Upcycling Vintage: my customer's creative ideas

So when Lupe & I started Lucky Lightning , we were really trying our hand out at different creative projects. We especially have fallen in love with our suitcase dog beds , made out of vintage suitcases. We love to create these and pooches around the world have fallen in love with them!

Check out Odie, from IL, in a red suitcase pet bed. 

Now, though, our store has more of a Vintage vibe to it, and it's starting to become a collection of lovely vintage treasures we find here & there. It's so much fun, the thrill of a great vintage find! And thank heavens for Etsy, where we have an outlet to share our obsession.

Often we find neat items that we have a few uses in mind for, but our customers often turn out to be way smarter & more creative when it comes to upcycling! I wanted to give you an insight to their ideas.

We found these great vintage, wooden, 70's - esque cups that I thought were fantastic. One of our customers turned them into the perfect game companion. 

His exact words were, "exactly what I was looking for." I do love hearing that! 

We found this vintage case that was actually a holder for a vintage travel coffee set. It was great, it had a coffee maker, cups, filters, & more. But we stripped it of that, and one of our customers used it as a costume piece for a comic con she was attending. Very different! (and later down the line, we ended up finding an identical one of these, very random!)

I nearly died when I found this pink luggage set. It's very hard to find hot pink luggage in the vintage luggage realm. I was even luckier to have a super sweet customer from Canada snag these, and she was really excited to have them. I love when customers are stoked about what they're purchasing! She used them to hold her sketchbooks & supplies, and she mentioned that she actually already has a hot pink train case she's using for a supply holder! Lucky gal. 

We have recently become hoarders of Vintage brass figures. We seriously are starting to get a zoo in our apartment, but I find them so unique and different. I advertised these little mice as decoration or as jewelry holders. I think they make adorable ring holders, myself. 

I loved this set of nesting suitcases, they zip open on the top-which is very different from most normal suitcases. I was lucky to have a super sweet, Austin based seller purchase these. You can find her unique shop Pressedufour on Etsy. She sells beautiful paper products, and uses these nifty suitcases to tote them around. I think that's such a unique idea, and a very pretty element to add to your business. 

We sold this triple set of vintage blue luggage to a customer who intends to make two end tables and a cat bed out of them. End tables will be neat made from these! I can't wait to see pics of their finished product. 

And I'm always talking about our dog beds, but I think it's great when kittens around the globe get to use them as well! Here's some happy pets & pet owners

Both of these kitty cat momma's were so sweet and wonderful to work with. The blue one was a custom order, and she made it so much fun to make. I swear, we get lucky with great customers.

One of our customers is a photographer, you can find her business, La La Clicks, here. She asked if we could do a custom bed for her to use as a prop in her photography! I thought that was such a unique idea, and of course obliged! 

Overall, we've been so lucky to have sweet, friendly, & creative customers! I can't wait to see what our future customers have in mind for our products. I do love that about recycling/upcycling, there is hope for items that get tossed to the way side! We personally use suitcases to hold our shoes, magazines, and more. We are constantly scooping up things and using them for new, innovative purposes. Keep the creativity going, all :)

We have lots of new goodies to add to the store, so hopefully they will be shipped off to new, and better uses. 

<3 Ashley 

What's really in your dog's food?

So with the recent issues with my little Yorkie getting sick, I've been doing my research on natural & holistic medicines and practices. Somehow I stumbled upon what is really in dry dog food. I've watched documentaries before on how mass produced dry dog food is really no good for your dogs, but I didn't know details. First off, did you know that a regular bag of big name dog food will normally sit an a warehouse for A YEAR before it is shipped to a big name store, to sit on their shelves? Not exactly fresh. But that is not even the worst part.

Most big name chain dog food contains "animal by products", which, ok maybe doesn't sound TERRIBLE. But that basically means it's the part of the horse, chicken, cow, etc. that is unfit for human's to eat (ok, obviously not of horse meat.) But you get the gist, it's the crap that's left over. Not to mention it's usually chock full of corn, soy, and other grains that are not natural to dog's digestion and development. Have you ever seen Food Inc. ? It's a fantastic documentary on the US Agriculture industry, and what really happens to our meat and veggies before they go into our mouths. (Pretty disturbing.) In this documentary, you see one very small, local farmer who discusses the fact that pigs, chickens, and cows are fed corn and other products that they normally wouldn't eat. These things are not NATURAL, so of course the animal's digestive tracts and bodies don't do well on these substances. Same thing with dogs, they weren't intended to eat things like this. Read more here: http://www.aplus-flint-river-ranch.com/define-animal-byproducts.php

The worst thing I've found that dog food can contain so far, EUTHANIZED DOGS. That's right, there's a plant in L.A. that takes hundreds of euthanized dogs from a shelter and grinds them up into Puppy chow. UM, GROSS. and not anywhere near natural. And you would never know, because it's labeled "animal byproduct", and we have no clue what that means.

