Tag / Upcycling

by Lailes

Revamp your Wardrobe and Save Money: Learn how to Upcycle your Old Clothes with Semsah

Do you have a pile of old clothes taking up space in your wardrobe? Instead of throwing them away or letting them collect dust, why not give them a second life with upcycling? Upcycling is a sustainable and budget-friendly way to revamp your wardrobe while reducing waste. 

What’s that you say, don’t know how or where to start? Don’t worry with help from Semsah, you can learn how to REVIVE, RESTORE, REDEEM, RENEW  and RE-USE old clothes

Semsah provides beginners with sewing tutorials, from mending, upcycling to making your own garments from old clothes. Founded by Sussana Mensah a fashion garment technologist, Semsah supports its sewing community through video, workshops and 1-2-1 coaching, guiding you through the process of becoming an expert

Joining Semsah is a good entry point for beginner sewists or those interested in learning how to sew, want to learn pattern making and want to make use of their old garments. If you want to learn how to upcycle your old clothes then join Semsah now and start your journey to sustainable fashion

Checkout the Semsah fashion on You Tube

For workshops or other services click HERE

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You might be wondering, “Why should I care about upcycling old clothes?” Well, here are the benefits:

Reducing Waste:Upcycling clothes helps reduce the amount of clothing waste that ends up in landfills.  According to a report by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), around 350,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK each year. This is equivalent to over 1 billion items of clothing, or 19 items per person.

In America, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans throw away over 10 million tons of clothing every year. By upcycling old clothes, we can reduce this waste and give our clothes a second life.

Saving money: Buying new clothes can be expensive, but upcycling old clothes is a budget-friendly alternative. With a little creativity and some basic sewing skills, you can turn your old clothes into stylish and unique new pieces, without spending a lot of money. Every little helps,especially at a time like this, where everyone’s cost of living has gone up.

Expressing creativity: Upcycling clothes allows you to express your creativity and personal style. By choosing your own fabrics, colours, and designs, you can create one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect your individual taste.

Improving sustainability: By upcycling clothes, we can reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Producing new clothes requires a lot of resources, including water, energy, and raw materials. Upcycling helps reduce this demand and promotes a more sustainable approach to fashion.

Supporting local businesses like Semsah: Many upcycling businesses and independent designers focus on creating unique and sustainable fashion pieces. By supporting these businesses, we can help promote local economies and support sustainable and ethical fashion practices

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So now that you know the benefits, let’s get to know Susanna Mensah, the founder of Semsah and her motivation behind starting it.

What is your background and why did you start this business

I have worked in the fashion industry for over 10 years as a fashion garment technologist. I work with buyers and designers to ensure brand vision and quality are maintained throughout the supply chain. This role has taught me that every garment has a story, a person that brings to life what is often disregarded and undervalued.

I created Semsah, as a platform to add value and appreciation for craftsmanship, through Revive – repair, Restore -revamp, Redeem – upcycle, Renew -dressmaking and everything else to prevent clothing going into landfills. 

Where does your passion and drive for this business stem from?

In 2012 I visited my family home in Ghana and saw the sheer volume of second hand clothing, which made me question where it all came from and where it all goes, when not sold.  This was answered in 2014 by BBC documentary  “This World 2014 The Secret Life of Your Clothes”. The documentary highlighted how clothes from charities end up in landfill sites in places like Ghana, when not sold. This impacts the local textile industry. 

This really opened my eyes and realised that as a consumer and worker in the fashion industry, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. 

Are there any innovations in the fashion industry that would help to reduce waste?

3D FASHION – I am currently working on a 3D pattern cutting system that can help reduce the amount of sampling we get through in the business and ensure customers get better fit when they purchase garments. In addition, you can buy the 3D designs as part of your wardrobe and have virtual garments. 

MADE TO MEASURE – There are companies that allow you to customise your design and make it to measure your size. 

RECYCLE FABRICS – H&M has announced that they will build a recycle machine to take back old garments and break down the textile to create new fabrics.  

CIRCULAR FASHION – This is a system where our clothing and personal belongings are produced through a more considered model: where the production of an item and the end of its life are equally as important. This system considers materials and production thoughtfully, emphasising the value of utilising a product right to the end, then going one step further and re-purposing it into something else. The focus is on the longevity and life cycle of our possessions, including designing out waste and pollution. Essentially, the “circular” comes as a response to previous economic and societal models that have been “linear” to date, and harmful on the planet along the way.

