Pune: From using old sarees and converting them into quilts to using waste denim and transforming them into sling bags, young
entrepreneurs
are
upcycling
to breathe new life into discarded objects.
Falling under the category of
sustainable business practices
, upcycling has now taken off in a big way.
Baner-based Priyanka Dhok, who runs The Upcycling Studio, is transforming old
furniture
into unique designer pieces for her clients.
“There is a certain emotional connect that people have with old furniture. I use my creativity to transform old cupboards and wooden furniture into décor pieces,” she said.
She works with her team for surface preparation, carpentry, fabrication, painting and overall design to transform the piece of furniture. Upcycling furniture is a long process and takes her 3-4 weeks to work on a single piece.
According to Deepika Khanna, almost 40% of the furniture and home décor items in her home in Hadapsar are upcycled. “I have not bought a single home décor item. All the items have been upcycled from old bottles, jars, windows, wooden stools,” she said.
Delhi-based Pooja Malhotra and Prerna Anand created a range of sustainable products like pouches, sling bags, tote bags, tableware from waste/surplus denim fabric.
“We source the fabric from the seconds market, which collects waste denim fabrics from factories and upcycle them. We largely operate in the B2B space, create white-label products for certain brands and sell to corporates for events,” Pooja Malhotra, founder, ReJean, said.
Kondhwa-based Quilt Collective, which is run by Archana Jagtap, transforms discarded sarees and defective sarees into quilts, quilted handbags and pouches. “We get a lot of repeat orders from our old customers. There are some customers who want to create memory quilts also, so they send old sarees, and these are hand sewn into quilts,” she, said.
Mumbai-based interior designer-turned-upcycling artist Priti Kabra, founder, Pretty Things India, is currently working with glass, metals and waste fabrics to create a range of home décor pieces. At present, she is selling her products online but plans to collaborate with architects in future for upcycling projects.
Artists and entrepreneurs said that the common misconception with upcycled products is that they should be cheap. However, with the amount of work and effort that goes into transforming a waste piece into one that is aesthetically appealing, it is impossible to price it any lower than a regular product.
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