r/functionalupcycling

Hi!

I like beer 🍺!! I’m not a huge consumer, but I love in the summer hottest days get a pipe of freezing beer . I’ve got a unique spot where I like to go . So , I’ll take the boat from Cacilhas, Almada to Cais Sodre , Lisbon , than take a walk until I’ll reach the Estrela garden . And it is there that I have a spot on the deck of a little cafe that serves beer on mugs. Just love that spot .

One day I was on streets of Almada and I found this commercial clock for a German brand beer that I can’t even pronounce the name of . It was into a really bad shape , but reminded me of he mugs….. so ….. I just picked it up and Upcycled it into a lighting piece .

I’m sorry I didn’t documented the process , but this piece is one of my first projects in upcycling , so those projects never came to be documented . I’ll let you enjoy the pics now .
I just want to say that the led stripe is on power bank supply ( so that makes he clock portable) , it was 100% restored , new paintings , and I attached a toggle switch that ignites the light .

Thanks for your time !

For school, I created an ultra-light camping chair using recycled LDPE plastic bags that I pressed and sewed together to create the fabric for the chair. Then I modeled the brackets and 3d printed them in PETG; however, my new version uses PC as it's less brittle, so I don't worry as much when I sit on it. While not the best chair, I am really proud of it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz4P39WeTV8

This video by Brother's Made was a big inspiration for using plastic bags as the fabric. So watch that if you want to learn how to graph the pieces of plastic together!

Just wanted to show it off as I'm still getting accustomed to sharing my work more, and wanted to inspire people to try to make something hard!

Let me know if there is something else you would like to see with this design, or if you have any questions about the process, as for sharing the 3d printed files. I'm a little on the fence, as there is still some stuff I want to change and continue to work on, but I'm happy to answer questions about dimensioning and such!

Hi !
As you might be already familiar, I am an upcycling nerd , love it , but the most that I love it’s a project where the piece came from the trash. Literally, the trash, the dumpster, the sidewalk. Today I give you a different perspective and I will like to know how do you feel about it.

Olá ! Desta vez vai ser em português. Mais fácil expressar os sentimentos 🫣.

Bom , hoje apresento-vos duas “estranhas formas de vida “ novas vidas que foram conseguidas através de um processo meticuloso de trabalho manual responsável !

Estas duas peças chegaram às minhas mãos por acaso , num dia em que fui visitar o ti Manel na sua loja de velharias . O Ti Manel é uma personagem que ja viu muita coisa e deve ter sentido muito ao longo dos seus 84-85 anos . E como estava a pôr as conversas em dia e agrupar um monte com várias peças de antiguidades , fiquei de queixo caído e olhos cruzados quando vi estas duas peças em cima de uma prateleira . A minha imaginação já estava em pleno voo, o velhote a falar comigo mas eu sem o ouvir , peguei numa das peças tentando perceber o que era aquilo , qual o propósito, e porque assim é não de uma outra forma . Nem sequer senti quando ao pegar na peça cortei me literalmente em um dos bicos ( que são bem afiados ) no meu quase desespero em entender alguma coisa sobre aquilo que tinha na mão . Pedi informações mas o Ti Manel não parava de rir , a dizer sem folga ou fim que era 20€ por que me estava a conhecer e por que sabia que apenas eu era capaz de comprar aquilo . Acabei de pagar 10€ sem saber o que ia acontecer com as peças .

Tive as peças guardadas 1 mês antes de as ver de novo . Agora com mais tempo realizei porque ou o que me atraiu tanto para as comprar : o aspecto de “estranha forma de vida” foi em primeiro lugar . O formato , o acabamento, o facto de serem em grés esmaltado feitos à mão , o também por serem a visão de alguém numa certa altura e de ter uma aparência tão fora deste mundo copy paste .

A transformação em candeeiros

Foi desafiador conseguir fazer com que não perdessem o ar Alien Steampunk , aquela sensação de áspero , de único . Estive a procurar no meu stock de latão peças que encaixassem na perfeição , métodos diferentes de aperto , vários designs até chegar para as versões finais . Como já devem se apercebido , trata-se de um par , ele e ela , feminino e masculino, tentado diferenciar o mais que pude uma da outra .