What are your future plans for the business?

Building my network of like minded people within my industry to join the mission and create a bigger impact of positive change. I also want to create more tutorials for beginner sewists and continue to provide the support they need to get started. 

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by Lailes

Upcycling for creative reuse

Yal-Art

Yal-Art is an Award-Winning Art brand started in 2019 by Founder Bertha Wensah, a self-taught prolific fabric artist born in Ghana and raised in the cosmopolitan city of London. The company was born out of her fascination of the vibrant fabrics of Ghana as well as her environmentally conscious attitude.

Yal means fabric in the language of MO, from Northern Ghana where Bertha’s parents come from. Bertha produces pochoir art. Pochoir, which is French for “Stencil” is distinguished from ordinary stencilling and is a highly refined technique of making limited edition prints. She uses fabrics to incorporate into the stencils to create individualised art work for all occasions.

As you can tell, Fabric is the overarching theme of every unique handmade piece of Art. Each piece of fabric is delicately and intricately fused into a design to create timeless art you can treasure or give as a gift.

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The company was created when Bertha started using fabrics ethically sourced from Ghana in addition to unwanted pieces of fabric from friends and family, to make art pieces. She quickly realised that she wanted to contribute positively to the environment, and therefore moved to purely using upcycled fabrics for creative reuse. “I find this to be sustainable for the business as it affords me the unique opportunity to contribute, in a small way to the environment”, says Bertha.

In 2019 Yal-Art won the BWB Award in the category of Business Start-Up of The Year. This was a great opportunity for the upcycle business, which was less than a year old at the time. In 2020 the business was rebranded with the new name Yal-Art. Art lovers can buy Yal-Art pieces directly from their online store or work with Bertha to commission one-of-a-kind art pieces, therefore allowing environmentally conscious art lovers to add a personal touch to create the final results.

Yal – Art

Do you have a creative process? If so, what is it?

I don’t have a creative process as such but work really well when the sun is out. I am able to work at my peak with natural lighting and the sun helps me feel relaxed and engaged. UK weather is so unpredictable that it makes it quite difficult sometimes, for me to work at my best. I am not a sun worshiper by the way, I worship the one who created the sun.

I think I may have that sad syndrome where I don’t do well during winter months but thrive tremendously during the summer and warmer months.

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How easy did (or do) you find selling your art? What made you decide to sell it?

I didn’t initially set out to sell my work. I created my first prototype for my brother as a gift. The first image I created was the map of Africa. I took a picture of it and posted on my WhatsApp status just to see what people thought. I didn’t tell anyone that I had created it at the time. I sent it to quite a few people in my contacts list to get their honest opinion and feedback.

The response was overwhelming and I decided to start an Instagram page to post images of my art. My brother and friends supported me to get the first company name and things just took off from there.

To date, I have sold my work through word of mouth, online via my website and through markets and exhibitions, that I have participated in. Friends and family also help but they don’t account for a large market.

What do you enjoy the most in your entrepreneurial journey?

I enjoy meeting new people along the journey, especially when I do markets or exhibitions. Learning new ways to do business and improve what I do and getting feedback from my customers.

How do you find and decide on which markets / exhibitions to participate in?

I have a few different ways of doing this.  A lot of market holders have reached out to me in the past to trade with them.

I also get recommendation from other business owners who have traded with a particular market and feel that it’s a good fit for my business. Therefore, I would reach out to those markets based on that feedback.

Sometimes it is as simple as coming across a sponsored ad on social media. I then follow up with the organisation in order to exhibit with them.

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Yal-Art

What about the operational side of the business, does this play a big part in your business?

I do everything (marketing, accounting) myself and I still work part-time for social services on top of that. Hence, it can be challenging juggling everything, however I purposely work part-time so that I can run the business. I still have a lot to learn in order to structure it properly so that I can make a real success of it. I constantly receive excellent reviews for my services and creations and I guess this is what won me my first Award in 2019 when the business was less than a year old

What is your most popular piece? Why do you think customers like it?

I don’t have just one popular piece because all my pieces are personalised, customers always have the opportunity to put their own personal touch on what they order making it unique to them.

What challenges have you faced so far and how have you dealt with them? 

I have faced multiple challenges as an entrepreneur. For example, I don’t drive and this weighed heavenly on my purse and physical health as I have often needed to travel to multiple markets or exhibitions for a period of time. Sometimes as far as Manchester, Luton etc.

Thank you for sharing your story on Black Business Blog!

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