Upcycle Progress: Upcycled Jacket

At first I had no idea what I wanted to do for my up-cycle project, however I love clothes and I really want to get into making wearable technology because that is the future. I realized that I could not make wearables because I didn’t know how to build circuits (now I do!). So I went to ARC which is a thrift store and looked around for inspiration, and I stumbled upon a bag of alphabet fridge magnets. I loved the colors and they remind…

Upcycle Inspiration: Upcycled Fashion

The inspiration for my up-cycle project is up-cycled fashion which has gained popularity in the fashion industry. The fashion industry is notorious for being wasteful and unsustainable. Fast fashion is a term used for the process of creating cheap trendy clothes and and distributing them quickly so they are readily available to consumers. Fast fashion is a product of our consumerist society and capitalist economy which has allowed business conglomerates like Forever 21, FashionNova, H&M, etc to monopolize the fashion industry. They take trends from…

Upcycle Update: Cardboard, With More Cardboard

Upcycle Update For my upcycle project I was initially planning on making a phone stand but the result was too simple and doesn’t involve much upcycling So the new plan is to make a model out of cardboard(since I have plenty of), the first came to my mind was the second generation of Dodge Charger, with its “boxy” design and the appearance in The Dukes of Hazzard as the iconic “General Lee”, I also want to add some elements from the “General Mayhem” in the…

Upcycle Update: Ukulele in Progress

For my Upcycle Project, I have decided to design a ukulele.  Given my love for music, this object was a natural fit.  My original intent was to make a violin, but in evaluating the feasibility of designing a functional instrument, I found the ukulele to be slightly less complicated, which will allow me greater freedom to experiment with aesthetics. One of my deepest inspirations for this project stems from my fascination with the Landfill Harmonic.  Not only is their ensemble name in itself a work…

Contemporary Industrial Coaster

As a personal fan of the contemporary industrial aesthetic I wanted to capture it within my upcycling project. I appreciate the simplicity of this aesthetic, but also how it doesn’t sacrifice strength or quality. I wanted something that would be useful in my life, but also add a subtle intricacy that was not immediately evident. I chose to make a common household item, the drink coaster. Source: blogspot.com Source: blogspot.com Source: home-designing.com Examples of contemporary industrial design Not immediately certain of my final design intent, I…

Bicycle Component Clock

  Original Inspiration Intro Almost a year ago I visited a friend and saw a bicycle disc rotor hung on the wall. I had seen a few pieces of bicycle art before but this caught my eye and I walked over for a closer look. It was a functional and clean looking wall clock. The way the creator used the shine of the rotor and the overall clean, but decidedly bicycle-centric, look inspired me to add a bicycle part clock to my project list. Unfortunately,…

Roadkill: Cycling wall art

Bikes are a wonderful component to living in Boulder, as a capstone to the great infrastructure in the community I’d like to build something to hang my bike on. Something I love most about bikes is their simple mechanical design and ability to rebuild them. I think this behavior epitomizes upcycling and not just the bad play on words. I want to use unused bike parts to create a bike stand that displays the beauty of a bike like a piece at the Louvre. It…

Turning Old Bicycle Parts into a Clock

I have always wanted to make artwork, useful or not, out of old or broken parts from bikes. I’m not quite sure why but I really like the look of rotors, cassettes, hubs, wheels and cranks; probably more than complete bikes or beautiful frames. There seems to be so much effort put into their design (although some have pretty crap design) and manufacture. Combined with the effort to extract and refine the metal to make the intricate parts, my heart pangs a little seeing them in the…

Bicycle Inner Tube Watchband

I am an avid cyclist, and since I ride my bike a lot I’ve also inevitably gotten a lot of flat tires. This means I have a lot of old inner tubes lying around my house, so for my upcycling project I’ve decided to use them. This is nothing new as there are many cyclists and therefore many people who have upcycled their inner tubes, but I wanted to do something different from the typical inner tube wallet or bungee cord. Since the tubes are…

Chainring Clock

As an avid cyclist and professional triathlete, I took the whole “upcycling” concept quite literally. I have decided to use an old chainring and turn it into a functional clock. What inspired me to do this was not only my love of bikes but I wanted to give my college coach a gift, since I will be graduating this may. Though, I have not yet assembled my project, I have come up with a plan of action. Clean the chainring: get any old grease or…