Everyday I come across something on Etsy that surprises and gets me excited about the endless recycled craft possibilities. This week I came across reiter8, an upcycling crafter from Brooklyn that takes sailboat sails that would otherwise go to the dump and creates bags and pillows out of the canvas.
The designer came up with this idea while visiting her mother in Maine. After taking notice of the strong canvas material that made up the sails on a boat, she realized that this material would make a sturdy alternative material for bags and pillows all while saving them from going to landfills. Reiter8 takes full advantage of all of the different stitching styles and interesting text that the sail makers created as a design aspect for her bags.
The Etsy Storque has make a great little video about this artist in their new Handmade Portrait series. Check it out here.
Thanks for the feature, Julie! This site is such a great resource!
That’s fantastic. What a great way of using something that would just be toss away. Great work.
Lovely products and for those across the pond in the uk have a look at wightsails