Carat and stick approach

Esther Coombs is what I like to call a Golden Raisin. This does not mean she was a green grape as opposed to a purple one in a previous life; it means she is someone who has taken the humble act of upcycling a step further - she's gone and made it an art form.

Esther searches charity shops and boot sales in order to adopt unloved, mismatched crockery. Then she draws on it, fires it and releases the rehabilitated orphans back into the wild. I just browsed her wares at the Craft Central One Day Sale. Sadly for all of us, both the Day and the Sale are now over, but you can catch Esther again at Tent London, the design event at the Truman Brewery running 24 to 27 September.

Esther is someone who understands that upcycling begins at home - we should all make an effort to creatively reuse things whenever we can. So instead of a business card she was handing out fantastic make-your-own-collage kits. Like I said: pure gold.