Escher, mandalas, recycling and the move to eco-friendly jewelry packaging

I have been researching the best way forward to create more stylish and eco-friendly packaging for my designs. It’s been a longish project with not a little frustration attached to it I’ve found very little in the way of custom-made eco-friendly packaging for jewelry that can be ordered in small quantities.

Today I think I’ve found a solution. Trying to work with the 3 R’s of recycle, reuse, reduce I’m considering moving to a form of packaging I will make myself from eco-felt - an envelope shaped pouch. Eco-felt is made from recycled plastic bottles (the first R) but looks just like wool felt, it will be designed to be re-used by people to keep jewelry and other small items in it (the second R) and it should be light but protective for posting items reducing it’s carbon foot print in the air and reducing the need to use the tissue paper I now use for packing and protecting (the third R). I already recycle bubble wrap as a protective layer and am looking to recycle envelopes more.

I’ve just ordered some sample eco-felt to work on my prototype packet and will post some pictures once I have had a go.

I’d welcome feedback and critique on the direction I am going from those more knowledgeable than I about such matters.

In the meantime, in celebration of a possible solution to my packaging saga I’m offering a free bookmark (or bracelet) pattern for Facebook fans and Blog Followers based on the recycling symbol - just let me know if you'd like it. If you’d like to learn about the history of the symbol you can read about it in detail here:

• www.dyer-consequences.com/recycling_symbol.html -

To entice you to do that here’s a tidbit from it: Looking back, he (the designer) feels that his designs were influenced not only by M. C. Escher's art and the Möbius strip, but also by the wool symbol, reminiscent of spinning fibers, and the concept of the mandala as a symbol of the universe in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions.