Episode 415 – A Declutterer’s Guide to Upcycling with Brenda Tasker

Ingrid: Today, we're exploring upcycling, something we've never covered on the podcast before. So I'm looking forward to learning more about how it fits into the decluttering process. I'm joined today by Brenda Tasker, a professional upcycler who transforms old and unwanted furniture into beautiful new pieces.

We're going to be talking about how upcycling sits alongside decluttering, how it encourages creativity and sustainability, and why it can completely change the way you look at the things you already own, including when upcycling isn't the right answer

Ingrid: Hello and welcome listeners. I'm Ingrid.

Lesley: And I am Lesley. Now, if you are here for the very first time today, or you've been listening in for ages, we want to say a huge thank you we have a little favour to ask.

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hello and welcome, Brenda. Thank you so much for being here on the podcast. I've never spoken to a professional upcycler before, so I'm excited about our conversation

Brenda: Ingrid thank you so much for the invite I'm super

Ingrid: Oh,

Brenda: too

Ingrid: great. Now for, the eagle-eyed listeners among us, Brenda is originally from South Africa, if I'm correct. I'm from the Netherlands. So if you're thinking, "Wow, lots of different accents," that is why. But you now live here in the UK, Brenda?

Brenda: I do I live in rural Hampshire and what's quite amusing is that when I'm hearing you talk I'm converting my language to say ya instead of yeah So it's interesting that I've already swapped over to a ya not a

Ingrid: Exactly.

Brenda: Yeah I'm in lovely rural

Ingrid: Ex- nice.

Brenda: Very fortunate

Ingrid: It is beautiful there. That is absolutely true. Now, you have come acro- on our path via a very interesting link because one of our members who's in our Inner Hub membership actually, had a piece transformed by you and she said, "Ingrid, it was such a satisfying process and I would love, I think it would be fantastic for you to have Brenda on the podcast."

And I reached out to you and we just hit the ground running chatting and we thought, oh, we could have recorded the podcast now, but never mind, we're gonna do it officially now. because she pointed us out to you and realised we've never really talked about upcycling. I know I think some people have dabbled into kind of, oh, let me get a piece from the charity shop and gi- tr- give this a try myself, but you are really, you've made a whole business out of this, right?

So let's start at the beginning. What is upcycling exactly?

Brenda: So Ingrid I would say upcycling is taking a piece of furniture you already have so it's an existing piece that maybe your great-grandmother had or maybe it's your dad's desk And what I find happens with all my clients is they have this piece of furniture sitting in the garage it's collecting dust the bats are pooping on it's just there But they don't wanna throw it away because it's got a sentimental value to them So it doesn't necessarily have a financial value but it's just important to them and they don't know what to do with it but they don't wanna throw it away And that's where I come in So I'm taking that old desk that's the handles are falling off it's a super dark black-brown piece and I'm modernizing them working with the client and creating a piece that fits in their home And they're still sitting at their dad's desk or they're still taking their china off their great-grandmother's Welsh dresser and it's important because they know that their granny or their dad or their mom touched this piece of furniture and that's what's exciting about It's not about buying a new piece which has no memory It's about having a piece which already exists and using it in your own home which is

Ingrid: So what's the difference then between restoring so- re- upcycling something and restoring something?

Brenda: So I was having a look at the difference between upcycling and recycling and really that's one of the same thing Upcycling and restoring are s are completely interlinked So I would say 80 percent of the furniture that comes to me there's something a bit tattered with it Maybe the drawer's fallen out or there's a piece of molding which has come off or the leather is peeled up and it's about most of the pieces have to have some restoration done on it before I can even start upcycling it before I can even start creating it So there's a lot of restoration Some pieces are really a lot worse for wear but it's incredible what you can do As long as the bones of the piece are good and the structure is good I can create from very little

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: which

Ingrid: is fab So basically restoring is m- bringing it back to its former glory, and upcycling is actually then changing it so it fits maybe in the current house a little bit better?

