PVC (polyvinyl chloride) coated polyester fabric is an extremely durable, weather resistant material, perfect for the banners and billboards installed on construction hoardings. Yet, banners are often only required for a specific purpose and short periods. What happens when they are taken down? A resourceful business might store them away for potential reuse – perhaps […]
We won! On 13 March, MetroBird — an upcycled flying contraption built and designed by UpShop Industries — won the 2022 Birdman Rally. It didn’t matter that MetroBird only ‘flew’ 2.5 metres and ended up in the Yarra river. The efforts of pilot, Anna Gleeson, were valiant, and the dedicated Metro ‘pirates’ — motivated by […]
How can upcycling be a creative and collaborative act? In September 2017, a series of artworks appeared in Westgate Health Co-op (a co-operative community health clinic) and the Burn City Test Kitchen – both situated in the tiny (but pretty special) shopping strip in Vernon Street, South Kingsville – as part of Art in Public […]
In March, 2017, Ray, the owner of Excell Press, officially retired after fifty years. Keen to talk, we stepped inside his small Brunswick factory just down the road from Upshop, just as a storm began and the deafening sound of the rain on the roof made it impossible to hear. But that didn’t seem to […]