Upcycle Inspiration – Wine and New Zealand

The inspiration for my upcycle project is my mom. Being that she loves trendy art that is suitable for display in our house, I figured I would create her a wall piece to hang in our house. My mom is originally from New Zealand (hence the reason the featured image is the New Zealand flag) and she is also a huge fan of wine!

From these simple facts about my mom, I decided why not make a piece of wall art that incorporates both! So, my plan for my upcycle project is to acquire a large quantity of used Wine Bottle Corks from various different companies with different labels (to add variety and intricacy to the project) and arrange them in the shape of New Zealand.

Image result for outline of new zealand     Image result for wine cork

The Wine Cork will be arranged atop recycled plywood that will be initially cut in the shape of New Zealand, to act as a “panel” on which I plan to super-glue the cork to. This will enable the cork to be securely fashioned in the shape of New Zealand, as well as provide a “hard” substance on which I can attach “wall hooks” so that my mom can then attach it to her wall. The plywood will most likely be cut into this shape utilizing a template that will be placed on top of the plywood to ensure the accuracy of the cuts being made

This project is very simple in design and production overall, but I am very excited to see it completed as it has some personal connection more than anything else and will be a lovely gift to my mom!

The picture below is an example of what I am trying to accomplish, except in the shape of the letter “M”. Decided I would throw this in here for reference!

Image result for new zealand made up of wine cork

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6 Comments. Leave new

  • Hailee Pritchard
    February 2, 2020 9:10 pm

    Hey Austin,
    I love this idea, it’s such a special way to use wine corks! I wonder if you could cut and construct the corks to make this a bit more unique? Or place them in different directions when you put them all together? I’ve also seen wine racks made out of corks which would be really cool, especially in the shape of New Zealand. Overall really cool project though! I’m excited to see how it turns out!

    Reply
    • I was thinking of primarily using the wine corks to create the shape of the island and possibly cutting some corks to precisely mirror the image of the island. My main goal is to keep the design simple yet elegant in that its easy to make, but will look very nice as a wall piece!

      Reply
  • Hi Austin,

    I like this idea especially getting to fit the corks into the shape of New Zealand. I wonder if you could use some more corks to add some more depth to your idea. I’m not sure how well corks cut, but if they do you could create a topology of New Zealand. It would depend how big you plan to make it. It’s just a suggestion, but I think your project is great.

    Reply
    • I love the idea of creating a topological map of New Zealand using wine corks. However I don’t think I will pursue that avenue since I am a personal fan of simplicity. Especially with regards to the fact that I want this to be a wall piece for my mom’s house, I want it to be easy to create, simple, yet very clear and concise as to what the piece actually is–Wine Cork Art in the Shape of New Zealand!

      Reply
  • Austin,
    This is a really cool idea for an upcycle project. I think incorporating the wine culture with the overall shape of the country is a really great idea! Have you given any thought about what wines you could use, or if you could somehow source some New Zealand artwork into the piece?

    Reply
    • I have considered the wines I would use. Basically what I am doing, is ordering a variety of recycled wine corks through some companies at a very low cost. This will ensure that the assembly of the wine cork doesn’t make it look bland or as one single cork from the same manufacturer, but will have multiple varieties of wine cork, making the piece “pop”. There are some wine companies based out of NZ that export to the US that I might utilize as well if they aren’t already provided in the recycled corks I ordered!

      Reply

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