You don’t need to send it to landfill – it’s far too valuable for that.
We’re delighted to announce that Going Nova has been awarded funding for a new upcycling project that will deliver workshops to various community groups across Moray.
The funding comes from the Moray LEADER programme, which channels funding for innovative projects from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The workshops will demonstrate techniques of upcycling – creatively turning waste plastic, discarded fabric and used bicycle tyre tubes into items of beauty and value, and in particular upcycling discarded fabric into fashionable items of clothing.
The project is designed to give a longlasting boost to upcycling waste plastic and discarded fabric in Moray.
Upcycling differs from recycling in that it turns material into something of a higher value that is thereby preserved and taken out of the waste stream.
In parallel with the workshops, awareness of the project and ideas from it will be spread online through a new website, and highlighted through the creation of an art installation using waste material transformed into something new and beautiful.
The aim of the project is to keep the technology simple, so that various techniques of upcycling can be accessed by people with no technical background. One of the key skills highlighted will be the traditional one of sewing. Another is simply the way to think differently about waste plastic and discarded fabric – to see it as a potential resource and an opportunity, to be transformed by a creative approach.
From Cycle Tubes to Statement Necklace
We round off the series of workshops by looking at how to turn cycle tubes into a simple statement necklace.
Moving on to plastic
After a successful start transforming T-shirts, our online classes moved on to plastic, to turn them into jewellery pieces.
The Land and the Sea: costumes in a transformation process
With a physical exhibition now delayed by lockdown to December, we are bringing you a preview online.
T-shirts Transformed
It was quite a change of plans for the project as we had got up to full speed on practical workshops, with excellent feedback from the various sessions and further venues and groups all ready to go.
Online upcycling classes – welcome!
A brief welcome to set the scene for online classes on the way.
Moray Reach Out workshops with trainees
We had two sessions with trainees, to introduce some of the techniques in making use of pre-loved items and everyday materials.
Open Day with drop-in workshops at Moray Reach Out
We prepared a range of activities, with a number of displays as well for inspiration, from upcycled jewellery pieces to items created from yarn from pre-loved T-shirts. We also had one of the specially created costumes with us, with its bright spring green colour.
Upcycled costumes on display
Our costumes made from waste materials are now ready for display. They will appear tomorrow (Monday 17th) late morning in one of the large windows of Moray Reach Out in Church Street, Buckie.
Busy working on upcycled costumes
When constructing an art-wearable piece of garment from pre-loved and discarded materials, the process itself flows and grows organically.
Buckie Christmas Kracker
The annual Christmas Kracker is an event to look forward to, and we were delighted to be there for a creative collaboration with Moray Reach Out at their Yarns and Crafts Centre. There was a keen interest from young people, and sometimes very young, along with their parents, to see what could be done with upcycling t-shirts.
Doodling in 3D with Moray Wellbeing Hub
We tried out 3D-printing pens, using filament recycled from used plastic (from old food packaging and old bottles), to draw the hot thin plastic by hand into simple shapes from nature - feathers, butterflies and dragonflies.
Workshops in the Phoenix Centre, Buckie
We rounded off this series of workshops in the Phoenix Centre with fabric flowers sewn together with the help of scrap fabric, leftover ribbons, old beads and buttons and re-used laces, matching favourite colours for a special day out.
Related Posts
the LAND and the SEA
In celebration of nature and its textures, these costume designs were born, inspired by the nature of the sea and the nature of the land. The materials come from various forms of waste – from plastic bottles to preloved textiles and jewellery pieces.
Open Day with drop-in workshops at Moray Reach Out
We prepared a range of activities, with a number of displays as well for inspiration, from upcycled jewellery pieces to items created from yarn from pre-loved T-shirts. We also had one of the specially created costumes with us, with its bright spring green colour.
Upcycled costumes on display
Our costumes made from waste materials are now ready for display. They will appear tomorrow (Monday 17th) late morning in one of the large windows of Moray Reach Out in Church Street, Buckie.
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