Bag of (s)crap

So this is part of what I saved from Helsinki flea markets. At the moment it is just a bag of scrap but let's see what I will make of it. With a time they will surely find a new home and get a better life!

Treasures from Helsinki flea markets.

Andrea

"Leather is such a great material. It goes well
with every style and is perfect for every occasion."

LEATHER!

Oh yes! I do agree with Andrea completely. I just love leather. ...Though preferably the recycled one. But anyway, leather is sooo versatile. It makes a casual outfit more chic and too fancy outfit more down to earth. And depending on the style and color it is so rock, so hippie, so country, so hipster, so yesterday and so today! The possibilities are endless.

My newest leather investments are
white pants and army green jacket.

A FEW TIPS FOR BUYING RECYCLED LEATHER

1. Buy a leather jacket or pants from a second hand store. You might want to find the biggest one so you have more material left for other crafting ideas. I would go for men's XL jackets. 
2.  Check that the piece of clothing is real leather before buying. Usually real leather clothes have the label "real leather" somewhere.
3. Check how thick the material is and if it is in a good condition. Think if the thickness works well with your ideas. Is it too soft? Is it too hard? How does the back side look like?
4. If possible check if the leather has a lining attached to it so that you can not get it out. Mostly the lining is attached only from the stitches and that's good.
5. Don't pay too much even if everything is ok.

Leather earrings

From my enthusiasm you maybe can already guess that I love to work with leather. I could start the instructions from the easiest one: the leather earrings.

I like my leather feathers quite big, black
and only the other side cut.

LEATHER FEATHER EARRINGS NEED A GOOD PAIR OF SCISSORS

For leather earrings you need leather, marker, cardboard, scissors, needle, (spray paint), pliers and earring hooks.

1. Make a shape mold from cardboard. Take the cardboard from old cards/flyers.
   You can print out mine and use it as a model.
2. Draw the feather on the back side of the leather with a thin marker.
   Remember to draw the second earring other way around.
3. Cut the lines. Make sure you have sharp scissors.
4. Cut about 3 mm slices from the outer edge to the middle. Direct the cuts slightly upwards.
   (You can also cut the both sides but in that case don't cut the slices quite until the middle. Leave at least 1 cm beam in the middle to keep the feather in one piece.)
5. You can spray a thin layer of spray paint to the back side. It helps the feather to stay flat.
6. Make a hole for the hook into the "stalk" with a thick needle.
7. Attach the earring hook.  
8. Take one more look and cleanup the edges, also the back side.

Leather earrings by RokRokInc.

FEATHER MODEL

Maija

Maija is a teacher so the pencil earrings are perfectly appropriate.
Though otherwise she refuses to be too appropriate or
ever to become 'the conservative and boring teacher'.
"Even though life and work are not about just having fun
you have to remember to play and be creative every day."

Pencil earrings

Pencil earrings bring color to everyday life.

 MAKING PENCIL EARRINGS IS AS SIMPLE AS IT SEEMS

 

For Pencil earrings you need pencils, a small saw, a crafting drill, screw hooks, glue,
sandpaper, pencil sharpener, crafting pliers and earring hooks.

 

1. Saw the pencils into pieces with a mini saw.
   Remember to leave enough length for sharpening the tip.
2. Sand the other tip with a sandpaper.
3. Drill about 1 cm hole into the sanded tip, in the middle of the color material.
4. Put just a little glue into your screw hook and screw it in.
5. Sharpen the other tip with a pencil sharpener.
6. Attach the earring hooks and that's it! 

NOTICE: Screw hooks in earrings are ideally as small as possible. But normally I use maximum the size 3mm x 8mm. Then you can use the drill pit size 2 - 2,5 mm depending a bit on the screw hook and target material.

Pencil earrings by RokRokInc.

Just a small flashback to my roots

And as a small flashback to my roots I would like to show this piece of music video that is made in my tiny crappy hometown Kemi (Finland) by boys from back there. The video is shoot in our old "livingroom" Bar Koodi. ...And I have to say the video is pretty damn realistic, haha.

Slap Betty: That's what I do

So, that is I guess enough about the introduction. Next time I will dive into the crafting part. And now I will get ready for the evening market here in Munich. Also bis bald! (Eng: See you soon!)

To begin with

So here is my freshly started blog. I will be filling it one by one with small crafting instructions, fleamarket reviews, my newest upcycling ideas/recycling findings and above all: photos of my wonderful customers wearing RokRokInc. jewelry as a part of their different lives.

To begin with I could introduce the ideology behind my crafts. To me a piece of recycled jewelry is never just a piece of jewelry. It brings with it flashbacks of feelings, emotions and scents. And not only the memories from your own past but also the mysteries of other people. Upcycled items and materials had their earlier life and have many stories to keep. Vie recycling what once was finished gets a second life and more soul as you'll bring it more crazy happenings to be kept in secret.

YOU CAN FIND THE UP TO DATE RokRokInc. UPCYCLED JEWELRIES AND ACCESSORIES:

• www.facebook.com/rokrokinc
• www.etsy.com/shop/rokrokinc

 Mix and match, get crazy, be fancy or have fun but always do it with a dash of rock attitude!