Recycled Newspaper! Who knew it could be so cool!

Here at the Red Elephant Gallery, we consider ourselves good stewards of the environment. We recycle the newspaper, boxes, bottles, and cans, turn down the heat when we’re gone, eschew air conditioning in general, and compost what we can. Hey, I’ve even been known to fetch the cardboard center of the tp roll from the wastebasket when one of the kids goes down the wrong path. Pretty good, right?

Well at this year’s Philadelphia Buyer’s market, where hundreds of artists show their wares to gallery owners and buyers from around the country, there were lots of recyclers and other greeners who put our efforts to shame. It was awesome to see what was being made with and from recycled and reused material in useable art.

We saw lots of pieces we liked but one artist’s work in particular that tickled our fancy is made by printers everywhere and one Californian, Ms. Dahli Coles. Ms. Coles laminates recycled newspapers, magazines and more with a durable, water-resistant finish then fashions this material into bags, wallets, pillows and other accessories. The final products are tough, softer than you’d imagine, and downright cool.

So what began as a school project at Cal State Northridge for Ms. Coles has morphed into her company, The News, and one of the latest and most fun product lines in the Red Elephant Gallery. Check out the National Geographic cover series, and the limited edition Obama inauguration bags. One of our favorites is the wine carrier, especially the double-one!
--Michael