Upcycle Arcade
Bespoke Furniture Refinishing
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Eclectic Interior Design in a Victorian Townhouse
A recent family trip took us to the big smoke (London) for an evening of theatre, football and a stay in a tall thin townhouse in Camden. A labyrinth of bedrooms, stairs, nooks and crannies with something to find at every turn. The old vintage wardrobe in our bedroom at the top of the house…
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Painters Business Academy 2022 for Professional Furniture Upcyclers
Last weekend saw over 100 furniture artists gather in Derbyshire for the second UK conference dedicated to furniture painters and to celebrate all things painty. This year we were indulged with topflight furniture painters, product innovators and awash with an abundance of colour and laughter. As with last year (the very first Painters Business Academy)…
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The Varying Guises of Upcycled Furniture
If you think of upcycled furniture as a colourful slick of paint with some new matching knobs, then you are a missing out on the burgeoning trend which comes with a big sustainability thumbs up. Bureaus Take an ancient, old fashioned, beaten up grimy bureau. Chances are it will look downtrodden in most homes. However,…
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The Knapp Joint and the 19th Century American Table
On a recent reconnaissance to my local Recycling Centre, I chanced upon a console table buried under other unwanted household items. It was shapely and interesting but had clearly been in storage for some time. On close inspection of the drawer build, I was taken aback by the joints. No glue or tacks, but no…
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Interior Design with Upcycling at its Heart
Scrolling through glossy home magazines can evoke dreams of transforming your own castle into an equally welcoming and alluring showroom. Unfortunately, they frequently feel a little out of reach and altogether unlikely. However, with a dream in your heart and a little imagination in your head, it’s amazing what can be achieved with what you…
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Upcycling Zoomers: The Next Generation
There has never been a better time to introduce Gen Z to the upcycling life choice. They have the power to champion a sustainable lifestyle amongst their peers and elders (assuming us Generation X are elders??). But how to get them engaged? Zoomers, as they are known, born mid-1990s to 2012, are digital natives. They…
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Beijing 2022: Winter Olympics Without Snow
The 2022 Winter Olympics get underway on Friday 4th February in Beijing but they don’t have snow. They always knew they wouldn’t have snow but they still got the gig. Solution? 100% artificial snow. I do not ski. Cannot ski. I love the theme music to Ski Sunday and have enjoyed watching some Winter Olympics…
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Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World
A fun and a teensy bit historical review of an Aylesbury Waterside Theatre production of the musical based on Kate Pankhurst’s novel. My theatre buddy and I (daughter Phoebe, age 15) went to the theatre last week to see this uplifting musical performance. I found it inspiring and empowering and enlightening and frustrating – how…
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Upcycled Furniture isn’t all Bling and Pizzazz
Upcycled furniture is on a popularity roll. If you’re after an unusual statement piece with added ‘wow’ worthy of discussion, then upcycled will tick every box. However, a classic and conservative professionally upcycled item can bring understated refined elegance to your home. Most homes are not graced with bold, colourful artisan pieces of furniture and…
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Upcycling and Sustainability Christmas Quiz
Fancy a topical quiz before Christmas? This is for fun with no winners and no prizes, just a little lighthearted break in your busy day. Answers are at the bottom – no cheating! 1. How many pieces of furniture end up in landfill in the UK each year (to the nearest million)? 3. Who were…
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Have a Happy Upcycled Christmas
With any luck Christmas will be back on the menu this year. After having to endure nearly-there pared down festivities in 2020, we all deserve some seasonal cheer, in whatever guise or scale you choose. Christmas is often a time for families, friends, neighbours and loved ones. It is also a time for exchanging gifts.…
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The Carbon Footprint of our Trip to France
During the half-term break we took a long overdue trip to France to visit my Dad. But with all the attention on climate change and COP26 dominating the news, I wondered just how much our mini-holiday would actually cost the planet. I have broken down the research into the following sections: Air travel Car travel…
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What’s Trending in Upcycled Furniture?
