Elonearth
Elonearth is a superb new eco bespoke furniture company that has been set up in the last year by Eleanor Davies.
Ellie writes:
Elonearth began life as a notion of wanting to help save the planet but in an achievable way (every little helps!). I became interested in climate change and environmentalism at university in London where I studied theatre design. I wanted to find a way to address these issues on my own terms so began looking at eco and sustainable design. I noticed that there were a lot of new sustainable products coming out, but that there are so many old products going into landfill or just being dumped in the streets that it seemed more sensible to look at reducing this. I can't stand wastefulness on any level and landfill is a very visual message for what is wrong - pumping waste into the ground and hiding it... hmmm.
So off I went! My slogan is ‘re-concoct the redundant'. This means I pick up fly-tipped furniture and usable dumped waste materials, from furniture and boxes to clothes and toys, found both in my home town of Northampton and also in my second home (which belongs to friends and not to me at all!) in north London, and anywhere else on my travels. I then rework them into furniture and homewares.
I have learnt traditional fibre upholstery and have a bounty of woodwork skills firmly under my belt as well as other constantly developing and wide-ranging craft skills. These enable me to produce very design-conscious recycled pieces; in ‘redesigning' items it is important for pieces to be well made, look good and be uniquely designed. I try to keep my work cheeky and questioning, with a note of theatricality.
It's a small step but I hope that what I am doing will bring people's attention to the issue of reusing waste. If we reuse what we can it will reduce wastage and pollution. And maybe the traditional handcrafts of the past will find their way back into the limelight, and reduce factory pollution too.
Contact me on .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
How to make a recycled waste paper basket
I like this one. It's good fun and quite simple to make, although maybe just a little time consuming!
Materials
Newspaper/large magazine pages, card, craft knife, strong PVA, bucket.
Method
Find a bin/bucket to use as template.
Draw around the base of the bucket on a piece of thick card, twice.
Cut out the circles using a craft knife.
Tear the newspaper/magazine pages into 21 strips, 14cm wide and 45cm or longer in length.
Twist them to make long thin rolls (they can be roughly twisted just as if you were wringing out a wet sock!).
Untwist one end of each roll for about 3cm so it gives you a flat end.
Staple this flat end to the edge of one circle of card with the length dangling off the edge.
Follow with all the rolls equally spaced around the circumference of the circle so it looks like a sun with rays coming off it, or a spider!
Upturn your bucket and place the circle on its base with the stapled paper bits facing up and the rolls of paper trailing down the sides of your bucket. Glue the second circle onto the first to conceal the stapled paper ends and give it a flat bottom.
Cut approximately 24 newspaper strips the full width of the double page of paper long and 8cm wide.
Fold these strips in half lengthways and in half again and again to make a sturdy thin length of newspaper (this bit takes ages so you might want to get the whole family joining in and whistling while you work!).
Starting close to the card base on top of your bucket (by the bucket base), weave the newspaper lengths in and out of the newspaper rolls until you have gone all the way round and the two ends meet - make sure they are pushed close to the base and tightly round the bucket (if the length is longer than the circumference of the bucket simply tear it to size; if it is shorter you will need to fuse some extra length to it, using the fusing method below).
When you come to the end of one strip and the two ends meet, tear a small square of newspaper (approx 3cm), cover with PVA and use to fuse together with the next length. Be quite gentle so it does not break as the glue will make the paper a bit soggy.
Continue doing this with every length making sure that if the previous one finishes under a roll the next length should start on top of the next roll.
When you reach the top of your bucket you should be left with newspaper roll ends sticking up. These can be folded round the next roll along and tucked under the top woven length (see the top of a cane waste paper bin as this is often how they are made) or simply curl them over the top and glue or staple to the top woven length.
Remove the woven bin from the bucket once the glue is dry.
Paint watered-down PVA glue onto the outside and inside of the bucket and leave to dry. This will make the bucket more rigid, stable and waterproof.
Then tear up little pieces of newspaper, dip them into the watered-down PVA glue, cover the inside of the basket with them and leave to dry.
All done! Sit the basket by a desk and throw your recyclable paper waste in before putting it out in the boxes for the bin men.
Eleanor Davies
Editor's note: Dare I mention it: Christmas is not too far away and these would make fantastic presents! And what a great way to use up old newspapers!
photos (c) Elonearth 2009
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29 Aug 09
