FILM BIZ RECYCLING

“My suitcase and guitar in hand”

Michelle Rickert, FBR’s current DIY/upcycle intern, has been creating incredible pieces from odds and ends found around the prop shop.  You can see Michelle’s photography work and prop fabrication here.  Check out this suitcase she fashioned from an old cello:

Michelle aged the face of the cello by sanding it down in certain areas.  Then, she added a hooking closure and suitcase handle.

The inside of the suitcase is lined with midnight blue velvet and decoupaged with old sheet music.

FBR BUZZ - ExchangeMyPhone

Earlier this week, FBR was profiled in a blog post by ExchangeMyPhone.  Thanks for the shout-out!  Turns out… ExchangeMyPhone is another Brooklyn start-up (right up the street in Carroll Gardens, what’re the odds?!) that focuses on the reuse and responsible recycling of electronics - specifically cell phones.

ExchangeMyPhone makes it quick and easy to sell or recycle your used and broken cell phones while doing something good for the environment.  On their website you can get an instant quote of how much your used phone is worth.  Some broken or older phones may no longer have monetary value but can still be sent to ExchangeMyPhone - for free! - to be responsibly recycled.  If your phone is worth a few bones, you can mail it to their Brooklyn location from anywhere in the U.S. - again, free of charge - and ExchangeMyPhone will write you a check for the value amount.  What’s super cool about their program is that you can start a phone drive - where lots of people send in their phones - and fundraise with e-waste.  Awesome.

There is so much environmental creativity happening in the Gowanus area, we couldn’t be more proud to call this place home.  At FBR we love to support our community and think that what ExchangeMyPhone is doing is super great.  Way to go, guys… keep up the good work!

E-Waste Warehouse in Gowanus

Welcome to the neighborhood!  The Lower East Side Ecology Center’s E-Waste Warehouse recently opened it’s doors in Gowanus (@ President and Nevins).  The Ecology Center’s electronic waste recycling program is a unique and innovative program allowing residents to dispose of working and non-working electronics in an environmentally responsible way. Any New York resident, small businesses (max. 50 employees) and non-profit organizations can drop off unwanted electronics for free.  If your equipment works, the E-Waste staff will try to give it a second life.  Whether your equipment gets reused or recycled, they guarantee data security (super great!).  

Film Biz Recycling, Build It Green (nearby on 9th St. near the Smith/9th train stop) and the LESEC’s E-Waste Warehouse are all awesome Reuse businesses in Gowanus.  These businesses divert waste from ending up in landfills, create a tax base for the community, keep our economy as local as possible and create green jobs for Brooklynites.  Keep up the good work!