For my upcycle project I want to bring plants inside in a minimal clean style that can be multifunctional. So, I have decided to make small air plant holders that also act as refrigerator magnets because I never seem to have enough of those. Since I am still working on decorating my house, I did not want to choose an aesthetic that would be hard to repurpose if my style changes as I find new things. By using a modern design approach I am able to bring in neutral colors and fun geometries to create a design that can always be restyled as my aesthetic tastes grow.
The recycled materials I am looking at using are wine/cider corks, magnets, copper wire, and old beaded jewelry. Although a lot of the jewelry is from the 80s and 90s, some have great classical geometries with beautiful muted details. Below in the right hand photograph you can also see some of the air plants I found at my local nursery in Poulsbo, WA.
Below are some things I have been gaining inspiration from as my research continues:
[1]
[2]
[3]
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[1]https://www.etsy.com/listing/940152701/floral-magnetic-planter-handmade-polymer?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=magnetic+plant+holder&ref=sr_gallery-2-35&organic_search_click=1&col=1
[2] https://www.etsy.com/listing/940120590/mini-magnetic-concrete-planters-fridge?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=magnetic+plant+holder&ref=sr_gallery-3-31&organic_search_click=1&col=1
[3] https://www.etsy.com/listing/540377480/magnetic-wine-cork-air-plant-holder-wine?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=magnetic+plant+holder&ref=sr_gallery-1-19&organic_search_click=1
[4] https://www.etsy.com/listing/200508136/mini-live-variety-mix-garden-magnet-2?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=magnetic+plant+holder&ref=sr_gallery-4-6&organic_search_click=1&col=1
4 Comments. Leave new
Hi Hannah,
This looks like a great idea for upcycling. I never knew plants could be made as fridge magnets. I wonder if it is difficult to water plants that are stuck to the fridge. I take it from the pictures that the type of plants used here don’t require a lot of water to thrive, like species of cacti. Do you just spray on the roots, is the soil accessible? I am excited to see the final product.
The type of plants I am using are called air plants, so they do not need any soil to survive. They just need to be misted and soaked in water once every few weeks. The plants themselves are going to be set in a small hole I make in the wine cork bottles, so I can remove them whenever it needs water.
Hannah,
I liked your use of images in order to demonstrate the aesthetic and artifact you are aiming to produce. Are you aiming to make multiple artifacts or just one? The variability you have when using different wine corks and plants makes your aesthetic very unique. I’m excited to see what your final artifact(s) looks like.
I plan on making multiple, chances are that I will end up having more wine corks then air plants so I will have extra until I get more plants. I also got an idea of maybe doing a feature wall rather than refrigerator magnets, but we will see where that idea goes.