Upcycled Carpet Samples

If you have visited an interiors shop and looked through their range of carpet samples, have you ever wondered what happens to these?  Over 700,000 carpet samples are manufactured in the US every year – purely as a sample to help you choose and coordinate an interior scheme.  When they are no longer needed they are thrown into landfill.

In 2008, a US competition was held to create a way to reuse or ′upcycle′ discarded carpet samples into redesigned products. The 2008 winners created a variety of innovative designs, which shows how a little creativity can achieve aesthetic, functional and environmentally aware products.  In addition, you don′t need to be a designer to upcycle everyday items, just imagination and a few simple tools.  Simplicity is key with upcycling, so that you don′t use too much energy or resources to redesign the item – which would make it counterproductive environmentally.

The winners came up with the following ideas: room screen, stool, chair, vase, dish, carpet golf game, pet house, shoes.  Whereas entries included: mug, bag, art, ht, floor cube, puzzle, mat, lamp, journal, bin, book ends and many more.  To have a look at the designs use this link: http://www.amplesample.net/2008/winners_2008

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