Sustainability, Recycling and Repurposing

This post is from Angela Stanfield of Angie.S. Handmade Designs

Sustainability is the ability to support a process over time while preventing the depletion of natural resources.  It can be human, social, economic, or environmental. Repurposing aids sustainability by reducing the need to make new synthetic resources and the impacts of manufacturing.  Recycling is the process of taking waste and converting it into something useful.

Lifestyle block owners sometimes have sheep to keep the grass down, living lawnmowers you could say, but they don’t need the wool when the sheep are shorn every year. If they don’t have friends or family who spin and knit to give the fleece to it will often go to compost. Wool is great for compost because it supplies nutrients and holds water. However, it is a shame when the good wool of a fleece is not used for creating something with purpose.

Wool is such a versatile natural fibre with properties of fire resistance, water absorption, and breathability. There is a beautiful range of natural colours available from the many sheep breeds found throughout the world. Fleece can be cleaned and used as is, felted, spun, knitted, or woven. Many new initiatives are finding new ways to use wool.

I don’t like seeing things being thrown out that could be used, reused, or repurposed into something of use.  When I grew up this was what everyone did.  This philosophy got me into collecting local sheep fleece from a couple of lifestyle blocks. I skirt the fleece and use the ends for my garden. My plants love it. The good part of the fleece I wash, dry, and prep ready to use in making hand felted creations. Wool is such a beautiful fibre to work with and the only limitation is our imagination.

So here I am, about to enter the ‘Footprint’ exhibition in The Upstairs Gallery, in the iconic Lopdell House in Titirangi, Auckland. This exhibition is about sustainability, which suits my practice of taking fleece that would be composted or thrown out, working with it using ancient techniques, and creating clothing and art. Therefore, I have elements of sustainability, repurposing, and recycling all in my artisan practice.

The exhibition will be on show 23^rd February to 17^th March 2024, The Upstairs Gallery, Level 1 Lopdell House, 418 Titirangi Rd, Auckland. Come along and check it out.