upcycled furniture

Material designer Charlotte Kidger showcased her work at the London Design Festival last year. With plastic named as the Material of the Year, her collection of furniture is made from recycled industrial waste – polyurethane foam dust, which is a byproduct of 3D model... Read More →

In 2005, Kresse Wesling and James Henrit launched Elvis & Kresse*. A certified B Corporation, their sustainable luxury line of bags and accessories is made from genuine de-commissioned British fire brigade hoses that would otherwise be destined for landfill. They have now... Read More →

The rate at which we produce and throw away clothes is leading to inconceivable amounts of textile waste. According to the 2017 report by Pulse of the Fashion Industry, only 20% of discarded clothing actually gets reused or recycled. The majority ends up in landfills or gets... Read More →

One of my favourites from London Design Fair was a collection of furniture that immediately stood apart for its elegant and distinctive graphic aesthetic. The artist behind this body of work was Jo Elbourne of Cumulo Design, who works from her studio in Margate on the Kent coast.... Read More →

Amongst the hundreds of exciting events that have been kicking off at London Design Festival 2017, the launch of Pentatonic‘s eco friendly furniture stood out from the crowd. As you can see for yourself at their pop-up showroom on Chance Street, Shoreditch, Pentatonic have... Read More →

Yukiko Nagai relocated from Japan to Italy, to study the traditional art of mosaic at Ravenna Art Academy. After briefly returning to Tokyo, she decided to set up her life in the city of Ravenna. She now makes exquisite one-of-a-kind chairs, tables and benches using antiques that... Read More →

We may be a long way from eliminating waste plastic from the planet completely but more and more designers and manufacturers are finding new and alternative ways to make use of the material, one of them being outdoor furniture. Here are a handful of examples, plus some other... Read More →

If there’s anywhere that prompts you to contemplate exactly where your food is coming from, it’s Silo – an award-winning zero waste restaurant, bakery and coffee house in Brighton. Silo opened in 2014 and pioneered zero waste dining in the UK. Its unique... Read More →

Born and raised in Battersea, Jo Gibbs is a London-based artist who started off her creative career in textiles. It all began with her first Saturday job at Tooting market. Jo worked on a fabric stall with a lady called Lybette who took her around all the wholesalers in Brick... Read More →

I first came across the work of Elisa Cavani, whilst doing research for my book Upcyclist. Hailing from Bologna, Italy, Elisa makes whimsical lighting, desks and furniture pieces made from found objects, all of which can only be described as the epitome of one-of-a-kindness. Now... Read More →

Making something useful with discarded plastic drinking bottles is one thing. Reusing them to make something useful AND aesthetically gratifying, is a whole other (much more difficult) ball game. These little stools don’t just look effortlessly cool however, they pioneer a... Read More →

Cockpit Arts is a London-based business incubator for craftspeople at the start of their careers. At this year’s London Design Fair, they presented the marvellous Debris Chair by Carmen V Machado. As part of her MA project at Chelsea College of Art and Design, Carmen... Read More →

One of the best things about kids is their shamelessly weird and whimsical tastes. A chair that looks like a bunny rabbit? Yes please! Perhaps this is why creative furniture upcycling is so perfect for kids bedrooms – they’re guaranteed to love the quirky stuff. From... Read More →

Recently I had the pleasure of connecting with Manolo Yllera, a Madrid-based interior designer and photographer whose beautiful studio loft home features in my upcoming book (more info on that soon!). Manolo introduced me to his award-winning interior design project at Mama Campo... Read More →

Humblesticks was established in 2013 by husband and wife team Richard Holman and Katy Shooter. Richard is a photographer and creative director of a design agency. Katy is a painter, sculptor and interior designer. Their upcycling adventure was born out of a love of rejuvenating... Read More →

I had the pleasure of meeting Swedish designer Marie-Louise Hellgren at Tent London a few years back. It was here that she introduced me to Pink One Puff, a beautiful dusky pink stool made from recycled airbag material. Since then, she has launched a collection of upcycled... Read More →