Movin’ on up with up-cycling

I’ve been down with upcycling since primary school and flax appliqué triumphs.
I’d like to think I was well ahead of the current trend for upcycling. With an eye for the unusual, and a bargain, I’ve been making stuff out of natural items and other people’s junk for ages.
As a kid I’d insist on wearing my own designer creations to school, much to my mum’s embarrassment I’m sure. I’d cut up old clothes, stitch them together and decorate them with flax and flowers nabbed from the neighbours’ backyards. Bored with the selection at the local Deka and Farmers, I made bracelets and necklaces from beads and buttons and even got about for a bit on a modified supermarket trolley. Admittedly my ‘enhancements’ were limited to using a hockey stick for a brake but, hey, the thing was more eco-friendly than my cousin’s lawnmower-powered go-kart.
More recently, I’ve experimented with making tall multi-picture frames from bamboo wrenched from a nearby gully and brightening up shabby old furniture with paint. Although my creations are far from masterpieces, I like that they’re one of a kind, eco-friendly and cheap to make. After inevitably frantic working weeks, I find the process of creating something tangible incredibly relaxing and restorative. Concentrating on what I’m making, all other concerns dissipate. For impatient souls like me, it’s probably the closest we’ll get to meditation.
I should admit I only recently discovered that the term ‘upcycling’ existed. For the record, the online Urban Dictionary defines it as ‘the practice of converting waste materials into products of greater value’.
Of course, you could argue people have been upcycling since time began. Our cave-dwelling ancestors fashioned clothing and homewares from found materials and many poorer communities use others cast-offs to make what they need. The growing popularity of upcycling in developed nations, however, is likely a reflection of the increased appreciation of environmental sustainability. Crafty individuals and companies worldwide are coming up with a jaw-dropping array of inspired creations.
The recent flurry of trade fashion shows from New York, London, Paris and Milan to our own event in September proved just how stylish and sophisticated upcycled creations can be.
The Ethical Fashion Show in Paris – the world’s largest event devoted to sustainable fashion - featured garments made from everything from nettle, pineapple and banana fibres to recycled film stock. UK designer Tara Boath Mooney sent a model down the runway in a ‘living’ stole made from moss and Danish design studio Diffus dazzled with a cocktail dress emblazoned with low-energy LED lights which visibly react to changing CO² levels in the atmosphere.
Upcycling is also a buzz word in interior design and architecture. The Guardian’s Huma Qureshi recently noted that in our recession-hit, eco-conscious era interior design is all about “reclaiming one man’s junk as another’s vintage treasure”.
“Craft became cool with Etsy's launch in 2005, and shabby chic was born, giving rise to a whole new style of … mismatched imperfection,” she writes.
Etsy.com, the crafter's answer to Ebay, is another testament to upcycling’s growing popularity. The online marketplace – a treasure trove of upcycled arts, crafts, clothing, furniture and many other items – is now a multi-million dollar ‘social enterprise’. Clocks made from vinyl records, a wallet made from recycled billboards and a lamp made from old sewing patterns are among the many items I coveted on my last visit.
If you like the idea of the upcycling but lack the time, talent or motivation to DIY, you could consider outsourcing. A world of online businesses upcycle used items into customised creations. US-based Terracyle (www.terracycle.net) even pays people to post them rubbish such as empty chip packets, juice boxes and soft drink bottles, which it then transforms into bright-coloured bags, kites, flower pots and such.
With Christmas around the corner, I’m going in to upcycling overdrive. Upcycling offers an ideal excuse for giving your credit card a rest – you’re creating a gift that’s both personalised and eco-friendly. Once you get started, you’ll start looking at almost everything in a
new light.
For many, it becomes an addiction. And you might just be better at it than you think. Why do you think us Kiwis are world famous in New Zealand for our ingenuity?
Lorna Thornber