Casa suite casa

The Casa Surf Project is a hotel with 10 suites, each one designed by a different surf brand. It would be nice if my fairy godmother would play concierge for just a minute and check me in to Suite 207, the Etnies crib. Upcycling ideas include a playful patchwork mosaic of shoe material scraps that serves as an artistic headboard and hand-painted skate wheels decorating the bathroom mirror.

Also in the bathroom is a kidney-shaped bathroom sink that doubles as a tiny skate pool complete with a pair of mini decks for finger boarding... Yo Fairy Godmother - are you reading this??

gives me a charge

Curious to know what you're looking at? It's a sculpture made of discarded batteries by Michel de Broin, and it comes via the brilliant blog known as Designsquish.

Take a seat

Read all about it… My blogging buddy-o over at Pass the Pattern couldn’t get the cushion she wanted at her local Habitat store. So instead she bought Habitat’s shopping bag made from the same fabric, unpicked the handles and the seam at the opening, inserted a cushion pad and used a slip stitch to close it all up. It’s pictured here with two salvaged Ercol chairs spruced up with a new lick of paint.

You could do the same thing with any shopper bag. I seem to accumulate these free at an alarming rate, but I will despair no longer now that I can see them in a new light – as (almost) readymade cushions.

Embellished bag bingo

Lie Down I Think I Love You - The Life Of A Handbag from James Partridge on Vimeo.

Lie Down I Think I Love You is, first, a fantastic name for a brand and, second, a cool handbag company in London. They buy vintage scarves from Ebay, auctions and other secret sources and incorporate these into their bag designs. At the press preview last week they unveiled new designs that feature vintage mirror compacts too. Here's a fab video on what they're about and how they do what they do.

All hail heli

One man's trash is another's treasure... And one tatami mat factory's reject is Mixko's choice material. Put it this way:

"Most Japanese homes have a traditional tatami room, called the washitsu. Tatami are rectangular mats, slotted together to cover the washitsu floor. Tatami are protected with a fabric border called heli. The heli border is often very special, incorporating traditional Japanese colour, pattern and family crests."

Special stuff should not be in the rubbish bin, which is why it's so nice to see it upcycled into new uses. If you're inspired by this tale, chances are wear your heart on your sleeve - and might be tempted to wear your heli on your waist.

Wishy washy

"I’m not saying you need a wash but when was the last time you saw a bar of soap?"

How can anyone resist a good intro like that? Don't resist, just visit my friend Clare's blog called Pass the Pattern to learn how one savvy soap seller - Nostalgia Organics - includes instructions with every bar on how to upcycle her natty fabric packaging into something wonderful...

That's what I call good clean fun.

Hang it all

When is a belt not a belt? When it's a surfboard wall strap!

Holding up a trouser is a noble cause. Holding up a board I think even more so.

(Thanks to Eugene for sharing this genius idea.)