Etsy Schmetsy: Keep your pants on.

The other day at work I was asked whether I had a special place at home where I kept all my cool belt buckles. The answer is no, but I should. Belt buckles are a great place for a guy or girl to accessorize, and etsy is a great place to connect to a belt buckle maker that has your sensibilities.

Narrowing my search only to belt buckles made from recycled/reclaimed/upcycled materials, I’ve found ten buckle/shop picks for y’all.

Comments and credits after the jump.

Row 1:
solido – only one of the woods is specified as reclaimed, so it just scrapes by on my criteria. However it’s one of the cleanest, sharpest belt buckles I’ve seen on etsy. If you want to be buying direct from the artisan but look like you’ve been shopping in a bougie boutique, this shop is for you.

MaxineDear – The belt buckle I was wearing the other day when asked was from these guys. I love their well-considered croppings of vintage textbook covers, often to very aesthetic, abstract effect.

Row 2:
randitan – I love the type and colors of old license plates. While this is maybe too colorful and patchwork for my taste, I wouldn’t hesitate to give it as a gift to a hippieish friend.

MuKee – all this duo’s jewelry and buckles is from reclaimed heavily used skateboards. The fascinating combination of pattern and wear makes for some beautiful pieces.

Row 3:
BuckleUp – I nearly got this the other day; I love it. But as neither a musician nor a vinyl-phile I felt I’d be faking the funk as it were, to be wearing a belt made from a record. That said, this buckle is so rockstar it’s ridiculous. It would outclass nearly all my pants.

celtsmith – Mad props for anyone who can make what appears to be the logo for a 007 Villain organization out of two forks, and then have that work to close a belt.

Row 4:
fledglingstudio – I have a buckle from her in the mail right now. Like MaxineDear she repurposes mid-20th century book illustration. But her croppings are a little more straightforward, usually capturing a scene rather than an odd slice of it. I think the one of Jesus about to knock on a door with a brass knocker is sort of hilarious.

adornnatural – These two are serious woodworkers (they have another shop that’s furniture design, also extremely nice) and their belt buckles and inlaid wood jewelry all uses reclaimed wood. This one for instance is from “at least 150 year old Pine that was used for flooring in our shop in Leeds, Massachusetts.” If the link to this one is dead by the time you read this it’s because I love it so much I have just bought it.

Row 5:
badassbeltbuckles – I for one don’t like guns, really. At all. That said, if I knew someone who was badass enough to want to adorn their waists with shell casings, I know what shop I’d turn to. They are sort of beautiful in a scary way.

littlegreenthings – I like her sense of humor a lot. What she clips from old books and magazines has a lot of personality. Take this one: a belt buckle with a photo of a pewter championship belt buckle on a pair of houndstooth plaid pants on it. Awesome.