Recycling a Mardi Gras Tradition

by Jere Hough

Published: Wed, February 28, 2007 - 4:02 am CST Last Updated: Wed, August 29, 2007 - 2:40 pm CST

(INTRO) WE ALL KNOW THAT RECYCLING IS A GOOD IDEA. BUT RECYCLING SOME ITEMS CAN TAKE A LITTLE CREATIVE THOUGHT. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT METEORLOGIST JERE HOUGH DISCOVERED FROM A LOCAL ARTIST, JUST DOWN COUNTY ROAD 5.

Roben Barrett is wearing a gas mask while she is using a rolling pin on...well it's not a pie crust. And soon this project will sit along side others...like these incredibly colored bowls...all made the same way from...Mardi Gras beads!

The idea came to her two years ago, after a little prayer about washing clothes. "I had a lot of laundry that day, and I just prayed, I said, 'God, don't let me do the laundry today...give me a thought.'" And then it came. It was that good, that together, and that day the first bowl was done."

Now part of the process is secret, but you can see it involves a lot of gloves.

Once the beads are melted, she has a short window of time to shape them. And not just into bowls and trays, but masks... and lampshades.

Today her workshop/gazebo is piled high with freshly caught beads.

Barrett reveals her bead source: "I have a six foot-two sixteen year old that has six-foot friends and smaller friends, too. They go in groups, and they hit evey Mardi Gras parade there is for me."

Barrett says that this is only a few days supply for her!

And given that laundry prayer, what does her husband think-

She recalls, "The day that I decided not to do the laundry...probably thirty bowls were made, starting very crooked and awkward, but by the time my husband got home, and asked for a pair of pants to wear, and I said, Oh, but you're not going to believe what I made, and he said, 'Can you wear it-' and I said 'No, but look.' And he was very impresed and he said, 'I really think you have something here."

Meteorologist Jere Hough holds a Mardi Gras bead tray. "So what do you think...from Mardi Gras beads to a beautiful plate. Is this a good idea or what- On County Road 5 in Bay Minette, I'm Jere Hough, News 5."

(TAG) BARRETT SAYS THAT MANY BEADS CHANGE COLOR DURING HER PROCESS, SO THAT SHE IS NEVER SURE HOW HER BOWLS AND TRAYS WILL LOOK WHEN SHE'S FINISHED. SHE CALLS HER PRODUCTS "GREAT THOUGHTS." HER PHONE NUMBER IN BAY MINETTE IS (251) 610-3954.

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