Brenda: that's actually a really good definition So I'll have a piece of furniture where the client

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: it restored They want it back the way they remember it as a child and sometimes I need to do a bit of restoration and then create on it So yeah there's two different sides of things Some a lot of the legs fall off I do quite a bit of upholstery and they get a saggy bottom because maybe the painter stood on it and he's put his foot right through it So some of it is just restoration and some is restoration and upcycling and creating

Ingrid: So it must-- but so does that mean you see like potential in everything because of, or people think... So can, can you restore everything or upcycle everything then? Maybe it's a better question

Brenda: That's a good question I would say that I say yes to everything Ingrid I There's very little that I say no to So pieces really do arrive and I look at them and I think gosh maybe the the family should have just let it stay in the loft maybe but I know it's important to the client so I will figure out how I can make it better So I just have that attitude and do you know what It always works out I will brainstorm I'll involve my husband and my sister who are involved in upcycling as well and we'll come up with a plan that'll work for the client and that's achievable for me But I'll be honest there are some times where I look at a piece and just think This is beyond repair And then I will be honest with the client that I personally can't do anything with it and I can recommend them to maybe somebody

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: could So I am also honest about my skillset

Ingrid: yeah. let's then start a little bit because it's quite interesting how you started this, right? You started this whole business by accident, right?

Brenda: I did I was down at a market and I saw a friend delivering a truckload of furniture to this antiques shop And I said to him Oh that's really pretty And he said Oh do you want it And I went Oh yes I do And then he said to me I've got a whole truckload of stuff Do you want anything else And I was like Yes I was like a child in a candy store So he came round to my house dropped off about six pieces I did them up I put them onto different forums to sell and they sold And I thought Ooh So this encompassed wood I love wood I grew up with a father who did a lot of woodwork the painting side of it which I love creating and it's the problem-solving And most importantly other option was taking it to landfill Literally whatever I didn't take in that truck was going down to the skip and it was being thrown away which was I thought was just sacrilegious cause it's beautiful furniture Yes it's dark brown almost black wood People don't want the dark brown colors right now in people's homes they are light white creamy beautiful refreshed pieces So that's how I started was by accident It was a chance meeting with someone and it just grew from there and it's become a

Ingrid: So do you now still save, do you save yourself like pieces of furniture from skips? Can you go past a skip and not have a sneaky look inside to see if there's anything there?

Brenda: Ingrid I'm not gonna turn the camera but you do not want to see the room I'm sitting in This looks beautiful Oh it's all so tidy behind me There's nothing there Trust me if I turned this camera you will be I wouldn't say horrified but I can see probably seven pieces of furniture I'm a bit like a magpie so I do see things and I just think Ooh yes I get really excited And then I have a lot of people calling me you know when their parents have passed away and they ask me Can I gift you the furniture Can you give you the furniture And even if I don't use it I'll then put it onto different free forums so people can come and use it So I'll give it a wash tidy it up and then I'll give it away for free So I'm finding that the joy in getting five pieces I may not keep anything but it only gonna take me 30 minutes to tidy them up and then re-gift them to someone who really cannot afford to buy them and there's incredible joy in doing that as well So yeah determined that nothing goes into landfill I'm a yeah is what we all need to be doing frankly trying to avoid

Ingrid: Yeah, and I think that's most of the time the secondary feeling behind it, right? So first of all, it's the memories that are attached to pieces that people would love to see preserved and that people would love to treasure. But on the other hand, it's also oftentimes all that beautiful furniture that in principle nobody wants, we think nobody wants, that ends up in landfill while we then go out and buy furniture that's so much more cheaper and, mass-produced that's oft- often

not as well quality.