Here's a few great articles to read about what dog food really contains:

http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?more=1&p=359

http://www.dogs-4life.com/does-your-dog-food-include-euthanized-dog-.html

http://www.crpf.org.uk/index.php?section=537

And there's a ton more. Just search google for "what is really in dog food." You may be shocked. I switched both my dogs upon reading this, because it just makes sense. The crap that is in this dog food is a huge factor in why dogs get kidney disease, liver disease, heart problems, joint issues, etc. It's not natural.

Sure paying $30 for a bag of dog food versus the original $11 is a big jump, but if it will keep my pooches alive it's worth it to me.

What to look for: Steer clear of dog foods containing:
-soy
-animal byproduct
-corn
-grains: these are tricky. some grains are good for dogs, some are not. A lot of grain/oat diets are given to dogs with special allergies. Ask a vet. Or ask the people at your local dog food store.

You want to know what meats are in your dog's food, and it should say it on the label. Some will say "chicken Meal", here's an article you can read more about "meal versus meat". http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=meat-meal

Cheers-to happy, healthy pups

Bella tackles the vet again, pt. 2

So today my darling, chubby yorkie hit the vet's office again to get a checkup on her little kidneys. She is just so adorable, even the vet said that Bella has no idea that she is sick or that anything is wrong. I think I love that. It's so heartbreaking.. Ugh but I'm trying to stay positive and not be a downer about the whole thing. Basically, her kidneys are "stable", not better but not worse. Basically, not failing. They are suggesting putting her on very low dose aspirin (which according to the vet is ok for dogs) and then some medicine to keep her blood pressure down. I just have been doing a lot of research on Holistic vet practices and the ideas of these drugs in her little body really worries me. 

 

here we are on Mother's day weekend. She's quite the fluffy daughter ;) 

So according to plenty of websites, veterinary ones included, aspirin should not be prescribed for dogs with kidney failure or disease. Thus, I don't quite understand why the vet is prescribing it to her. And so far I haven't found anything bad on the internet about this blood pressure medicine, but I'm still skeptical. I asked the vet about holistic practices, and they highly recommended getting her acupuncture and using Chinese Herbs. As soon as I have a couple hundred bucks handy I'm going to take her in for that. I planned to do that tomorrow, but now I'm not sure, because I am spending quite a lot on regular vet practices. But money is another story.. 

Basically, I think Holistic practices are going to be the winner. I have read so much about how it helps and how there are more positive results using herbs, enzymes, and natural supplements and practices. So I plan to try it, especially acupuncture, which is supposed to help with overall health and inflammation. Not sure if I'll do this whole drug thing for her. Another odd thing, regular vet practices suggest low protein diets, where Holistic practices suggest the complete opposite, and are opposed to using low protein diets in dogs with Kidney disease.

The saddest part is that the vet said that if I'm lucky, Bella will get 2 more years. But I am skeptical of that. She is so happy and has no clue that anything is wrong, and I won't and can't let that change. I can't let her get worse. I'll do whatever it takes. 

The vet said that it has happened before, but very rarely, that the protein levels just turn themselves around and even out. But in her 15 years she hasn't seen it happen. But, you're saying it's possible. And that's all I need is a glimmer of hope. Finally. And the vet even highly praised the holistic medicines and said they were known to help with overall health. 

So through all the sadness and sickness there has to be a light somewhere, I refuse to let there not be one. And I think natural, holistic medicine is going to be it. It's going to help, it's going to lengthen her life, and it's going to make a big difference. It HAS to. I have to keep the faith and cherish every single moment with her, which is what I'm definitely doing. But I can't let it appear to be a downhill battle.. because that's when I get depressed. It has to be positive and there has to be a glimmer of hope. Even if I'm grasping at straws and unusual circumstances, I have to find a way. Pray that I do. 

 "Dog's aren't our whole lives, but they make our lives whole." 

Well, mine is my whole life. I intend to keep it that way for a long time. 

xoxo