1. What is upcycling?
Upcycling is a way to creatively reuse and recycle waste, or by-products into new materials that are of higher quality.
2. How is upcycling important to us?
Upcycling is quite important as it allows a creative, Do It Yourself (DIY) way to reuse materials! The benefits of upcycling include social, environmental, and personal.
3. What are the benefits of upcycling?
(i) Social
The DIY culture allows us for self-expression during content creation. When we upcycle, we are engaging with a community of like-minded individuals who want their upcycled items to be one-of-the-kind and unique. As a result, these individuals want to spend less money on mass-produced items. When they buy upcycled products, they are supporting artisans and the local industry.
(ii) Environmental
We know we are taking steps to promote a better environment when we upcycle. Upcycling is an exciting process where we need the knowledge, the creativity and an idea to turn pre-loved items into treasure. This prevents pre-loved items from meeting their fate in landfills or incinerators, thus reducing trash.
(iii) Personal
Upcycling is a creative way of reusing old or pre-loved materials and transforming them into a unique product. By working on these old or pre-loved materials, the process allows us to hone our hands-on skill. On a personal level, when we upcycle, we are playing a role in helping the environment.
4. How about jewellery? Can jewellery be upcycled?
Of course they can be upcycled (if you know what you are doing ). Alternatively, support artisans who upcycle jewellery by purchasing their unique products and you can play your role in helping the environment.
5. Why do we upcycle jewellery?
To make an existing boring-looking piece of old jewellery look stunning, unique and attractive, to save precious metals resources, to repurpose beautiful stones glass and plastic etc, nothing is gone to waste, etc…….
Pre-Loved to Treasure Competition 2020 by Creative Jewellery Studio
| Category of competition piece | Physical jewellery piece from upcycled materials |
| Name of competition piece | Diversity |
| Story of the piece | Most parts of two old necklaces and an old bracelet were upcycled and transformed into a bracelet and a matching pair of earrings. The glass pendant from the old necklace is colourful with shades of blue, yellow, green, silver, pink and black etc. when viewed from different angles. This is in close resemblance to the theme: Mother Earth, for her diversity in nature. This becomes the centerpiece in the new bracelet. This centerpiece (a.k.a. Mother Earth) is supported by four different variety of flowers found in nature, representing the four corners of the Earth. The four corners of the Earth, the old way of saying “Every part of the Earth”, represented by the flowers, lay on a base with a weave design. The weave design on both the new bracelet and earrings shows that the relationship between both living and non-living organisms is interlinked together in a complex way. The orange and pink stones upcycled from both the old necklace and bracelet, now form the chain for the new bracelet as well as the connections for the matching pair of earrings. They represent the rays of the Sun shining on Mother Earth. The upcycled parts are made of 925 silver, 999 silver and glass. |
| List of materials used | Upcycled/Recycled materials used: 1. Orange and pink stones from old necklace and bracelet 2. Jump rings and clasp from old necklace and bracelet 3. Recycled silver bits and leftovers from past Art Clay Silver projects 4. Glass pendant from old necklace New additional materials used: 1. Art Clay Silver (recycled silver) 2. Coloured cubic zirconia stones 3. UV resin 4. Ear hooks |
| Category of competition piece | Physical jewellery piece from upcycled materials |
| Name of competition piece | Lungs of the Earth |
| Story of the piece | Most parts of two old necklaces and an old bracelet were upcycled and transformed into a necklace. The jade pendant from the old necklace is whitish with some shades of green. When the pendant is inverted, it can be viewed as the crown of a tree. As trees are considered the lungs of the Earth, this is related to the theme: Mother Earth. This becomes the centerpiece in the new necklace. This centerpiece (a.k.a. Lungs of the Earth) is fashioned as a tree with planet Earth in the background. The planet Earth in the background is self-explanatory as it represents itself. The clear, green and blue stones taken from both the old necklace and bracelet, now forms the chain for the new necklace. The colours of the stones represent the land and sea on Mother Earth. The upcycled parts are made of 925 silver, 999 silver and jade. |
| List of materials used | Upcycled/Recycled materials used: 1. Clear, green and blue stones from old necklace and bracelet 2. Jump rings and clasp from old necklace and bracelet 3. Recycled silver bits and leftovers from past Art Clay Silver projects 4. Jade pendant from old necklace New additional materials used: 1. Art Clay Silver (recycled silver) 2. UV resin |
Dr Maria Low 