It's, it must be, for you

Brenda: I

Ingrid: a very tremendous sense of, gr- yeah, gratification that you can do this

Brenda: Yeah And also I feel I don't know if proud is the right word but I feel proud that I can make a bit of a difference I know my impact is not huge I'm not a politician making any great changes but in my little community with my 30 40 mile radius I'm making a change within my radius And sometimes And I know right now Ingrid there's so much happening in the world and I just feel Oh my God I'm not doing anything and I get quite emotional about the fact that I'm not making greater impact And I've gotta keep coming back that I'm making a literal impact that literally furniture's not being thrown away And I know it's not life-changing but it's important to the people that I'm doing the furniture for So often somebody will gift me a piece of furniture I'll do it up and I'll either sell it or re-gift it but then I send that person a photo going This is what I did with your granny's wardrobe joy that it gives me to send that photograph and the amazing reaction I get from someone going Oh my gran would have loved that or my dad or my mum or my auntie that for me is super heartfelt So and the joy is Ingrid I'm doing something that's making a bit of a change in my local community and with furniture but I'm also getting paid And let's be honest it is about earning an income and right now I am earning an income So for me it's a win-win situation I get to be creative the whole day Yes my makeup and hair is done I have a clean white shirt on This is not normal But I actually got dressed up but this is not what I normally look like Normally I'm covered in paint and my hands are covered in paint and I love it I get to go shower in the evening and go Oh black paint I painted that piece Blue paint I painted something else You know I can look at my arms and think I've had a good day I've got sawdust in my hair It's been productive It

Ingrid: yeah.

Brenda: good

Ingrid: was this always a hobby for you? you mentioned that you, always loved woodworking. So was it mainly from your dad who taught you all the skills, or are you self-taught? how did you get all the knowledge? And, you do a lot more than woodworking alone, right?

Brenda: Yeah So my background is more I love textiles I love fabrics I was a costume designer used to be a belly dancer for a while which has no connection with woodwork at all but it has a connection with fabric and the joy of color This just evolved I grew up in a household where my dad was very practical my mom's practical We created and ma made as children and we had the joys of not having iPhones and all that sort of thing So if you're bored go figure something out to do So fortunate I think we're in the age group where our lives childhoods were much more wonderful possibly than children of today my furniture just I figured it out watched YouTube channels I followed different furniture artists you know I again I just give it a go If it doesn't work you sand it down and you start again So if you've got solid bones and you've got a good piece of solid wood furniture unlike as you said the mass-produced stuff you can just keep sanding So if it doesn't work out the colors don't work I start again So that's the joy of older pieces of furniture Modern furniture you can't do that Thin veneers you sand it once and then that you're done you can't sand it again So I try to avoid modern furniture for that exact reason but sometimes I do get mass-produced pieces I'm hesitant to do them but if the client really wants me to do them I will But I would always try offer a better alternative as in an older piece of furniture

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: it's more durable

Ingrid: So why do you think it is that older pieces are so much better? Was the wood better or was it because it was all handcrafted or wha- what's the, deal?

Brenda: I think it's a combination but definitely the wood I think what we're seeing in modern furniture is a lot of MDF it's plywood it's laminate it's very thin veneers where old furniture is a solid piece of wood So you can bump it you can damage it's still there It's there literally 200 years later and I've worked on pieces that are 200 years Once it's done up that piece of furniture will last 500 years cause it's not going anywhere The joy is that sometimes I'll get a piece like I got a piano the other day and you could see where somebody over the years had it with rings and stuff and I said to the client Do you want me to make it new or do you want me to keep all these little nicks and dents in it And she said No I want the damage cause that shows its history its past life

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: wonderful when somebody doesn't want me to sand it so it looks brand new But it's different choices for different

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: so I'm open to

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: what the

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: wants

Ingrid: So you got a big woodworking background, but you also now paint the furniture, right? And not only paint it in a color, you also use something like stenciling or how, or is it all, or is it all by, by imagination or how does that work?

