A NEW USE FOR A USED ITEM

This young lady was sitting at the Columbus Circle entrance of Central Park the other day. I came by after doing a pedicab tour of Central Park, and her outfit caught my eye. Now, some people are nondescript; others perhaps a bit more noticeable. Lisa VanArsdale was sitting there, sewing and scintillating. I mean it; 'scintillating' is the proper word for the way she sparkled in the sunlight. She was the most outstanding person sitting along the marble benches that day.

Some were sitting there talking. Some listened to the jazz trio that plays for tips. Lisa, though, was making trash into treasure with a little finger work.

Here she is, sewing.

Lisa's in college for art & design, and has been sewing since highschool, where she had made a dress from Starburst wrappers and duct tape!

I asked what she thought of the Molly Ringwald character in the film, Pretty In Pink. She said she was totally sympatico. In the 1986 film, Ringwald's character created a prom dress out of a 1966 prom dress and a few additions.

She said that a friend had bought her a Capri Sun purse, which eventually inspired her to sew a few pouches together into more of them.
And the reason she's so scintillating? Look closely at the dress she's modeling. It dazzles in the sunshine because it's all Capri Sun pouches. What is it, a "Capri Sun Dress?" A "Capri Sun Sundress?"

Major streets in residential areas around New York City have a litter problem. The most visible things in the litter piles are Capri Sun and other single-drink pouches. They're sold at small stores and supermarkets, often near the counter where someone might impulsively purchase a brightly-colored, fruit-flavored little drink, when bringing items to be bagged. The pouch is quickly emptied, since there's not much inside it. And then it's tossed, all too often. Aluminized Mylar drink pouches become little eyesores once they hit the streets, because they glitter in the sunshine and can lay there for years. They're flashy, glinty little reminders of people's carelessness.

Lisa noticed littered Capri Sun and other drink-pouch containers in the streets of her neighborhood, and challenged herself: what could she make of these?
First came the handbag, and then wristlets, shower totes, wallets and backpacks. And she's made a shoe rack and laundry hamper for
her own use.

Here's a handbag, all set to go, with a price tag and a

story card already tied on with a sewing thread.

Don't these bags look fun?

Lisa VanArsdale hasn't got a web site yet, but can be reached as cabaretgirl221@yahoo.com. She's on FaceBook as Lisa Mildred VanArsdale. She'd like you to write, whether you're interested in ordering a bag or clothing item made of recycled drink pouches, or if you have used drink pouches you'd love to get rid of. They're hard to recycle, since they're not bottles, they're not cans, they're not metal and they're also not - exactly - plastic. But now they can be couture! Green usage! Good for her!

To find out how to order a tour of New York on foot for groups, on buses for larger groups, or on a bike or pedicab for singles and couples--especially those with limited mobility--, visit www.oconnorgreentoursnyc.com

My YouTube page is TourguideStan.

My volunteer work:

Free pedicab rides for wounded vets, through www.hainyc.org.

And online volunteerism, giving travel/tourism advice at www.tripadvisor.com's Forum page for "New York City New York," where my name is TourguideStan.