Home work

For several years I edited a magazine called Living South which covers south London. During that time a writer named Andrea Hensher pitched me a story about a family living down the street from her. The Shipp-Hills have committed to using found objects throughout their homes and their lives, relying on retail stores pretty much only for food. Photographer Charlie Pinder took some gorgeous photographs, and you can view a selection on Charlie's website. Since upcycling has to do with customisation, a simple how-to guide is rarely going to suffice; Charlie's pics are great because the ideas they contain might provide just the inspiration needed to translate some Shipp-Hill solutions into your own space.

Andrea came to know the Shipp-Hills when they knocked on her door and asked if they could rummage through the skip in front of her house, which was overflowing with rubbish from her house refurbishment. One man's junk is definitely another man's treasure, and this inventive family exemplifies the notion that there's enough durable, useful stuff already in existence on the planet to put shopping malls out of business. So have a look at Andrea's article - it might to inspire us to put our credit cards away and make a withdrawal from our personal creativity banks.