You've Got To LOVE Salty Bags

Haven't you seen them yet?!

Well, Salty Bags seem to be the talk of the town this summer,

and how could it be otherwise?

The idea is simple, yet so original!

Four good friends decided to start collecting discarded and retired sails and recycle them into carefully designed, long-lasting bags. Stratis Andreadis, Panos Varouhas, Spyros Daikos and Chrysa Halikiopoulou, had this great recycling idea. They gathered all sails they could possibly find and started making bags (with the exact same tools needed to sew or repair sails). Every bag arrives at the door of its new owner with a booklet inside. And therein lies its life story as a sail. Which boat did it once belong to? When was the boat retired?And do note, that these friends will donate part of the profits to Hellenic Sailing teams, to support their participation to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The even coolest part? These bags are designed and made in Greece, here, in Corfu! Panos is a really good friend of mine since... forever, so I'm acting like a proud mother goose here! Just Google "Salty Bags" and you'll see. They are EVERYWHERE!!! Not to mention newspapers, magazines and tv news!

Δεν τις έχετε δει ακόμα;!

Ε, λοιπόν οι Salty Bags φαίνεται ότι είναι η είδηση του φετινού καλοκαιριού,

και πώς θα μπορούσε να ήταν αλλιώς;

Η ιδεά είναι απλή , αλλά τόσο πρωτότυπη!

4 καλοί φίλοι αποφάσισαν να ξεκινήσουν να μαζεύουν πεταμένα και παροπλισμένα πανιά ιστιοφόρων και ιστιοπλοϊκών και να τα ανακυκλώνουν μετατρέποντάς τα σε προσεκτικά σχεδιασμένες και ανθεκτικές τσάντες. Ο Στρατής ανδρεάδης, ο Πάνος Βαρούχας, ο Σπύρος Ντάικος και η Χρύσα Χαλικιόπουλου, είχαν αυτή την ωραία ιδέα ανακύκλωσης. Μάζεψαν όσα περισσότερα πανιά μπορούσαν να βρουν και ξεκίνησαν να φτιάχνουν τσάντες (ακριβώς με τα ίδια εργαλεία και τεχνικές που χρησιμοποιούνται για να ράβουν και να επιδιορθώνουν τα πανιά). Κάθε τσάντα φτάνει στην πόρτα του ιδιοκτήτη της μαζί με ένα ενημερωτικό βιβλιαράκι, όπου μέσα αναφέρεται όλη η προηγούμενη ζωή της ως πανί. Σε ποιό σκάφος ανήκε, πότε αποσύρθηκε κ.τ.λ. Και αξίζει να σημειωθεί βέβαια ότι τα παιδιά θα δωρίσουν μέρος των εσόδων από τις πωλήσεις τους για να στηριχθεί η συμμετοχή Ελλήνων Ιστιοπλόων στους Ολυμπιακούς Αγώνες του Ρίο το 2016.

Το ακόμα καλύτερο κομμάτι; Αυτές οι τσάντες σχεδιάζονται και φτιάχνονται στην Ελλάδα, εδώ, στην Κέρκυρα! Ο Πάνος είναι πολύ καλός μου φίλος εδώ και... αιώνες, γι'αυτό νιώθω τόσο περήφανη σαν μαμά κουκουβάγια! Απλά γράψτε στο Google "Salty Bags" και θα δείτε. Είναι ΠΑΝΤΟΥ!!! Για να μην αναφέρω εφημερίδες, περιοδικά και ρεπορτάζ ειδήσεων!

So, yesterday my bo-boy bought his first Salty Bag and

I got even more excited than he did.

The packaging is A-MA-ZING!!!

Just a simple carton box but so well designed.

Έτσι λοιπόν χθες ο καλός μου αγόρασε την πρώτη του Salty Bag και

εγώ ενθουσιάστηκα περισσότερο από αυτόν.

Η συσκευασία είναι Α-ΠΙ-ΣΤΕΥΤΗ!!!

Ένα απλό χαρτοκιβώτιο αλλά τόσο καλά σχεδιασμένο.

We got the Vai but there are also many different options.

Η δικιά μας είναι το Βάι αλλά υπάρχουν αρκετές διαφορετικές επιλογές.

 It's perfect with all its imperfections.

Είναι τέλεια με όλες τις ατέλειές της.

As I mentioned above, each bag comes with a special booklet about the history of the bag, from where it came from, where it has travelled e.t.c. Ours comes from a 25 years old sail that once belonged to a yacht named Atalanti III and it has travelled over 2000 nm. Also the caring instructions are so funny!  "...if nothing else works ask a mom".

