Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Market Research

Random back yard tree peony from last spring
A quick question here for everyone.  I've currently got an Etsy vintage shop, but I'm planning to open a second one sometime in the late spring.  The craft show thing isn't working for me - too many of them are consignment/percentage based and I've found I'm not fabulous at the in-person ones - so I'm going to try my hand at listing some of the things that I have to make to keep my brain from melting and my hands busy.  Since it's all secondhand fabrics - I've never met a garment I don't want to cut up and turn into something else, I'd like an opinion on word usage here.

Recycled.  Upcycled.  Repurposed.

I tend to use the word "recycled," but, well, . . . it sounds like recycling.  In a big blue bin.  For those who don't necessarily think of textiles and recycling in the same sentence, I'm not sure how it would work for them.

Upcycled . . . just feels a little twee.

Repurposed more or less says it, but I'm not totally convinced.

What's your favorite of the three?  If you have another suggestion, I'd love to hear it.  Thanks!

20 comments:

SEWN said...

I agree with what you mean about upcycled, but think it's the best word out of the three.

Mary Beth said...

I looked up "repurposed" and the word "adapted" showed up. How about Adapted Articles"? or some such thing

Amanda said...

reimagined?

I like adapted, though . . . that's really what it is!

Anonymous said...

I have seen "refashioned" used

Lorinda said...

I like refashioned and re-styled.

maggie-g said...

I have a stall at our monthly street Craft market, which is advertised as selling "recycled, remanufactured and reused arts and crafts"
I make various fabric items for sale, not all with recycled fabric, other people sell vintage items, or re-made jewellery. I think remanufactured sounds great.

Claire (aka Seemane) said...

I like refashioned or pre-loved.
But, perhaps for search term purposes you should include different versions in the blurb text of your item listings? I only suggest this as the customer-base for Etsy is likely to actively search for these greener kinds of products and it might help produce more sales for you :)

Little Hunting Creek said...

Refashioned? Reinvented? Re-Newed?

Anonymous said...

Even before I read to the end of your post, I thought that repurposed was the best of the three. To me, your creations look so good, why tell them where they started at all?

Linda T said...

Second time around?

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you're doing something similar to urbandon's work, which he describes as "reclaimed" and "reconstructed".

Nancy K said...

I like refashioned and restyled the best.

badmomgoodmom said...

Adapted sounds too much like adaptive clothing, which is clothing for people with physical handicaps.

I know that upcycled sounds twee, but it would be accurate if you put the item to higher uses than the state you found them.

Refashioned from recycled materials?

I make stuff mainly from pre and postconsumer waste. But, if I were to sell it, I might rebrand my materials. ;-)

http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2012/01/postconsumer-waste-sewing.html
http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2011/10/preconsumer-waste-fashion.html

OTOH, perhaps a badass attitude about turning trash to treasure and high hipster prices would be more financially rewarding?

Honestly, I think a nationwide network of professional refashioners near clients could be a good business plan. That way, clients can get local fittings and consultations and bring in their treasured items for refashioning.

Virginia at A Sewing Life said...

Excellent question and lots of good suggestions and thoughts in the comments. I share your concerns about many of the terms used. Reclaimed sounds kinda cool, but masculine. What I wonder is whether you can just say it's an item made from vintage textiles?

Anonymous said...

Refashioned.

Erzulimojo said...

How about Sartorial or Textile Revisions? I like the word revision because of the "vision" element in it -- because, of course, you are re-envisioning something when you create something else from it. Looking forward to your new venture.

annie said...

Recreated.

Elaray said...

I like "repurposed" . It's a term people are already familiar with.

Anonymous said...

Repurposed is wonderfully descriptive, although recreated is certainly poetic!
JoyceP

Anonymous said...

I'm tempted to throw a big spanner into the works... Firstly, I was thinking "would I go specially to buy something out of old fabric? - maybe not, unless the thing was beautiful, in which case I wouldn't care about the fabric, how old it was, and what it was before.." Trying to say that the whole "upcycled" theme doesn't have impact any more - but the hand-made quality/uniqueness may have.
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever" - Keats.
Good luck with it! Frances