Brenda: So what I tend to do is I tend to meet up with a client or if I'm just creating a piece just for me to sell into sell in my shop I use a number I try imagine what I want the piece to look like that's in keeping with the style of the furniture So if it's a mid-century modern I'm not gonna go florals and pretty and pink cause it doesn't suit the style of the furniture So it's very much finding what works with that piece of furniture So if it's got beautiful queen Anne legs which are nice and curvy the piece of furniture's gonna be sympathetic my design's gonna be sympathetic to the piece of furniture So I love color I find it You know if somebody just wants cream furniture I'm thinking Oh there's so much more you can do than just paint everything white So I try encourage people to put a little bit of color or put some stencils or let me do some hand-drawn art me paint fish on them Let me get creative And sometimes people just don't know so there's a little bit of steering there Ingrid just trying to give people options and just to be a little bit more adventurous But white furniture's okay but sometimes I'll hide a stencil on the side of the drawer or in the back of the wardrobe just to make it a bit more exciting

Ingrid: I love it. I love it. okay, I wanna know more because of course, when you think about upcycling, it can be of course a slippery slope. So let's have a little break and I wanna talk some more to, Brenda about upcycling and all the fantastic things that she's doing. So see you soon

hi, everyone. Welcome back. I'm chatting to Brenda, a professional upcycler. How cool is that? But Brenda, let's be honest here.

You are a professional. You, of course, you've honed your skills over the years. You have, you have a woodworking background, you are creative, you've used to work with fabrics. But of course, I've seen many a times that I come into my clients' houses when I help them decluttering, their home, that they're like, "Oh, yeah, no, I've got a piece of furniture here that I'm thinking about giving a, new paint job," or, "Yes, I saw this in a charity shop and I thought, let me upcycle this," and this is, the attempt that went wrong.

So can maybe... B- because I can s- you know, p- people who have a lot of clutter see possibility, right? So just like with clothing, we s- we think, "Oh, we'll put it on Vinted," and then I find six bags full of clothing that have never made it onto Vinted and are still are in the cupboards in the spare room.

Can really upcycling also kinda become a way of thinking, "Oh, I'm not gonna get rid of that because I can upcycle it myself, and I can do all of this myself," and do you see people getting stuck on that and then kinda thinking they have more skills than... Because you need a few skills to upcycle, right?

This is not something you can do on a Saturday afternoon and, think that you can create this glorious thing. You are creating magnificent pieces, but it's not for the faint-hearted, right?

Brenda: I think Ingrid I think what happens what I see often happens with clients they'll have that great big wardrobe or the headboard and I think what often happens is people start off too big So if you were gonna do anything in life you wouldn't make a ballgown the first time you attempted make doing sewing You'd

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: apron You know you just make something that's a little bit simpler So my advice would be honestly to start small a secondhand or a free piece of a little bedside table sand it down do paint it varnish it Start small and then grow when your confidence grows So there are furniture upcyclers in every state throughout the world there are furniture upcyclers A lot of them run furniture upcycling courses I run a course I do a weekend one I do Saturdays I do Sundays whatever and spend a day with a professional and learn all the skills And I'm so excited when people come to me and spend a day with me and then go on and do more furniture because that's the goal I want people to give it a go learn it and then start upcycling because if there's 10 people upcycling in my local area that means 10 more pieces are not going in landfill So the more people can learn the skill the less gets thrown away So that would be my advice is start a bit smaller It is completely learnable Yes you do need to buy some equipment but you could probably borrow it or hire it I am so gracious and so generous with my stuff If somebody steps away and they go Oh they don't have a sander I said Come and spend a Saturday with me Bring me a pastry or a cake and you can spend the day with me That's all the reward or payment I want because I just am chuffed that they're not gonna throw something away So I would certainly source local for furniture upcycling courses Learn the skills it Or if you don't wanna spend any money because obviously those cost money go online Ingrid the so many upcyclers that have You have YouTube videos Facebook Just follow somebody Pick a few people that are in your local area and phone them for advice People are very happy to The industry wants you

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: throw away so we

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: help each other because we don't want you to throw that piece of furniture away you know if you can

Ingrid: Yeah, And I think it's also being realistic with yourself. Is this just

Brenda: Yeah

Ingrid: a whim that I'm doing this? And of course, by all means, give it a go, but let's be realistic as well. Is this something like that you suddenly think on a Saturday, "Oh, this sounds like fun," but also then realising that it's not probably a Saturday afternoon project.

