Serve Your Drinks on the Rocks (& Roll) With Album Cover Coasters

Photo via Etsy

Husband and wife team INOUDID’s Attic are purging their old record collection by repurposing album covers into coasters and LPs into bowls. Before you vinyl fanatics start having panic attacks, let me reassure you that I am sympathetic to your cause (see related posts here and here). Fortunately, so is INOUDID’s Attic.

The couple did right by LP connoisseurs by putting their old records up for sale. Strangely enough, they had a hard time finding people that needed to have Hall & Oates’ Big Bam Boom, Ratt’s Out of the Cellar, or the Pointer Sisters’ Break Out on vinyl.

They also had a ton of records that were too damaged to be playable. Instead of doing the easy thing – chucking them in the garbage – they came up with this eco-friendlier solution.

The album cover is divided into nine coasters that are affixed to 3 3/4″ by 3 3/4″ by 1/2″ birch plywood, then protected with a clear moisture-resistant finish. The best part? You can arrange the puzzle-like pieces to recreate the album artwork!

The record itself is heated and reshaped into a shallow bowl. Perfect for holding the coasters, your 325+ remote controls , or whatever else is currently cluttering your coffee table. And when you knock over your drink while excitedly telling your house guests about your new purchase, both the coasters and the bowl can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth.

INOUDID’s Attic has quite the selection, but once a coaster & bowl set is gone, it’s gone. Don’t let someone else beat you to Ted Nugent’s Weekend Warriors, and remember: “This can’t last forever…doesn’t get much better, no better than this.”

Get it Here:  INOUDID’s Attic on Etsy ($30)

Toy Instruments Reincarnated as Giraffes and Cowboys and Cats (Oh My!)

Photo via Etsy

Artist Cat Bishop has set quite the goal for herself: to create 1,000 pieces of what she terms “assemblage art.” Cat scours flea markets and thrift stores for materials, which range from kitchenware to cameras to clocks. Characters – human, animal, and even robot – emerge from cleverly mixing and matching objects.

From an interview with the artist on Etsy:

“My inspiration really comes from the vintage objects that I work with and the thrill of finding them…I can get way too excited over old painted croquet balls or a trashed motorcycle gas tank that I know just needs to [be] reincarnated into a duck. I also love the shapes, lines, and colors of 1950s design. It’s so stylized and easily recognizable…”

Lucky for us music lovers, there are quite a few creations that incorporate instruments – mostly of the kiddie variety, but that’s way more fun, right? Pictured here is my personal favorite, “Slim the Cowboy,” one of many carnival-themed items in Cat’s collection. With a rainbow xylophone torso, croquet ball head, and porcelain boots, he’s one colorful and crazy dude. Plus, he can be posed!

If you’re looking for something to hang on the wall, check out “The Lounge Singer,” whose xylophone aesthetic is similar to Slim the Cowboy’s, or Piano Cat, constructed from a red toy piano, art deco car dashboard clock, and yarn spindle. For something a little less flashy, there’s Giraffe Girl (made with a neutral-toned xylophone, wooden cigar box, and doll legs) and her mate Giraffe Boy (crafted from a trumpet, spinning drum head, and sewing machine drawer).

Cat’s sculptures are very affordable, but if you love what you see and your budget is a little tight, you can also buy prints of her artwork.

Get it Here: Artsy on Etsy (Sculptures $28 – $324; Prints $14)

Piano Hair Sticks & More

Photo via Etsy

If you’ve ever taken a peek inside a piano, you were no doubt impressed by how complicated an instrument it is. All those strings and tuning pins and dampers and hammers… In fact, your average piano has over 10,000 moving parts. No wonder these things are so big!

When properly maintained, pianos can last decades. But even the most cared for pianos will eventually age beyond repair. What happens then?

Melsville is giving retired pianos new life by reusing the “action” – the parts that work together to produce sound – to make jewelry and accessories. She states in her bio:

There is excitement in discovering “new” parts and imagining their possible uses. I have an appreciation for the simple mechanics, detailed architectural shaping, and the warmth and antique quality of the wood that makes up the inner workings of the piano.

