Not kitsch (not that there's anything wrong with that)

I run a Facebook group for my local area (and sometimes beyond) where I trawl Facebook Marketplace for treasures, and share them with people. This may seem altruistic/a waste of time, but this is a task I’m doing anyway for my work, as I’m a designer that specialises in reuse (I also trawl auction houses etc so I’m thinking of expanding the listings on this website). So while I share awesome stuff, I don’t share what I find for clients ;)

Another reason it’s not altruistic is because I love lots of stuff. But I can’t and shouldn’t buy lots of stuff. In this way, I live vicariously, hoping to ensure the treasures don’t become buried treasure.

Anyhoo the purpose of sharing this, is to talk about one of the roles I believe designers can make in advancing circular practices, and that is, publicly sharing our support for reuse. The antiques industry has no problem with this, but beyond that, reuse is currently stuck a little in the kitsch department. Also, most people don’t have a design eye, so they can’t look at these items and reimagine them or see their potential. Often I will put a little note with an item I’ve shared to suggest how or where it could be used.

I’ve not invited people to this group, and I’ve made the group public, so no-one is compelled to join, but there’s now over 500 members 🤷🏿‍♂️ I think this is because the information is of use to people.