the ART of COLLECTING – Best Books March 2015

As the process of transforming waste into something new and useful or desirable, upcycling is an age-old practice, and a commonplace practice in socially deprived communities. But in the austerity scarred West there has been a new impetus as vast dedicated market places have emerged to meet this demand.

Antonia Edwards’ book ‘Upcyclist’ grew out of her award winning website upcyclist.co.uk that is committed to seeking out some of the best new designs. Featuring hundreds of creations from an international collection of today’s most exciting designers, the book is organised by material, with chapters dedicated to wood, metal, glass and ceramics, textiles, plastic, paper and mixed media. Reclaimed tree branches and barn doors are transformed into exquisite pieces of furniture; bicycle chains into chandeliers; t-shirts into rugs; saris into upholstery.

Not all of the creators featured describe themselves as ‘upcyclists’ and environmental concerns are clearly not always the motivating factors. However the humour, ingenuity and quality of designs displayed in this book will surely serve to set new benchmarks and bring upcycling into the mainstream of design.