Upcycling
The beginning of a new year is usually full of bold personal (and political) initiatives. It’s out with the old and in with the new. But what’s wrong with the old? In the late 1990s, a Belgian academic called Gunter Pauli invented a concept called upcycling. It was in response to the growing trend for recycling – a noble concept, but basically still a waste of energy resources and, ultimately, money: someone has to sort and process the unwanted items and waste.
Upcycling however, is about finding a new life for your unwanted stuff. And which of us doesn’t have unwanted stuff? Attics and garages are full of it. It has now become something of a trend, with shops specifically set up to sell only ‘upcycled’ goods, and websites where goods can either be exchanged or bartered.
The options appear apparently limitless. Why throw away an old door when you could make it into a tabletop? Or convert unwanted wine bottles into pendant lights – these do look lovely and are currently being sold in Heal’s for £140 each, but are remarkably easy to make. Indirectly, eBay has contributed greatly – we now spend millions just buying and selling unwanted goods.
I can’t claim to have made earrings out of old CDs but I am about to hang a pair of curtains that I sold 20 years ago. Pete, who bought them (he also bought my old bachelor-girl flat in which they hang) didn’t want them any more and was going to throw them away. Despite the fact that they are thermal lined, heavyweight cream linen, each measuring 8ft wide with a 9ft drop; that they cost more than £600 20 years ago, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them that a dry clean won’t fix.
I can cut them in half and cover two windows at Rock House. Pete, now an old friend, is happy that they are going to a good home. I am happy that I don’t have to fork out upwards of £1,000 to get new curtains and the neighbours will be happy that they will no longer have to see quite so much of us.
Waste not, want not, as the old saying goes.
Next week: Are chandeliers naff ?
Upcycling however, is about finding a new life for your unwanted stuff. And which of us doesn’t have unwanted stuff? Attics and garages are full of it. It has now become something of a trend, with shops specifically set up to sell only ‘upcycled’ goods, and websites where goods can either be exchanged or bartered.
The options appear apparently limitless. Why throw away an old door when you could make it into a tabletop? Or convert unwanted wine bottles into pendant lights – these do look lovely and are currently being sold in Heal’s for £140 each, but are remarkably easy to make. Indirectly, eBay has contributed greatly – we now spend millions just buying and selling unwanted goods.
I can’t claim to have made earrings out of old CDs but I am about to hang a pair of curtains that I sold 20 years ago. Pete, who bought them (he also bought my old bachelor-girl flat in which they hang) didn’t want them any more and was going to throw them away. Despite the fact that they are thermal lined, heavyweight cream linen, each measuring 8ft wide with a 9ft drop; that they cost more than £600 20 years ago, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them that a dry clean won’t fix.
I can cut them in half and cover two windows at Rock House. Pete, now an old friend, is happy that they are going to a good home. I am happy that I don’t have to fork out upwards of £1,000 to get new curtains and the neighbours will be happy that they will no longer have to see quite so much of us.
Waste not, want not, as the old saying goes.
Next week: Are chandeliers naff ?