It's something that's probably gonna take multiple goes and changes, and you need equipment, and you need all of the things. So you probably need to be, have a, an ounce of realism to yourself and go, "Is this actually something that I really wanna do? Is this something that I can do?

Brenda: Yes

Ingrid: I got the skills for it?

Am I willing to learn? Or is this going to end up like another unfinished thing that I haven't done, and then feel bad about it that I didn't finish it?" So I think that it's a fine line to walk, isn't it? it's the same, like I mentioned before, the people who wanna sell on Vinted make bags and bags full of clothes, and then never get around to selling it because they realise to actually sell something, you have to photograph it, you have to list it, you have to decide on a price, you have to put it in a bag, you have to bring it to the post office.

So there's a whole time situation around it. So I completely agree about saving as much good furniture from landfill as we can, but I also want the listeners to be realistic and honest with themselves. Is this something... for, for me, I will never upcycle. I, know that. I don't have a creative bone in my body.

I'm very good at decluttering, but I would not be happy with a sander and a paintbrush bec- And I, but there's loads of people who are, and who are creative, and who would love this process, and would love to watch YouTube fil- films, and love to go to your workshop and, explore that side. But you need space to upcycle, right?

If your house, your whole house is cluttered, you need to have space to do this, to upcycle.

Brenda: Yeah I think the example you've just given Ingrid is a really good example about selling on Vinted because there's I would say probably 70 of the work gets done

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: the scenes doesn't it Before you even get to the point of sale And it's the same with a piece of furniture I think when people come to a furniture workshop spend I would say four of the six hours p probably prepping and preparing the furniture to paint So I think there's this bit of naivety around it that you get the piece of furniture you give it a wash and then you paint it you don't prep it and spend the hours getting the varnish off and then you paint it in two days time two weeks time or two months time the paint will just

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: and then you're so despondent You think Ah then I'll throw it away cause now I've ruined it and it's about watching the videos and learning that it's all about preparation which I think covers so many things in life doesn't It's not It's even decluttering your home It's a work out where am I gonna put all of This is not just about emptying your wardrobe

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: look like And it's the same with furniture is they're taking a piece you gotta get it ready for painting The painting's the fun bit Oh my word That's the best bit But you've gotta do the three-quarters of the work to get to

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: of painting it And I think maybe that's sometimes people miss out that important step before

if you've only got a small space, you could just sit at your dining room table, even if you've got a smaller piece like a, little bedside table or ... and a little occasional table that you put a cup of tea or coffee on. You don't need great big spaces. Or if you have the pleasure of having an outdoor space, you could go sit in your courtyard or on the lawn and just sand. The messy bit is the sanding, so ideally you want somewhere where you can do a little bit of mess, a vacuum cleaner can clean anything. So if

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: could work in your home. As I say, don't go for great big pieces. You don't need to do a huge big wall dresser or a four-door wardrobe. Go for something smaller.

Start small. That would be my

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: Ingrid

Ingrid: Yeah. And I would also probably, if people have multiple pieces in the loft or in their basement or in their garage, how do they decide which one is the best to use? How d- because they can't do all of them at the same time, right? You're gonna have to choose the quality over the quantity, but how would you decide what the best one is?

Brenda: I think that you need to work out what do you need in your home? So if you're in the process of decluttering and you don't have enough storage space and you've got a bookshelf, then that's the piece you should be working so- on. So I think about identifying what you work on. If you do work from home and you're currently sitting on your lap with your iPad on your lap, and you do have your

a desk or console sitting in your garage from a sentimental piece, then that's the piece. Go with the piece which you're gonna find is practical and it's gonna work in your home. So I agree with you. There's no point doing a great big dining room table if you don't have a dining room.

