Detail of one of the upcycled bulletin boards I've made. Read on to learn how.

Lately, I’ve been inspired by cork. Why, you may ask?

Well, I found a huge, huge stash of wine corks at the fabulous ReUse Centre run by the City of Edmonton. Nearly half of them were those horrible plastic-and-foam abominations – which is a terrible shame, since making wine corks is both a traditional employer and a sustainable industry, without which the unique cork oak woodland ecosystem would be irreparably damaged. Contrary to rumour, cork is not going extinct: making wine corks or cork flooring actually prevents the extinction of cork oaks. So, I wanted to repurpose the old wine corks in a way that would be functional, while celebrating their traditional purpose and history.

I’ve also been trying to think of a good way to upcycle the dated, disposable ‘art’ that’s readily available at any charity shop or thrift store (The ones pictured below all came from Goodwill).

Consequently I’ve been working on a line of upcycled cork items for the home, which will be available for sale locally and through my Etsy shop (in the Quirks N Corks section). Here are instructions for how to make a couple of different styles of upcycled corkboards. (more…)

SCOOPED limited-edition pendant lamp, 1/20, colour: Spring, of discarded laundry detergent scoops, photographed without flash

SCOOPED 2/20, colour: Stripe, installed in its permanent home at Lucid Lifestyle

I’m excited to have recently added handmade pendant lamps created from upcycled materials to my portfolio. (Most materials are “downcycled”, degrading in quality and value, as they are recycled into new products – an oft-cited example of downcycling is the recycling of paper fibres from cardboard into office paper into toilet paper. “Upcycling” is the opposite of this, creating an object of beauty and increased value from a material that would otherwise be discarded.)

VESSEL:FLARE limited edition pendant light, 1/30, colour: Clear

While my creations are available in my Etsy shop, I’m only one person, and there’s a lot of discarded plastic and glass out there waiting for a new life. So, to celebrate Earth Day, I’m posting photos and instructions for creating your own lamps created from reclaimed materials readily available in your local thrift shops and reuse centres. (more…)