Second time around

Brut Cake: The designer uses recycled materials to create innovative furniture. Photo provided to Shanghai Star

Arts reborn

Some designers have seen the potential in old clothes and have turned recycled materials into handcraft.

Three years ago, Taiwan designer Nicole Teng established the brand Brut Cake for her handmade creations in Shanghai. She opened her first showroom one year later. All of her handmade creations are made from discarded, old items, such as broken chairs and cloth. She transforms the old things into something totally different.

"I love articles that have traces of history and soul. Their usefulness far exceeds what we imagine. They look great and deserve something more than being destined for the dump," says Teng.

"Also, I found the philosophy of recycling comforting. Consumers will feel happy if they purchase such a piece because it's not plastic and won't be a burden to the earth," she says.

One of Teng's iconic designs is a chair that she re-modeled from an antique chair she bought at a flea market.

"We kept the frame of the chair and renewed it by polishing the wood and giving it a completely new look. Each of the antique chairs has a different personality, lazy, obese or staggering like an old man. New furniture will never have such feelings," she says.