musicians. Her clientele expands through word of mouth and her web site helps draw new buyers.
Another approach of tune wear is masterminded by international artist and designer Hannah Gasner. She's teamed her jewelry business AZU with Relix Magazine, a three-decade publication for and about musicians. Both are headquartered in New York City. Their alliance collects authentic guitar strings donated by acclaimed musicians to produce bracelets for all genders. Participating artists range from Béla Fleck to Elvis Costello, Hot Tuna, and Ziggy Marley. My last count totaled 40 famed-musician participants and of course, the list is growing.
Proceeds from every Relix Band purchase benefit a selected charity. Participating artists developed the list of charities and are welcome to suggest any nonprofit addition dear to their hearts.
Wow, what a combo of recycling, producing beautiful jewelry, and giving to charities. I often hear it's not enough to simply supply a sustainable product. One must establish core values to develop it. These designers demonstrate how to manifest positive consumer attitudes with good vibes, all while sharing benefits from their artistic and creative styles.

Delia Montgomery is an environmental design consultant and personal eco shopper for homes, bodies and gardens. Questions or comments are welcome. Visit www.ChicEco.com or e-mail Info@ChicEco.com.