Y- the piece has to work in your own home. But I

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: a bit of brainstorming and having a chat to friends and family and saying, "How can I reuse this?" I think this actually works on really well, it goes on to repurposing. So often people have lovely writing bureaus. I don't know about in Holland, but in the UK people have writing bureaus. Grannies, grandparents had writing bureaus. A writing bureau doesn't have to be a writing bureau, 'cause nowadays people do not sit down at a table and write. They're using their computer. But a writing bureau could be a beautiful drinks cabinet. Now, a lot of people like a gin and tonic a brandy or a whiskey.

Repurpose it. It's about

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: an existing piece of furniture and finding another life for it. What else could that piece of furniture do? How else could it best serve you? And that's quite exciting. So yes, it's not ... It doesn't have its original purpose, but it can do something else. And I think that's about figuring out what's gonna fit in your home, then work on that thing to solve a problem.

Solve

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: I think is probably most people's is where

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: put stuff? And a writing bureau holds your glasses, holds your alcohol. Second drawers, you put your napkins in it, you can put your, linen for your table. So it solves a lot of storage issues as well

Ingrid: Yeah. I love that. I love that. Now, we've talked a lot about furniture, Brenda, but you also have another secret skill, that, you are doing because you actually repair and restore teddy bears as well, right?

Brenda: do. I do. I don't know about other countries, but the British love their teddy bears. grew up in South Africa. We didn't really have that connection to soft toys. I don't know why it was, but the Brits ... I think a lot of ... there's a lot of very, popular brands of teddy bears, like Germany and stuff, there's a lot of brands. bring me these delightful teddy bears and vintage toys that are faceless, Ingrid. They're ... Something ... A, a dog has pulled off its poor nose, it no longer has ears. So I'm taking these wonderful sentimental pieces, these pieces that they had as children, these ladies and men are now in their 80s and they've got photographs of them holding a teddy bear when they're a baby and the teddy bear's bigger than them. And I get to completely restore a teddy bear. So I love fabric, I love wood. So again, this is a combinate, combining one of my passions, is again, not being thrown away. It's gonna be held on for next generations and be passed on that was their great-grandmother's teddy bear. That's what she used to play with. I get to repair, restore, just bring a smile to someone's face when the teddy bear goes back to them. honestly, Ingrid, if you want tears, sit in a room with me when somebody comes to pick up a, their childhood teddy bear, 'cause honestly, that's a tearjerker in itself, 'cause it's so exciting and heartfelt.

It's so heartwarming just

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: to create a piece that's beautiful again. And I'm not ... teddy bears that have no fur left, so it's not about me changing what the teddy bear looks like, but I'm just making sure the head is now on and their paws and their arms are now attached. So it's not ... It will never look like a new teddy bear, but it's refreshed and it's gonna last another 20, 50 years with arms and things that are not gonna fall off.

So that's exciting as well,

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: bears.

Ingrid: Yeah.

It must be super satisfying for you to being able to do that for other people. whether it's furniture or the teddy bears, there's a whole just warm feeling, right? that of course me and Lesley get from helping people to declutter, because you can see I'm s- feeling so much better now I have less stuff.

But you do it in a different way. You actually, make sure that you save things from landfill.

Brenda: Yeah

Ingrid: make sure that you restore the pieces that are really meaningful and that actually you can work with. But it gives that fantastic feeling, right? That you are helping somebody else. And of course, you, we ha- you know, you charge for it, of course, because it's your job.

it's not a, it's not a hobby. But the satisfying feeling that you must get must be in, it is so nice

Brenda: I honestly say, Ingrid, which it sounds like the same passion that you have for what you're doing,

the greatest

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: The great- yes, financial, of course we all need to earn an income. I'm not in a

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: to do not earn an income. But the joy, I suppose it comes down to almost a selfish thing.

