repurpose + reclaim

A Cheap Chic Black Bag to Rival Ikea’s and Balenciaga’s Tote

After the designers at fashion house Balanciaga knocked off Ikea’s iconic big blue 99-cent tote (in leather for $2,145), frequent contributor Susan Dworski jumped into the fray with a chic, cheap black bag that we hacked to perfection.

Dept of Unintended Purposes: Soapstone Tile as Flame Tamer

In a moment of random small-stakes invention that occurs often around here, the soapstone sample that I ordered when considering the material for countertops proved the perfect flame tamer/heat diffuser.

Drape Stuff, Like That Scrap of Beautiful Fabric or Vintage Rug

We always scouring cool home ideas the are easy to do. Are we secretly lazy? We sew but try to avoid it or having carpenters come or buying major pieces of furniture. We just want to have a pleasurable, unencumbered time making something fresh out of what we have. Here are two three examples…

The Typewriter Orchestra’s Drum Circle

The Typewriter Orchestra makes music on vintage desktop and portable machines. And suddenly we see typewriters as percussion instrument, in addition to unique tool for tapping the poetic subconscious…

Make Do and Mend: Gentle Inner and Outer Activism

Understanding that “waste is symptomatic of failed relationships” has changed our view about repairing/mending/fixing — from the inside out.

10 Ways to Stretch Your Condoms

The AP reports that Cubans who make their own wine employ condoms as inflatable gauges that indicate when the wine is ready. That got us wondering about other uses for the common, incredibly useful material.

Paola Navone House Tour and Idea Factory

Using our rusty French to translate this video tour of designer extraordinaire Paola Navone’s Paris apartment, we’ve gathered a small trove of smart, original, inspiring and doable ideas.

Our Most Effective Strategy for Problem Solving

An essential question, and strategy, can help find unexpected solutions to problems.

Essential for Powerful Emergency Fixes, Plumbing + Otherwise

After a friend proudly showed us unique patch she’d done underneath her sink a few months before, we had to know the story AND the material ahe used. It’s become an essential tool in our arsenal.

Strategy: Turn Stuff Inside Out

A really useful but painfully ugly shopping bag pushed us to feel our way to an instant makeover. In the process, we were reminded of an essential principle for finding solutions to vexing problems.

Size Matters: Jumbo Paperclip as Liberating, Minimalist “Purse”

My collection of under- and over-sized things often yields surprising improvisations and pleasures.

Matthew Sporzynski’s Improvised Tech Screwdriver + Lesson in Knolling

Brilliant paper artist and Couturier de Cardboard, Matthew Sporzynski sent a truly wonderful insta-hack he devised recently when trying to fix a vintage toy parakeet…A valuable lesson in improvisation and knolling.

Saying NO to Holiday Gift-Giving Guilt (Mira Keras)

Despite all pressures and temptations, this year I will not be buying any Christmas gifts this year; I’ll use other strategies to show my love.

Simplest Possible Curtain Tie (And Hotel Room Strategy)

We love this impromptu-looking curtain tie made of a strip of leather. Ribbon would be swell as well. It reminds us of our improvised hotel room strategy for calming down curtains with busy prints…

Wabi-Sabi Lesson: Broken Blossom with Rubber Bands (+ haiku)

At dinner at photographer Ellen Silverman’s house, I noticed a beautiful on-the-verge-of-flowering Amaryllis plant on her kitchen island…and next to it her clever, fast save of a cluster of buds that had broken off. It was as beautiful as the plant itself and embodied the elusive quality of wabi-sabi.

Thanksgiving Special: The Alien Comic Counts Blessings

What should we be thankful for this Thanksgiving season? The Alien Comic, one of the most original, whole-hearted and daring people I have ever met, gives us a full run down, bringing new appreciation to things we almost certainly take for granted.

Foraged and Transformed: Branch Coat Rack

Find just the right branches, dry ’em out, trim to size, paint…. A hunk of forest indoors…

Loom Chairs, Tables…Reminders of the Adjacent Possible

We’re smitten with this chair by Pascal Anson, a wire frame with one thousand pieces of ribbon, rope and string that were individually tied it, creating upholstery and wondrous visuals. (And metaphorically, it is a reminder of the possibilities in the everyday, which we need right now).

Makeshift Chair, ‘Loving the Universe…Where Peace Begins’ (Neruda)

This astonishing chair, a mashup of plastic and stone, is from Sidewalk Salon, Manar Moursi and David Puig’s book about makeshift chairs they encountered while walking around Cairo, Egypt. They remind me of a fragment of Neruda’s Ode to a Chair.

Morph Your Ancient Laptop (even Macs) into a ChromeBook

After Improvised Life’s part-time editorial assistant Mira Keras had a health challenge that lasted months, causing extended leave from her two steady gigs, her laptop broke. It happened just as she was feeling well enough to return to virtual work at Improvised Life AND when her emergency-slammed finances were at an all-time low. She told me about…

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