Alice Blackwood heads to the Repair Workshops as part of State of Design – and goes home with a lamp made of a soup ladel and a trumpet horn.
August 4th, 2011
There was a sense of excitement, and perhaps just a hint of exhaustion, at the launch and auctioning off of the many re-found and re-purposed treasures created during The Repair Workshops last week.
Held as part of the State of Design Festival, The Repair Workshops saw 3 tonnes of salvaged rubbish – bike frames, broken televisions, bed frames, soft toys, instruments and more – brought down into the long yellow-lit corridors of the basement at Donkey Wheel House.
For 3 days (and probably nights!) a team of ingenious designers, artists, scientists and amazingly inventive creatives worked away, hobbling together everything from vegetable colanders to record player parts, fashioning real, live working objects: lights, talking television sets, motorbike helmet speaker systems, rejuvenated dining room chairs, cutlery sets… the list goes on.
The auction event went off without a hitch, with enthusiastic participants vying for their own unique piece of trash-turned-treasure.
“We raised over $2,000 for Environment Victoria and saved hundreds of dollars in landfill fees for the Brotherhood and Vinnies,” reports Co-Organiser Leyla Acaroglu.
Of the pieces hard won: “I bid fiercely for 2 restored chairs and I won! They are now sitting proudly at my dining table – a testament to repair and creativity!”
It was overall, a huge project, with the workshops opening to the public over the weekend just passed.
“The response from the public was amazing!” says Leyla.
“We had over 500 people come through and did over 75 repairs.
“People would come in and tell us about their umbrella/hair straighter/ toaster/play station control/iPod/stereo, and how they didn’t want to have to throw it out.
“In most cases they would leave with a fully repaired item.
“Many people just came along to visit and asked if we would be there every week as they wanted to come back.
In short, the project as both a new and educative venture was “a raving success”.
“We engaged lots of people with repair and value in products and we saved lots of things from landfill.”
Check out all the photos online at The Repair Workshops blog and Facebook page.
The Repair Workshops
therepairworkshops.com
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Create a configuration to suit your needs with this curved collection.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
Channelling the enchanting ambience of the Caffè Greco in Rome, Budapest’s historic Gerbeaud, and Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, Ross Didier’s new collection evokes the designer’s affinity for café experience, while delivering refined seating for contemporary hospitality interiors.
Project Team: Ed Kenny, Chris Wilks, Irene Haryono, Danny Long Square Metres: 295 Location: Rouse Hill Shopping Centre Type of development: Retail In construction Expected completion date: Dec 2009 “The RSPCA briefed Giant to create a concept that was as far away from a pet shop as possible but brought shelter animals into a retail […]
Open plan and flexible workspaces have become the catchcry for contemporary office design. However, Sound Cloud, a tech company specialising in audio streaming services, not only achieves this criteria but also importantly produces a sound-friendly environment.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Leading the charge for sustainable design, X+O and Nudie Jeans are both making a statement in Brisbane and doing it with creativity and innovation.
In our series spotlighting aficionados across the design industry, we spoke with Alexandra Guglielmino, who leads the Art Advisory team at Bluethumb Art Gallery.