• 

• 

• 

• 

The Upcycled Man makes a lot of grown-up things. Grown-up tables and grown-up cabinets. Grown-up spice racks and grown-up mirror frames. It’s all very…grown up.

It goes without saying that we love what we do. And our materials are overwhelmingly reclaimed and salvaged. It’s part of our ethos to be responsible. But sometimes things can just be fun, entertaining or just plain silly!

But that doesn’t mean we can’t combine our love of the bright, bold and decorative can’t also be made from found materials.

Our Inspiration

It’s been stated in previous posts that we get asked to do a lot of house and garden clearances. And we’ve also mentioned they’re not always fruitful. But a lot of the time we see a collection of things that are beautiful but their use isn’t readily apparent. So we hang onto things for a while.

Sometimes it’s Lego figures, arts and crafts materials, Christmas lights, old LPs or fabrics.

• 

And one day it clicked. NIGHTLIGHTS! Nightlights made from reclaimed materials. Something you’d feel good about if you put it in your kids’ bedroom because it wasn’t made from cheap plastic.

But kids shouldn’t have all the fun. And that’s why we make them for adults too! Our Beatles Yellow Submarine Lego figures inspired us to make a nightlight that wouldn’t be out of place in an entertainment room or behind a home bar.

We have a stack of old LPs that are pretty much worthless. But with some creative use of heat (in the form of a blow torch) to bend a record into a groovy shape, a printed image of the Yellow Submarine album sticker. We added our figures, some bright colours, Christmas lights and some psychedelic clouds to create a 60s dreamscape and we had our funky shadow box.

• 

And pretty soon we had our Scottish Batman Lego nightlight. Complete with sword and Batsignal!

• 

Next was a scene from the Scottish Highlands. Carefully placed branches from felled trees, hand painted wooden deer figures and a tartan fabric moon.

And our wee Highland Coo really inspired us to characterise Scotland’s natural rugged beauty but adding clean, straight lines we see the country’s modernity.

And by using reclaimed timber to frame these wee beauties we’re still being…grown-up.

• 

I rummage. A lot. Skips, dumpster, broken furniture that’s been left on the street, warehouses, lofts, barns, sheds, workshops, cellars…

But honestly, most of the time it’s not a fruitful endeavour. Rotten wood, broken guitars, broken chipboard furniture and lots and lots of half finished DIY projects.

And on other occasions there’s good quality furniture that’s in need of a repair or some rare hardwood or something that just needs a little tlc.

And then there’s the rarest of times. When you stop something buried under a mountain of old books or records that just screams out. It may be broken or slightly rotted in parts. It may be something you can’t quite understand what you’ll do with it just yet. But it’s beauty is undeniable.

And when you see a dusty vintage PepsiCo crate that’s broken on almost every side you question your own sanity for thinking that this thing could be anything other than kindling.

But if you dream a dream etc…

Our most popular item to make is our pigeon hole shelving units. We make a lot simply because they’re so versatile. And really lovely. Like, REALLY lovely. They’re so cute but also have a real practical nature that have limitless applications.

And we use a variety of wood for the backing. Old oak flooring, reclaimed shed roofs, bits of old cabinets. But we’ve never had a backing with any kind of logo or lettering. Until now.

It just made sense to make use of this piece of battered old crate. It’s beautiful. It’s iconic. It’s really freakin cool!

So this old crate has a second chance. And it’s new life as the backing to an old unit it just wonderful.

What to do with a classic design for a contemporary marketplace? Do you play it safe or go wild? Complimentary or contrast?

How about a little of both? Solution? A bright, vibrant tropical fabric with nods of classic 1920s indulgence.

The high back chair lends itself as a canvas to display the intricacies of the tropical design, highlighting each part of the flowers, plants, vines and cute little birds.

This Korean fabric is bold and exciting, contrasting the classic, practical nature of the armchair.

And a simple French polished finish on the wooden frame adds to the traditional look.

• 

This is simply brilliant craftsmanship from Beautility, a pioneering family business and a precursor to Ercol, G-Plan and Stag.

This is a classic example of their ingenuity in incorporating both mid century and art deco design elements. The curvy nature is a consistent theme in Beautility furniture.

The piece has been professionally restored with modern design elements including a contemporary sage and white combination, giving a clean, crisp feel. New ceramic and brass pumpkin pulls have been added to lend a really fun element.

The original walnut veneer has been French polished to invigorate its gorgeous complex grain.