So you’ve got yourself a pocket-money hobby; a side-hustle; a new or established career where you upcycle and refinish furniture. Welcome to the flourishing eco-orienteered occupation where you will meet the most giving, supporting, nurturing band of people for real or virtually. To make your venture work, you need to know what will be a…
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month: October 2021
Every October, people all over the world show their support for everyone affected by breast cancer. Breast cancer is not a nice topic to feature in a blog post. However, I have personal reasons for doing just that; some of which have a happy ending and some of which do not. Upcycle Arcade is supporting…
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Is OLD the new NEW?
I LOVE new things. Not necessarily in a materialistic fashion, but the gleaming, room transforming change of new. I love new things; things that are new to ME. A piece of furniture is very often a small permanent fixture; sometimes it has always been there through countless generations. But then suddenly sentimentality looses out to…
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Painters Business Academy 2021 for Professional Furniture Upcyclers
Last weekend saw 85 upcyclers descend on a country estate in Hertfordshire for the very first UK conference dedicated to furniture painters. It was an opportunity to meet like-minded people and wax lyrical about furniture upcycling, knowing that your audience will not simply nod in polite acquiesce. The aim was to equip the attendees with…
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Conscious Cubby: The new UK online shop just for furniture upcyclers
Sustainable beautiful painted furniture for the conscious shopper – a UK based furniture shop with a conscience. US based Etsy has been a long-term go to for those wishing to furnish their homes with bespoke quality upcycled pieces of furniture. Its reach is wide and I have sold over 60 items to date on this…
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Cottagecore – A Quintessential English Country Garden
At Upcycle Arcade HQ, since becoming a full-time furniture upcycler – I say full-time very loosely – I have been able to spend much more time indulging in one of my increasingly important hobbies: gardening. I say this as I find complete tranquility and calm in tinkering about in my area of paradise. Gardening for…
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Greenwashing
To falsely give the impression that a company’s products and services provide greater environmental or ‘green’ benefits than is actually the case. Mistrust, distrust and inherent suspicions can wreak havoc on well laid plans be they for production or marketing purposes. But are these feelings justified? After a long career in financial services, I have…
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Earth Day and The Almanac 2021
The Almanac: A seasonal guide to the year; a celebration of the unfolding 12 months. Moon phases, sunrises and sunsets, time and tides plus the night sky, astronomical and meteorological. It shares gardening tips (gardening by moonlight anyone?) ancient recipes as well as folklore and nature. I am an Almanac newbie, mine being a Christmas…
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A Review and a Synopsis – David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet
Homeschooling at its very best for young and old. A fascinating history lesson on our extraordinary rise to world supremacy, the science of the symbiosis between Earth’s various occupants and a splattering of maths making it easy to quantify the urgency of the issues we have created. All told so eloquently by someone we trust.…
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A potted history of popular furniture brands to upcycle
Furniture is more than functional and practical; it is a product of design, a work of art. During my own upcycle journey, certain brands – some well known, others less so – have graced my workshop. Here I have looked into each brand a little more deeply plus plagiarised a touch from other sites and…
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The Cloud and The Silver Lining
The current lockdown has presented many unexpected limitations. I fully appreciate and fear the enormity of this. But it has also awarded many out of the norm opportunities. (Please…I am by no means belittling the severity of what the entire world is experiencing now). For me…personally…there is a HUGE opportunity to wind back to some…
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Earth Day 2019
Three ‘Upcycle Arcade appropriate ‘ things happened last week, each of which warrants it’s own blog entry. However, I shall merge and blend them into one and just touch upon what each meant to me. Earth Day This was on 22nd April. The earth is 4.3 billion years old (old) and Earth Day is almost…
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Small Great Things
This week I completed two things which are wholly unrelated, yet carry a similar message at heart. The first was my very first market promoting the sustainability of upcycled furniture as part of this year’s Zero Waste Week initiatives. The second was Jodi Picoult’s book of the same name. The strap line “There is a…
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Zero Waste Week – September 2019
Visit Upcycle Arcade in Aylesbury Market Square on Tuesday, 3rd September 2019 What is Zero Waste Week? Consider this: what happens when you throw something away? ‘Away’ isn’t some magical place; it’s landfill, an incinerator, the bottom of the ocean, litter or the stomach of an animal. It’s always somewhere else… Zero Waste Week is…