Ele : bem mais áspero , com alguns dos bicudos partidos , bem mais imperfeito , com as peças de latão que encaixam com o casquilho feitas a mão , rasgadas propositadamente, mostrando as batalhas tidas , algumas perdidas , outras ganhas , caloso como as mãos que lhe deu a vida , com uma base generosa em latão polido de forma selectiva para alcançar mais profundidade , uma lâmpada de tubo edison , e cabo têxtil trançado , e um interruptor tipo alavanca vintage robusto evocando estilo industrial .

Ela : com uma base mais suave , quase a parecer a levitar , tão fina e brilhante lembrando-me de dois olhos bem ensopados ao me verem , quase diáfana , tentado dizer : “sou diferente , sim , mas sou única” com duas lâmpadas tipo edison instaladas e as peças em latão encaixadas na perfeição com já o inconfundível polimento selectivo . O interruptor de alavanca bem mais fino , mais discreto quase como um ritual eterno de um satisfatório CLICK . Também para elevar o estatuto coloquei cabo têxtil trançado .

Os dois levam a marca da cura , do renascimento , da metamorfose de todos os elementos que agora dão luz a estas novas vidas : A Sutura . Embutida no latão de forma mecânica , feita em arame de cobre , lembra-me da marca que levo na palma da minha mão , todos os dias , para sempre , a marca da cura , cura que deu a oportunidade a esta mão passar o testemunho .

Apenas desejo-vos sentir , ver , pensar , achar , imaginar , aquilo que poderem em relação a este par !

Obrigado !

Hi 👋 !
I found those on the curb , and I thought that would be an awesome project . They did came out really nice .

Let’s go see the process :

Made of stoneware, from the Portuguese extinct Campos e Filhos from the city of Aveiro , these bottles were made with a distinctive glaze : salted glaze or “casca de laranja” ( orange peel ) . The process : Salt glazing is a traditional ceramics technique where common salt is introduced into a high-temperature kiln. The salt vaporizes and the sodium reacts with the silica and alumina in the clay body, bonding to the surface to form a durable, glossy, and subtly textured "orange peel" glaze.

It was really hard to drill but with patience I was able to finish the task. I had to find and fit the brass from my “collection” of brass fittings. Applied a selective polishing to get more depth .

The shades were found on the trash. A just clean them up and painted . My skills on the painting are astonishing 😂😂😂🤷‍♀️. Well, I just applied some very cheap acrylic paint ( the only colors that I’ve had in the house in that moment)

High end fabric cord and old school replicas switches .

I think I’ve made some pretty decent job with those .

What do you think?

Comment/ share / ask about !!!

As a photographer, I’ve collected many cameras over the years.
Not all of them survived time in working condition.

This old Praktica film camera had a broken lens and was impossible to restore for shooting, but I couldn’t just throw it away. Cameras deserve better than ending up forgotten on a shelf.

So I decided to give it a second life.

I found an old lampshade and part of a metal tube from a broken lamp at a flea market, and built a custom metal mount by hand so it could slide directly into the camera’s flash shoe.

Now this old Praktica works again — not capturing light anymore, but creating it.

One more vintage object saved and transformed into a loft-style table lamp with its own story.

Just made a few more steps on the second wine rack .

Installed the jute rope that will secure the bottle . Still needs finishing on the screws.
Made the glass holder
Gave it a stitch .
Made the 2 coasters and install the rack for them ( still to finish)
The eyeball lamp ( original from space age era ) will be painted

It is all for this update .

This is a unique piece that I had the pleasure to make. A 1 meter tall glass vase . Marked with a L on the bottom, I didn’t want to drill so I had to invent a way how to do it without drilling it.
I just gonna let the pics talking for me

Hi everyone, I’m Emanuel—an upcycling-addicted nerd who loves a good challenge.

Launching this community is a massive goal, but I am absolutely certain that with your help, my followers, we can turn this space into the internet’s ultimate home for high-quality upcycling.

I want this to be a home where every voice is heard, every perspective is seen, and every hidden design is discovered. A space where all visions have the room to express themselves, allowing us all to learn and grow in our own unique ways.

This will be the true home for functional, high-end Upcycling—a place where no one should ever feel afraid or ashamed to post. It is a space to showcase our work, open up to the world, get noticed, and grow.Here, we can teach but also learn. We can critique but also praise. Most importantly, we can be ourselves without sugarcoating or masks—honest and real.

Because of this, I am counting on every single one of you to share this new community on your own social networks. We are starting fresh with clear, yet avant-garde rules tailored for the world we live in today.

Welcome to your new home!