The Makers Vol 1

the makers

the makers

As Israelmore Ayivor has observed: “There are three categories of people in the world; “the wanters”, “the wishers” and “the makers.”

The Makers is our homage to our brightest and most creative individuals – those who have pushed the boundaries of their craft, producing unique pieces of great fascination and complexity. Be inspired by their ability to see potential where most see only waste – bringing life to the discarded, the forgotten, the everyday and assembling the detritus of our over-burdened world into objects of astonishing beauty. And be motivated as they invoke almost-forgotten skills, honing age-old techniques and create heirlooms for future generations.

All are committed to treading lightly on our earth and encourage us to Rethink, Reuse, Reduce and Recycle.

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The Makers

“...dealing with our human detritus...[should be] about remaking something, creating beauty where there was ugliness and finding value where there was none.”

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I love the word ‘maker’ – it can mean so much in terms of creativity while at the same time still retaining a meaning in everyday life. It can represent something special and also something mundane. For the mundane, we ‘make’ dinner or ‘make’ a coffee or tea every day. But when we become creative our making can be extraordinary and the works of many artists, musicians and authors are testimony to that.

So what does it mean to be a creative maker? Thomas Edison said ‘To be inventive, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk’.

Nothing could be more true of those who make, or should I say ’remake’, from waste, garbage, trash or a pile of junk! This special edition is about celebrating the makers or remakers and the extraordinary, inventive and creative things they do.

The ability to see the possibilities of what ‘can be’ when looking at an item of garbage or a found item – something that has been deemed unusable by someone else – and create something of beauty through the power of imagination and making skills is a special talent indeed. This is not just making but creativity – not just from virgin material but from flawed material or found objects. Although she wasn’t referring to making from waste, writer C. JoyBell C. said:

“People are creators. But I doubt that many realize this. We are not meant to go out into the world and find flawless things, we are not meant to sit down and have flawless things fall into our laps. But we are creators. We can create a beautiful thing out of

what we have. The problem with idealistic people is that they see themselves as receivers instead of creators, they end up hunting for the flaw in everything in order to measure it up to their ideals. Now, when you see yourself as a creator, you can look at a chunk of marble and see the angel within it. Then you carve until you have set that angel free.”

Making from waste, garbage or materials no longer required by others is different from other forms of making. You are starting with a material that is excess to requirements and not wanted. Indeed, it is material that we seek to bury or burn – it is the detritus of humanity. We no longer wish to possess it, use it or see it. It is ugly.

To be able to create from the detritus of humanity means to be able to see far beyond the item itself. Seeing beauty where others see ugliness. Seeing value where others see none. Creating substance where the rest of us see a deficiency.

Popular recycling materials that inspire these remakers come in all shapes and sizes: vehicles, trains, engines, bicycles, skateboards, workshop tools, garage hardware, plumbing components, inner tyre-tubes, fuel and oil containers through to electronic devices. Equally, smaller items such as drinking cans and straws, food tins and cartons, fabric pieces, scissors, cotton reels, toys, plastic anything, kitchenware, glassware, pottery, tiles and mosaics, and linoleum are also popular for remaking. These materials are used just as they are, or they can be altered and adapted to suit the maker’s imagination. They can be cut up, broken down, broken apart, refashioned, stuck, glued, melted, welded, tied, hung, hooked, nailed...a multitude of applications that turn them into something else.

Words & Photography by La Vergne Lehmann

In countries like Australia, we are used to order and civic planning. However, in many parts of the world this is not the case. In countries that are politically unstable, prone to civil war and unrest, subject to difficult climatic conditions, lack of education and inequality, such order is not so common. You may see buildings with crumbling walls in disrepair and flaking paint along with street art, graffiti and astounding architectural reinvention. This last can include shelters constructed from a variety of building materials – whatever is available – patched together to make makeshift homes. These are created by people who use the little that they have – or can find and repurpose – but with imagination and invention.

In these countries, creating from waste is more the norm than the exception. Traditional crafts such as weaving and basket making, crafts with traditions that are thousands of years old, have been transformed in recent years by traditional makers in many parts of the world – from South East Asia to Africa.

These are countries where traditional materials have all but disappeared through urban and population growth. In order to continue their tradition they have turned to other materials – such as modern waste products that now litter their streets. Very often these are packaging from processed food that has substituted their traditional diets. Woven baskets and bags are now made from chip wrappers, paper packaging and other soft plastic packaging.

Rehash Trash is a Cambodian social enterprise, located in Siem Reap, where local women are employed to collect roadside litter

from which they make stylish products. These women have been able to develop their craft – their ’making’ – earning a living for their family and keeping safe by this modern remaking with trash.

While it is unfortunate that there is so much material, in the form of plastic bags, for them to collect locally, it has ultimately ensured that these families earn an income, the environment is cleaned up and important creative making skills are retained in their community.

Garbags in Portugal is an example of a community that has set about creating from waste and strongly believes that inspiration can come from the right balance between ecology, quality and design. It is this motivation that allows them to work out how a coffee package can become a durable handbag or how to turn a toothpaste tube into a cool pencil case. This is not just a creative making activity it is an enterprise that seeks to demonstrate that the environment, society and business can coexist by making it happen!

Garbags was motivated by the understanding that only 20% of the waste produced in Portugal is recycled and the fact that attractive and durable packaging used for daily products ends up in a landfill. Today they make products from materials that were originally used to hold coffee, pet food, milk, potato chips and more. Since these packages were first designed to hold 2kg to 5kg they are strong and durable enough to be turned into fashion items. But while the upcycling aspect is essential, their products also need to be durable, stylish and functional, with a bit of fun thrown in for good measure!

Words By Le Vergne Lehmann of GWWRRG

Photos By Le Vergne Lehmann