From trash to treasure
Your loft, the local tip, car boot sales – there’s upcycling potential everywhere! And there’s even money to be made from your finds…
First steps in selling your projects
Search ‘upcycled’ on Etsy and you’ll find over 200,000 bespoke, handmade crafts that started life as bottles, books, side tables… unwanted items transformed into desirable products. It’s a popular trend that’s standing the test of time – so now’s the time to start turning unwanted clutter into saleable crafts.
e term ‘upcycling’appeared in the 1990s when people started to realise the importance of using sustainable resources, and its popularity has grown as people become more environmentally aware. Rebecca Proctor, who’s written numerous books on upcycling, including Recycled Home and Upcycle: 24 Sustainable DIY Projects (laurenceking.com), is an expert in making new from old. “ ere’s been a natural move towards sustainability in design,” she says. “We have all woken up to the fact that it’s not possible to continue consuming at the rate we have, but I also think that the public grew tired of things looking too perfect – a little bit of patina adds charm.” With the recession, we’ve started reusing even more, and the trend for nostalgia and vintage means that anything with a history is a winner.
Rebecca is inspired by upcycling heroes such as Piet Hein Eek (pietheineek.nl), who is globally renowned for his scrap wood furniture, and Pacha Design (pachadesign. co.uk), who use unwanted metal and slate to produce contemporary homeware. But Rebecca’s love of upcycling didn’t start there. “I’ve always upcycled – long before the word was invented! As a child I’d turn
“The public grew tired of things looking too perfect and manufactured”
disused packaging into accessories. I love the idea of turning the unwanted into something beautiful. It’s a design challenge as well as a practical skill – to see potential in unused things.”
Second-chance crafts
e great thing about upcycling is that you can turn virtually anything into a saleable item. e more unique, the better.
Places like Lewes Flea Market (fleamarkets.co.uk) have some great vintage finds and junkyard gems. Ebay is a great resource, as well as freecycle.org where you can search for freebies in your area (and of course eBay is where you can put your finished projects up for sale). Develop a magpie eye and look out for discarded items on the street, too. And you can start closer to home by looking around your own house for objects that are either past their best or just no longer useful. A quick clearout of cupboards, lofts and garages can unearth anything from books to furniture that can be re-used or decorated.
If you want to try selling your makes rather than keeping them, as well as the ever-useful eBay you might want to look