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Lifestyle & Heritage


#DRIVEBIGGER:
HOW UPCYCLING GIVES NEW LIFE TO OLDER ITEMS


Lifestyle & Heritage


#DRIVEBIGGER:
HOW UPCYCLING GIVES NEW LIFE TO OLDER ITEMS


11/15/2022

4 minutes read

 1. Home
 2. Newsroom
 3. Lifestyle & Heritage
 4. Drive Bigger: How Upcycling Gives New Life to Older Items

Looking for a creative and fun pursuit that can be budget-friendly and helps to
keep older items from becoming trash? Hop in your Volkswagen, head out to thrift
stores, flea markets, garage sales—or simply stay at home, searching for finds
in your own house—and get ready to upcycle.

Different from recycling, which involves the industrial processing of materials
like plastic, glass, or cardboard into products ranging from carpeting to paper
towels, upcycling is the art of transforming older, unwanted items or materials
by giving them a different purpose and improving their aesthetic value.

As part of a series on the thinking behind the Drive Bigger® concept from
Volkswagen, and how it translates to people’s everyday lives, here’s a look at
the upcycling movement, along with tips from a Dallas-based designer, stylist,
and upcycling expert on how to get involved.


> “There are so many great things that you can find already in existence. Why
> not recreate them?”

Sarah Teresinski, upcycling expert


That’s the insight of Sarah Teresinski. Years ago, she taught herself sewing and
other DIY skills to provide her oldest daughter with stylish yet inexpensive
clothes and furnishings made from repurposed materials. From there her work
blossomed into upcycled-apparel collections, a design consultancy, and an
influencer platform that includes popular social media accounts and numerous
television appearances.



She’s enthusiastic about upcycling’s potential benefits both to the individual
and the larger community. “Besides the fact that it’s really cool to find old
things and transform them,” she says, “upcycling means less new manufacturing,
which can mean fewer new carbon emissions. Anything we can do to cut back on
that is so important.”

Because many projects can be undertaken on a small budget, upcycling can also
have economic benefits, notes Teresinski. The trend has grown, she explains,
because families are keeping a close eye on their spending. A home filled with
expressive yet affordable DIY art and furnishings from upcycled materials gives
everyone an opportunity to create what she calls a “little sanctuary. Especially
in this day and age, we need that. You do not need a lot of money to have that.”

> How to Get Involved in Upcycling

According to Teresinski, items and materials for upcycling projects can be
sourced from just about anywhere, whether it’s scouring your basement, attic, or
garage for old items that you might otherwise throw out, or “shopping online
secondhand marketplaces, hitting thrift stores, flea markets, estate sales,
garage sales.”

The first step, she says, is to figure out a want that you’d like to fulfill.
“Let’s say you really want a bar cart. Instead of buying something that’s newly
manufactured, ask: What else looks like a bar cart? I have the most fabulous bar
cart that I made out of a diaper changing table. It's tall, it’s got wheels,
it’s sturdy, and I recreated it.”



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Just a few other examples of her countless projects over the years: She’s taken
old sheets and made them into kids’ rompers, turned vintage quilts into coats
(“I made one in about an hour; it cost me $7 to thrift a quilt.”), and
refashioned an oven cooling rack and a woven placemat into lighting sconces.

While she’s all about thinking outside the box, she also advises not to
overthink a project. “With style and design, there are so many rules people
worry about. Just think about what makes you happy. Take inspiration from
photos, designs, nature, color schemes. Try to recreate it [with existing items]
and give it your own little touches.”



> Start Small and Have Fun

If you’ve got a recyclable item and feel it’s easier to toss it in the recycling
bin, that’s great, says Teresinski. “But if you want to challenge yourself and
get into this upcycling movement, start small and keep it as simple as possible.
With probably 95% of my projects, there are very few things needed, and you
pretty much can just bring it home and do it.”

Her final bit of advice: “Have fun with it and make sure it's something that's
useful in your life. All those little things add up.”



All images courtesy of Sarah Teresinski (@redeux_style).




LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DRIVE BIGGER® CONCEPT AND WHAT IT MEANS TO VOLKSWAGEN.





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