Member Article

From Scrap Heap to Super Chic

Remade in Britain, the UK’s first dedicated upcycling marketplace has enlisted professional race team Enigma Motorsports to help launch the UK’s first salvage service designed to enable items of scrap and unwanted items including motor parts and furniture to be marketed to the UK’s growing network of upcycling retailers.

Remade in Britain, started last year by Yorkshire businesswoman Donna Fenn, is launching its Salvage Service on its website with the aim of uniting the UK’s rapidly expanding network of upcyclers with a central hub of salvaged products for the first time. Remade has already signed up several salvage retailers including Formula Three Cup motorsport team, Enigma Motorsport, which has listed used motorsports parts as items for upcyclers to purchase including brake discs and piston lamps.

The use of car parts and accessories within upcycled products has already emerged as a strong trend amongst retailers on the Remade in Britain website, with products ranging from tables made from V8 engines to wallets made from tyre tubing. Other popular salvage items include vintage fabric, reclaimed wood and unwanted furniture.

Visitors to Remade in Britain can list their unwanted items on the site too, giving retailers from the site or the general public the opportunity to buy the items to upcycle into their own products or add to a project they’re currently working on.

The rapidly expanding trend of upcycling has been championed by celebrities including Kirstie Allsopp, Kevin McCloud and Livia Firth, and alongside the UK, countries including the US, Germany and Sweden have seen a huge surge in demand for upcycled products. The popularity of repurposed and vintage items is particularly clear on online artist marketplaces like US-based Etsy and Artfire where products tagged with ‘upcycled’ rocketed from 7,900 in 2010 to 216,024 in 2014.

Donna Fenn, founder of Remade in Britain, said: “The Remade in Britain Salvage service provides an opportunity for people to get rid of their unwanted items and help prevent some of the 280m tonnes of waste produced each year in the UK from going to landfill by offering products a new lease of life. We hope Remade in Britain will be the first port of call for upcyclers looking for their next project or for inspiration to take on a product and turn it into something new.

“We’re delighted to have Enigma Motorsports on board to provide motoring items – with such a variety of retailers making and selling different products based around unwanted motoring parts, we’re bound to see these unloved brake discs and bearings turned into something completely unique!”

Tom Farquhar, Managing Director at Enigma Motorsport, said: “All of us at Enigma Motorsport are concerned about lowering our environmental impact and becoming more environmentally friendly. Being able to offer our unwanted items on Remade in Britain is a great opportunity to not only generate less waste but also give what is often high-quality equipment a new lease of life.

“We understand the importance of being able to buy equipment from a reputable organisation and we look forward to seeing the amazing things Remade’s upcycling retailers will be able to produce from our old parts!”

Celebrity upcycler Max McMurdo, who is creating products from Enigma’s items to sell exclusively on Remade in Britain, said: “We upcyclers are always looking for new places to find items to use in our creations. The Salvage service will be a one-stop shop for upcyclers looking for inspiration and uniting us with people who no longer have use for their products. As someone who uses motor parts in their work, I can’t wait to see what Enigma will bring to the site.”

Simon Gnana-Pragasam, Motorsport Events Coordinator at MotorSport Vision, said: “As someone who has seen the Enigma Motorsport team in action, it’s exciting to think of the products Remade’s retailers will create from their used parts. Remade’s Salvage store looks set to be a treasure trove of exciting items for both motorsport fans and upcyclers alike.”

Remade in Britain provides a platform for retailers to sell upcycled products through their own online shop. The site is designed to be a hub for the upcycling community, offering a place to advertise courses, events, items available for salvage and upcycling supplies.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rebecca Jackson .