About Us
At upcyclette we believe that style and substance go hand-in-hand. That's why we source beautifully crafted, cleverly designed and sustainably and ethically manufactured products from around the world. Every piece is made from upcycled material - be it vintage Swiss army blankets, retired German fire hoses, airlines' discharged life vests or castoff ringbinders. In short, we love awesome things from humble origins.
All of our designers share the belief that great design is even better if it’s using material someone else was going to throw away. They see beauty in the bashful, opportunity in the ordinary, and by turning it into something gorgeous and lasting – they ultimately avoid stuff going into landfill.
All products are well crafted and manufactured by the designers themselves, or by small businesses they commission the work to. We buy directly from them, without a middle man, so that designers and manufacturers get remunerated fairly and the people actually making the goods are paid a fair wage. You can feel the craftsmanship and passion which has gone into every single piece – each of which is unique.
Wearing them says you not only care about looks, but about our planet and the people living on it.
helveticus – from Törbel with love
The Helveticus range is made from vintage Swiss army blankets which were manufactured since 1900 and then stockpiled in bunkers by the Swiss army in preparation for a war which never came. When the army switched over to sleeping bags in the sixties, a clever cobbler named Titus Karlen started buying them to make bags and accessories in his old cobbler craft.
The felted wool blankets were the ideal material for his heavy duty bags - and the unique look soon became a firm favourite with design afficionados in Zurich, before they spread to Berlin, New York and Tokyo. Karlen’s philosophy is to use recycled materials throughout, apart from the zips and fasteners, everything that goes into the items is ex-army standard issue. Due to differences in the blankets, every piece is unique and colour variations have to be expected.
To this day every Helveticus product is handmade by the Karlen family business in the small village of Törbel in Switzerland. The Karlens employ 12 local women and are, as the biggest employer, a key factor for the economical survival of the tiny alpine community. These unique products contrast humbly with a consumer world which is dominated by transience and wastefulness – offering something genuine and lasting, which suits today’s urban environment just as much as the Swiss alps. » shop Helveticus
Feuerwear – Sturdy stunners made from old fire hoses
The Feuerwear range consists of bags, belts and wallets made from recycled fire hoses. Every Feuerwear product is a one-of-a-kind piece and has its own individual story to tell.
The base material for the Feuerwear products are fire hoses which had been used extensively by firefighters for many years. They were dragged through soot, grease and mud, in extreme heat and fire. The hoses are being scrubbed clean before they are cut to size and handcrafted using high-quality materials to make sturdy, one-of-a-kind products - ready and able to accompany you through your own active duty every day. Recycling is only one aspect of Feuerwear’s commitment to sustainable development. They compensate for the CO2 produced by the shipping of the products, and all of their production is done in Europe in small family-run shops with fair working conditions and wages.
The Feuerwear brand, which was founded by the Klüsener brothers in Cologne in 2005, has been a massive success throughout Europe and is today distributed via more than 300 outlets. » shop Feuerwear
ad:acta – Ring binders just got sexy
The German ad:acta label turns castoff ringbinders into an elegant and surprising range of bags. The designers Carsten Fichtel and Tobias Förtsch manage to breath new life into that humble old office staple, which seems to be on the verge of extinction in the face of the digital office. And what a glamorous new life the ring binders get!
The range comes in various colors and designs, and A4 and A5 sizes. With up to three pockets, the inside of all bags is kept clean, simple and highly functional. A 13'' laptop fits just as comfortably into the bag as an iPad or the like. Both, the original label, and the individual marble pattern on its outside, make every ad:acta bag one of a kind. ad:acta unites three key features: recycling, fine materials, and passion for detail. Each ring binder is carefully selected, cleaned from its metal rings, and coated against any weather and water. The ring binders then get stitched up with genuine leather in true German craftsmenship, and lined with durable fabric. All ad:acta bags continue to be handmade in Bavaria. » shop Ad:acta
Bag to Life – A new life for discharged life vests
In a perfect match of design and sustainability, BagToLife creates an absolutely stunning range of bags and accessories made from discharged life vests. Every 5 years, airlines are obliged to replace their life vests, which dutifully sit under every passenger’s seat but thankfully never ever get used. Now German studio Ehrensache rescue this sturdy and waterproof but extremely light fabric from going to waste when its time comes – and instead turn it into something truly unique. While BagToLife products retain all the original features of a life vest – yellow colour with original print, whistle, pull cord and mouth piece for example – they of course no longer save lives. Unless your life depends on looking shit hot and standing out from the crowd that is.
On top of being sustainably produced and looking awesome, the BagToLife project has also helped to revive the textile industry in the battered Oberfranken region – creating jobs in small businesses which manufacture the bags. » shop Bag to Life
Vuerich B – Sunglasses made from skateboards
Vuerich B is the brainchild of brothers Gianni and Baptiste Vuerich, who started the label in Barcelona in 2011 – and their genius idea is to upcycle old skateboards into what we think are the coolest sunglasses on earth. The plied maple wood of skateboards makes for an incredibly strong yet flexible material, and the colours of the different plies are the basis to make every piece unique. Each pair is hand made.
When you hold one of The Vuerich B glasses, you can literally feel the craft andattention to detail which has gone into them. The hinges for example are custom made, to match the robustness of the rest of the glasses. Vuerich B only uses highest quality Zeiss CR39 cat 3 lenses. And obviously the two brothers’ eye for great design shows when you look at the 3 different shapes they have come up with – Transition, Rad and Cruisin.
When it comes to wooden sunglasses Vuerich B shades stand tall with the fact that each piece is one-of-a-kind, they are super robust, they are unmatched in terms of finish, and – well – they used to be skateboards! » shop Vuerich B