People throw a lot of things away.
Sometimes, they throw away perfectly usable things like couches, chairs, and furniture.
It’s definitely a bit wasteful, and it’s not exactly environmentally friendly either.
One woman with a talent for recycling and sewing is tackling the problem her way.
Meet Lisa Crick, an Englishwoman who turns old couches into stylish bags.
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Of course, she only needs the leather and fabric.
The stuffing and everything else gets donated to people who can repurpose it.
But even though she only needs the leather, believe me when I tell you she can work wonders with it.
Lisa herself said how conscious she is of all the things we waste.
Change always starts with you, so Lisa began working to stop being wasteful.
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That’s how her business “New Baginnings” started.
Lisa makes tote, messenger, and traveling bags using materials from old couches
. Take one look at her creations and you’d think you were buying them from a big-name designer. This wasn’t her source of income for the longest time.
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Before this, she worked as a fitness instructor.
The 53-year-old took “waste not, want not” to a new level.
Bags are a perfect choice since they’re so high in demand, and people like to collect them.
She also makes a lot of profit from them. Lisa sells them for £25 to £200 each depending on the size and quality.
Remember that saying about “One man’s trash is another one’s treasure”?
Talk about being on the nose, right?
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Lisa’s skill with sewing began in 2018 when she used old curtains as materials for some early projects.
Like many of us, Lisa turned to the internet for resources and places to get even better at her skill.
Practice makes perfect. During the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020, Lisa had even more time to hone her craft.
You have no shortage of materials when you’re as resourceful as Lisa.
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Her whole goal was to waste as little as possible, after all.
After spending more time perfecting her art, she considered seriously considering turning it into a business.
And Lisa knew where to look for her materials. Facebook marketplace is crawling with old furniture waiting to be sold for cheap.
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It’s these old couches sourced from people on Facebook that Lisa makes most of her bags from.
They come in the typical brown and beige to a chic navy blue.
If there’s a couch in that color, Lisa can make a bag in that color.
She offers custom, commissioned bags too.
Lisa can make you a bag using fabric from an old friend or pet, so you can always keep them close by.
Now that’s an artist if I’ve ever seen one.
The bags she makes are one-of-a-kind too.
So if you see something you like, you might want to buy it before someone else does.
That’s the fun of custom-made products, after all.
Watch her work her magic in the video below!
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