I have received several generous donations of post-consumer plastic objects from readers for the paillette dress I am making for the Trash Fusion contest, and this latest one of Metrocards came with a cute illustration of me by NYC connection and arbiter of adorableness, Joi of Stereoette.

Joi has captured the essence of how I plan to walk the runway on Saturday at Ecofest Barrie, though I do plan on wearing (customized!) shoes.  This week I am getting myself into top-model form, finishing hand-stitching every lovingly-snipped piece of plastic to the dress, making accessories, and otherwise anticipating what should be a very amusing/slightly nerve-wracking Saturday. The big reveal of the finished dress on the blog will come next week – hopefully with video because this dress has to be seen moving.

At this late stage, the project has reached a point of absurdity – no matter what, making something like this is a slightly ridiculous way to spend time. Making physical things is a tremendous amount of effort compared to working with pixels, and there is always the risk that it won’t turn out. Yet nothing is quite as satisfying as making a physical thing either, so I am having fun with the experience, no matter what the results end up being.

Thank you to Rachael, Helen, and Joi for donating bits of plastic towards a new life as a swingy, kicky eco-paillette dress.

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