Singer sewing machine

Remember Madeleine Boulesteix's amazingly desirable chandeliers made of upcycled kitchen utensils? Her work has been included in the Geffrye Museum's new exhibition Eco Home, and that's all the endorsement I need to go and check it out.

There's a serious upcycling angle to the show, or so the press release tells me:

"The exhibition will be loosely divided into four sections: reducing energy and water consumption and adapting our homes and behaviour to conserve these resources; the life cycle of a chair and its impact on the environment, from materials used and provenance, through to its repair and biodegradability potential; recycling and the diverse ways now available to recycle all types of household waste; and eco-friendly materials and how they can be transformed into desirable new products for the home."

If you are one of those who baulks at the look-but-don't-touch aspect of a museum, then you'd better sign up for the workshop that goes with the exhibition. Encouraging both looking and touching, the Eco Excluder session enables you to create a unique draught excluder using recycled fabrics, with textile designer and Sew It Up author Ruth Singer. Saturday 23 January 2010, 11.30am-4.30pm. Tickets £25 (includes materials). That's Ruth's work pictured above, and she has a lot of crafty ideas for using salvaged fabric so be sure to browse the Sew It Up blog for ideas.