National Upcycling Day, June 24
-A Fairhope, Alabama Perspective-
June 24, 2024 – Let’s Go! Fairhope
If you’ve never heard of Upcycling, let alone National Upcycling Day, June 24, you’re not alone. But according to the World Wide Web, it’s been a thing since 2019. So! In honor of this relatively new quasi-event, Let’s Go! Fairhope is offering a sampling of three perspectives from the 36532:
Southern Replenish
First, “What is Upcycling?”
According to Janet Boullemet, owner of Southern Replenish based in Montrose/Fairhope, “Upcycling is taking something you already have and making better use of it.”
While Boullemet upcycles at home by finding new uses for old flannel shirts and t-shirts, she doesn’t consider herself first and foremost an upcycler, “I am a Refiller.” Janet said: “I do sell washable toilet paper and washable menstrual pads, nursing pads and facial pads that take the place of disposable cotton balls, but at Southern Replenish we focus on less plastic and practice the reuse of plastics.”
How does it work? Southern Replenish is now a delivery service. Residents simply call Mrs. Boullemet (local area code + 533-8050) and Janet will personally come to your home to refill your existing plastic bottles with fresh products. She can also provide you with containers to keep and refill again and again.
Southern Replenish will refill your bath products including shampoo, conditioner, body oil, hand soap, lotion, witch hazel, facial cleanser, toothpaste, deodorant and more. Boullemet offers both powder and liquid laundry detergents, plus an array of home cleaning products including all-purpose, countertop, class, granite and stone cleaners, stainless steel and wood polish. Dish soaps, dishwasher power, toilet and stain cleaners are in her arsenal as well. Southern Replenish even has pet products.
Whether you consider it cycling up or down, in or out, the concept is to reuse. To learn more about refilling your plastic containers instead of sending them away to decompose and perhaps never disappear, contact Janet Boullemet at local area code + 533-8050 for details about Southern Replenish.
Rivers Tilley
Fairhope resident Rivers Tilley enjoys a challenge. She grew up on a farm in Mississippi, went to art school in England, holds a degree in nursing plus two graduate degrees, studied printmaking and once fixed her car in an emergency by repurposing a radiator hose. “But that was back in the day, before cars got complicated,” said Tilley.
Rivers agrees there probably isn’t always an important real-life distinction between repairing, recycling, repurposing and upcycling in the vernacular, but whatever we choose to call it, she’s in the business.
Getting her start sewing costumes for a theater department, Tilley now specializes in 3-D object repair. She doesn’t advertise, relying instead on word-of-mouth from her clients. “Mending implies textiles, but that’s not all I do. I was too much of a tomboy for home EC or sewing lessons. I liked mechanical things and finding out how things worked.”
Headpiece – Before and After
Photos courtesy of Rivers Tilley
Currently, Tilley is repairing lace and has an old chandelier awaiting repair in the garage. She works on anything that will fit on her 9×5 workbench including antique, collective, and vintage items.
“When you repair Grandma’s gravy bowl for someone, you have to have patience. You have to know what kind of adhesive to use. It’s not always simple. Sometimes you have to go online and look for things and jerry-rig until you find a better solution. Visually, you always have to make it look right, too, while other aspects are functional. I like challenges that I can address. I like the fact that everything I attempt to do is kind of new, always an uphill learning curve. The fun is in what [clients] have and what they need,” said Tilley.
Photos above and below courtesy of Rivers Tilley
Rivers elaborates: “I’m honored when people bring me something that they really value, and I feel blessed that I have some skills and abilities to help. That gives me pleasure.” The only down-side, according to Tilley is when people don’t realize what the process is going to take. “Sometimes people bring something and they think it will take 15 minutes and look like it was never broken, but that’s not reality.” Rivers doesn’t repair furniture though she receives requests. She explains, “I usually do things more artsy, related to design, color, shape and form. Also practical things, depending on what it is.”
“Almost everything I have in my life is free, pre-owned, most things I use were meant for another use which gives me great pleasure.”
Contact Rivers Tilley about repairing something you hold dear by emailing rivers.tilley1 (at) gmail (dot) com.
Bruce Larsen Art
Many Fairhope residents are familiar with locally-based artist Bruce Larsen’s large-scale assemblage sculptures that often rise towards the sky in celebration of a new life. Comprising old fused gears, wheels, bolts, bikes, bullets, chairs, tractor parts and more, in a seemingly infinite array of soldered miscellaneous metal, we were recently wowed by his new “Seahorses” installation located at the west-side of what is now “Arts Alley” in Fairhope.
You may have also seen Larsen’s epic mechanical butterfly which now resides at the Mobile Botanical Gardens, and the team of giant athletes forever striving for new records at the US Sports Academy in Daphne.
Photo by Brock Larsen
Photo by Let’s Go! Fairhope
In a recent interview with Let’s Go! Fairhope, Bruce says he wasn’t familiar with the term “upcycling” until recently when his daughter informed him, “YOU Upcycle!” “I’ve always been called a Recycler,” said Larsen. “Jo Bonner once called me the ultimate recycler.”
Larsen said he identifies with local farmers who deny they ever keep any junk on their property, rather “useful spare parts.” “To me, I’ve always been attracted to metal and shapes,” said Larsen. “I’m always inspired to look around to see what is already here. I like to look for what’s standing out, what’s weird.” Bruce finds repurposing items more interesting and rewarding rather than “buying new, everything-looking-the-same objects.”
Bruce said “Some people would call me a hoarder, but when I [received the commission for] the seahorses, I had most of the metal I needed. And I was lucky to get the rest from the community. We’re working on a QR site for the Alley so you can learn more about the sculptures and all the incredible local stories they’re made from.”
When asked what he is currently working on, Larsen said some of his next big projects include a large metal tree, a barrel racer horse and rider, and an elephant for the upcoming Saban Center in Tuscaloosa.
“I also still do the occasional work in film. I just got a text yesterday from writer/director Mike Flanagan, he has some exciting stuff coming up. We’ll be making another Hush mask this week for the upcoming physical release of the film. Not that I like doing slasher films or anything, I mean I’ve only killed 150 plus people on several different continents.”
(Let’s Go! Fairhope and Larsen enjoyed a good laugh at this, as the artist – who is usually quite safety oriented – mused about once flying back from Kazakhstan with gory prop that caused quite a stir at US customs.)
3 Photos by Brock Larsen
A best-kept local secret is the fact that according to Bruce, “I actually really like doing smaller pieces related to the spontaneity”. “I don’t get out and push it, but yes, you can set up an appointment.”
According to the artist, creating individual, smaller pieces in-between his larger-than-life, months-in-the-making installations provides a quick sense of creative reward. Per Bruce, some of his “smaller, simpler pieces start in the hundreds and go up from there.”
To purchase your own piece, reach out to Bruce Larsen directly at brucelarsenart@gmail.com. Bruce or one of his family-team members will personally respond, and you might even get a glimpse behind-the-scenes of some upcycling happening right here in Fairhope, Alabama.
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