For the month of February, Remaki is taking over some of the windows at the Fairfield Library at 121 Station Street, Fairfield, Victoria.

The display features some recent examples of upcycled textiles, including:

• bunting made from doilies – tutorial
• a sari into a top
• one of my recent tablecloth tops – tutorial
• bags made from second hand skirts, bits of an waxed canvas tent, some karate belts and a bathmat
• cushion covers made from a wool cardigan, jeans, a dyed linen tablecloth and part of a hand-embroidered dress.

The display is timed to coincide with an exhibition inside the library featuring finalists of the recent Fairfield Village Greening Thread Lightly op-shopping competition.

The competition aims to promote the creative possibilities of second-hand shopping as a means of tackling overconsumption and fast fashion.

Australia has become the world’s highest consumer of textiles per capita, surpassing the United States of America in 2024. Australians purchase an average of 56 new clothing items annually, with other 200,000 tonnes of clothing sent to landfill ANNUALLY. (Sorry for the caps, sometimes it gets too much and I need to type-shout.)

Just for reference, the Hot or Cool Institute recommends five new items per year as the maximum we should be sticking to, if we want to live sustainably.

I hope the content of these windows sparks inspiration, ignites a train of thought, or piques the curiosity of passers-by and how we can harness creativity to reduce waste.