After removing and disassembling the action, Melsville cleans, sands, reshapes, and stains the individual pieces to create her designs. Her piano hair sticks, pictured here, were once “stickers” from an upright piano. Each one is adorned with a colorful glass or metal bead. Also check out her equally charming pins, pendants, and earrings.

Get it here: Melsville’s Etsy Shop ($10-$35)

Pop Rock & Roll Earrings

Photo via BTC Elements

I am having a hard time believing that that these Pop Rock & Roll Earrings by designer Millie Hilgert are made from recycled records and not from those tasty lollipops you got at the bank as a kid.

However she achieves their candylicious color and shine, you gotta admit these earrings are pretty darn cute. And like other stuff crafted from vinyl featured on this blog, no rare LPs were harmed in the process.

Speaking of process, Millie Hilgert hand-cuts and hand-crafts these earrings herself. You can see more of her rock & roll-inspired repurposed handiwork at Etsy.

Get it here: BTC Elements ($18)

Recycled Cassette Portraits

Robert Smith by iri5 via Flickr

Yes, it’s exactly what you think it is.  Self-taught artist iri5 has ripped out the innards of cassettes and molded them into the likenesses of musicians. The original cassettes remain intact, serving as vessels not unlike Aladdin’s magic lamp.

Robert Smith, pictured here, is joined by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and others in a series entitled “Ghost in the Machine.” The collection, which also includes a few portraits of Hollywood icons made from old film reels, can be viewed at iri5’s Flickr gallery.  Iri5 explains the inspiration behind her art:

The idea comes from a philosopher’s (Ryle) description of how your spirit lives in your body. I imagine we are all, like cassettes, thoughts wrapped up in awkward packaging.

I’ll end with some good news and some bad news. The good news: she accepts commissions! The bad news: completely out of my price range (prices start at around $700). But if you’ve got the cash, visit iri5’s website and get yourself one of the most interesting pieces of art made with reused materials ever, music-related or otherwise.

Wear Your Favorite Artist On Your Wrist

Photo via Wear Your Music

It happens. Guitar strings break. Often. Which is why bands should always bring an extra guitar on the road, or at the very least have some interesting banter prepared, in case they need to re-string their instrument in the middle of a show. Not that I have ever witnessed this before or anything…

Anyway, Wear Your Music has designed a clever way to reuse those snapped strings while raising money for some fine nonprofit organizations. Here’s how it works: guitarists donate their old guitar strings, Wear Your Music fashions them into bracelets, and we the fans get to show off the results. All proceeds go to the charity of the artist’s choice.

Bracelets range from $75 to $500, depending on whose fretboard the strings came from. It’s definitely pricey, but remember – this is for charity! Participating artists run the gamut from indie darlings Death Cab for Cutie and Wilco, to country icons Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt, to rock legends Keith Richards and Eric Clapton.

Like the look, but can’t afford the price tag? Wear Your Music has recently introduced a generic version of their guitar string bracelet for $10 a pop. A portion of  the profits still go to charity, you just won’t be able to claim that John Mayer’s dreamy hands once strummed the strings that now adorn your wrist. At least not truthfully (but you can always fantasize, right?).

Get it here: Wear Your Music (artist bracelets $75-$500; fashion bracelets $10)

A New Spin on Picture Frames

Photo via Uncommon Goods

If you’re like me, you probably have lots of bits and pieces of music memorabilia littering your drawers and shelves. Why not commemorate that life-changing concert experience by turning one of those souvenirs into art?

This 6.75″ square frame, made from recycled LPs,  has a 5″ x 5″ opening. It’s the perfect size for ticket stubs, concert snapshots, the set list you nabbed after the show, or perhaps your prized autograph obtained during your stalking chance meeting of Clay Aiken.

Although you’ll find similar products elsewhere, I like this one in particular because a) the frames are handmade by Philadelphia-based artist Jeff Davis, and b) he uses records that are scratched/no longer playable. (All you vinyl aficionados can now breathe a sigh of relief.)

Mr. Davis makes a slew of other cool products from old records, so check those out while you’re at it.

Get it here: Uncommon Goods ($22)