Pop-Up Shop sells upcycled furniture to help reduce waste
By Liam Leonard
In a report released last month, the advocacy group Waste Watch Ottawa showed that this city’s recycling rates are significantly lower than those recorded in the rest of the province. At the same time, local furniture shop Malenka Originals held its fifth annual Refreshed Furniture Pop-Up Shop event, displaying more than 100 pieces of “upcycled” furniture for sale — and ever so slightly boosting the capital’s recycling quotient.
The Sept. 30 event, which took place just west of Little Italy under a tent in Somerset Square, was a chance for local furniture artists to display their work and talk with others who are interested in the process of upcycling and reducing waste.
To local furniture artist and Pop-Up Shop vendor Lisa Silfwerbrand, this might mean turning the surface of an old coffee table into a chalkboard with legs, or even using a stalk of celery to stamp flower-like designs onto a throw pillow.
The creative nature of upcycling seemed to provoke curiosity from those attending the Pop-Up Shop. Underneath the tent, each artisan had their own space to display their pieces, but the interactions between artisan and attendee naturally transitioned from a business transaction to a conversation about the creative process.
With artisans stepping out from behind their tables to talk to those interested, it was difficult to tell who had created the pieces and who was simply browsing. The space under the tent seemed to belong to everyone willing to explore it.
Katrina Barclay, owner of Malenka Originals — located in Wellington West – said that she was inspired to create the Pop-Up Shop five years ago, when visitors to her store would ask how she got her upcycling-focused business off the ground.
“I realize a lot of business owners would be wary of answering these questions, feeling that it was going to impinge on their own sales,” she said in an email. “I sort of went the other way. I started helping and encouraging these people to start painting and selling furniture. I know how much satisfaction I got from starting my business. I wanted to share that.”
From there, the Pop-Up Shop was born, Barclay said, to provide an annual communal opportunity for local furniture artists to gather for free and sell their upcycled works.
“We have become a completely disposable society and everything we use has been designed to be thrown away once it is either out of style or not useful anymore,” said Silfwerbrand. “Bringing new life into something that was considered trash not only gives me a sense of accomplishment, but the teacher in me hopes that it inspires others to look at what they throw out different.”
The event also featured workshops intended to teach attendees techniques to turn their own old furniture into contemporary pieces. All proceeds from the workshops went to the local charity Helping With Furniture, a volunteer-run organization that transfers furniture from those with plenty to those in Ottawa who lack basic necessities.
“There is a huge need on both sides and the demand has increased every year,” said Jeanne Gagnon, the vice president of the charity. “I think (local artisans) are making a strong statement that we should stop overproducing and over purchasing and try to change this society of overconsuming.”
Based on a 2014/2015 City of Ottawa waste composition study examined by Waste Watch Ottawa, the group said Ottawa has forgotten the leadership role in waste reduction that it used to have.
At a press conference on Sept. 15, Waste Watch Ottawa founder Duncan Bury said that he thinks getting awareness out is “step number one.”
Since 2014, four Pop-Up Shop events have been held, with more items being sold and more enthusiasm being displayed each year, Barclay said.
“This might be a sign that the popularity of upcycled furniture is really growing,” she said.