By NATALIE GALLENTI
WHAT some people might consider as trash Karen Ellis sees as treasure.
The Melton resident is a keen re-designer and spends her days turning unwanted garments into one-off designer items.
Founder of the Facebook group Melton Bowerbirds, Karen is an avid up-cycler and is committed to sustainability. She also admits to living and very frugal lifestyle and sources all of her second hand garments and fabrics from the Melton Resale Centre.
“I have a passion for re-fashion,” she said.
“If a garment has holes then patch it with a gorgeous fabric and get a one off designer item.
“All of the clothes I lovingly recreate were destined for landfill. I rescue them and make them into one-off pieces that nobody else will be wearing.”
Karen said mending clothing and saving costs was something she was always interested in, even from a very young age. She recalls often watching her mother on the family’s sewing machine fixing secondhand clothing which she would then put on her children.
“We weren’t a wealthy family … it was the ’50s and ’60s, we were well cared for but there wasn’t much money around. My mother would re-design hand-me-downs.”
And it seems Karen may have rubbed off on her partner in crime, husband Danny, who is also a long-time recycler and enjoys tinkering with unwanted household items.
This month the couple, along with their online group, is promoting the Buy Nothing New campaign.
Members will be encouraging the wider community to celebrate sustainable alternatives to purchasing new items like secondhand shopping, swapping, renting, sharing, borrowing, recycling, free-cycling and up-cycling.
“In restaurants we eat from secondhand cutlery, in hotels we sleep on sheets and use towels someone else used, in department stores we try on garments that have probably been tried on by others before us.
“With this in mind I would encourage people to buy nothing new this month and think that if they really need an item to see if it can be bought secondhand instead.”
People can join the Melton Bowerbirds on Facebook or contact Karen on 0403 202 273.
