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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…