Όπως ανέφερα και παραπάνω, κάθε τσάντα έρχεται με ένα ειδικό βιβλιαράκι που αναφέρει την ιστορία της τσάντας, από που προήλθε το πανί της, πού ταξίδεψε κ.τ.λ. Η δικιά μας κατασκευάστηκε από ένα πανί 25 χρονών που ανήκε στο σκάφος Αταλάντη ΙΙΙ και έχει ταξιδέψει πάνω από 2000 ναυτικά μίλια. Επίσης οι οδηγίες φροντίδας και καθαρισμού έχουν τόση πλάκα! "...αν τίποτα από τα παραπάνω δεν λειτουργήσει ρωτήστε την κοντινότερη μανούλα".

Cool, huh?

Don't forget to check Salty Bag Page for more info.

Τέλειο, έτσι;

Μην ξεχάσετε να ρίξετε μια ματιά στην Salty Bag Page για περισσότερες πληροφορίες.

Success Doesn't Come Overnight...

I've been following Mayi's Heartmade Blog for quite some time now and all I have to say is that I'm constantly amazed by her talent, her spirit, her positive attitude and her -oh, so funny!- and helpful Friday Videos.

Mayi is a cute and sweet girl from Panama who can win you from the very first second. She's full of energy and so passionate about her work that you can't help but want to follow her steps. She's a true inspiration!

She owns an eco-friendly boutique on Etsy which is filled with her cute creations of eco-friendly felt and printables of her adorable illustrations.

Raspberry Triometric Headband

To Do Bookmark Notes

Mayi is multi talented! She's also an amazing painter! Her oil and mixed media paintings are so beautiful and carry her unique style.

But that's not all! Mayi is also a giver!

She also works as an one-on-one creative biz coach.

"I help creative hearts break down their own barriers to success + solve their biggest frustrations, so they can finally do what they truly love without having to deal with the stress of an empty piggy bank. That's what I love to do + I'm addicted to it." - as she says on her blog.

And you can see how this is true if you only watch one of her Friday Videos. She's so excited and so full of passion about her work and she wants so much to "pass her knowledge", that's truly amazing! Plus, her cute Panamanian accent will make you stick around for a while and totally adore her! I could stay and listen to her talk FOR HOURS! ;-)

Mayi is a really kind and fun person. She has an amazing sense of humor and she always treats her readers/customers/clients with so much elegance and respect. There's no way that you may leave her a comment or send her an e-mail and she won't get back to you. NO WAY! She's so friendly and approachable and she makes you feel so special. When I made my Painted Stripe Tote Bag based on her tutorial for Striped Fabric where she's used an onesie, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a comment from her and a -oh, so kind!- e-mail that she was thanking me about trying her tutorial and giving her credit about it. Isn't she AMAZING?! Well, she has won a place in my heart, for sure! :-)

Well, the thing that I wanted to say when I started writing this post is about the incredible things that Mayi has accomplished in such a short period of time. Nothing came overnight though, she has worked hard in many different fields and she never stops learning new things and educate herself. After launching her blog in 2010 she's never stopped making huge steps to the top. And that's remarkable!

Today she's sharing some great news about her business. For the last couple of months she's been working on a brand new collection of whimsical illustrations for an exclusive collaboration with sarah + abraham, an online boutique known for its stylish personalized stationery.

From now on all of her illustrations are available in a variety of products, such as stationary, stickers, invitations, notepads, pocket mirrors, calling cards, plates, bowls, magnets, water bottles e.t.c. What a HUGE STEP for a tiny Panamanian artist as herself! ;-)

I really feel so proud of her, as if she was my best friend! That's a great accomplishment and definitely something that I would dream for myself too someday. Her career is a great example of how passion, hard work and persistence can lead you to the highest tops! I believe that if I follow her advice, if I set goals and be more organized, then... MAYBE... I could do half the things that she's done.

GOOD LUCK Mayi with everything you do and thank you so much for being a constant source of inspiration and motivation to me and to so many others! I wish to you all the best in the world! :-)

So, what are you waiting for?

Go give her some love too!

How To Build An Online Empire

I've came across this and I had to share. If you are willing to take the big step and let your creative self go out there and rock the world with your amazing and unique creations, you may have to consider these simple steps. I can't say that I'm THERE yet, but I'm working on it too. Go to Everything Etsy for more details.

Βρήκα αυτό και έπρεπε να το μοιραστώ. Αν είστε διατεθημένοι να κάνετε το μεγάλο βήμα και να αφήσετε τον δημιουργικό εαυτό να βγει και να συνταράξει τον κόσμο με τις καταπληκτικές και μοναδικές δημιουργίες σας, ίσως θα πρέπει να σκεφτείτε και αυτά τα απλά βήματα. Δεν μπορώ να πω ότι τα έχω καταφέρει ακόμα, αλλά κι εγώ το προσπαθώ. Πηγαίνετε στο Everything Etsy για περισσότερες πληροφορίες.

(source)

click image to enlarge

πατήστε την εικόνα για μεγέθυνση

Ηave you got other suggestions to add on this?

Please share them in the comments.

Έχετε άλλες προτάσεις να προσθέσετε;

Σας παρακαλώ, μοιραστείτε τες στα σχόλια.