This makes me feel good,

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: making me feel good, then I'm gonna continue to do it. So I can

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: selective. If I meet someone and I just don't, I don't have that feeling that I, don't connect with that person, I think I've become more and more spiritual as I'm going through menopause, if I feel that somebody is just

there isn't a good feeling about it, then I do actually say no to people. Because the

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: is if it doesn't bring me joy, and I ... then I won't do it. I'll be as

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: that. I'm not going to spend five hours on your piece of furniture if I don't have a connection with you. 'Cause for me it's also about making new friends building relationships, and I feel that I'm part of the product.

So the product isn't the piece of furniture or the teddy bear. I feel that I'm the product, and if you like me, you're gonna keep coming back to me.

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: five years down the line you're gonna come back to me, say, "Oh, Brenda, you did this. Can you do this for my daughter? Can you create a piece of furniture?" That is fantastic when somebody, literally four years later says, "Oh, do you

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: me?" And I've got a rubbish memory, so I'm going, "Of course I do. Don't necessarily remember you," so I go back and look at my notes and see what I did do for them. But it's about creating a relationship, isn't it?

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: I want. I want to create relationships, and I want

Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah.

Brenda: to be inspired by what I do so that they say to somebody else, "Oh, don't throw that away. Give it to Brenda. She'll fix it or she'll re-home it." So I'm very happy just to re-home furniture as well. Give it to

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: I will find somebody who wants that piece of furniture.

Ingrid: Now, you mentioned there are people like you all over the world. So if, for example, somebody lives in Canada or Spain, or w- random France, it doesn't matter, w- what would they, would, do they just look for professional upcycler in my area? i- is that... Okay

Brenda: simple as that. It's typing into Instagram or Facebook and say, furniture or upcycled furniture or painted furniture, sustainable furniture, and all those hashtags and that will come up and you'll find someone local. And guaranteed there'll be somebody probably in your village you were completely oblivious to.

There's somebody around, and I think all upcyclers are more than willing to share information. I'm very happy for somebody just to call me and have a chat because it means I can teach you something and you can go ahead and do it yourself, and it's so empowering, isn't it, Ingrid, to

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: yourself?

And somebody walks in and goes, "Oh, I l- I love your bedside tables." You go, "Yeah, I painted them. I'm so proud of myself." And that's the exciting bit because we grow up that you're not allowed to brag. I think brag has always got this negative connotation. But, sometimes you just wanna go, "I did that.

I'm so ex- I'm so proud of myself that I did that."

Ingrid: Yeah.

Brenda: make people excited and want to show off what they've created, that's great for your own mental health, isn't it? you

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: the compliments and it all just rolls on, and then that person gets enthused and excited to do something. So it's about being contagious, that it just rolls on down the line, then you have lots of wonderful things happening. But yeah,

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: do share. I think sh- furniture upcyclers, they, want to save things, so we are happy and willing and always want to teach people so that you don't throw something away

Ingrid: I, totally love it. I think it's absolutely amazing, and I think it can be such a lovely part of when you're decluttering. Because decluttering is not about just randomly throwing everything away. It's really choosing what's the quality over the quantity. What are the pieces that make me happy, that give me that warm, fuzzy feeling inside?

Get rid of all the stuff that's not important, and then make space for the stuff that is. And of course, furniture can be a big part of that. So thank you so much. Now

Brenda: welcome

Ingrid: if people wanna see some of your amazing work, what is the best place they can go? If they just wanna kinda go, "I would love to know the, what p- painting Brenda does," where do they, where can they go to find out more?

Brenda: So I love it if people stalk me. Stalk away. so I'm, I've changed my business name to The Hampshire Workbench. Hampshire is the county I live in, and I literally have a workbench, so that's, where I'm working from.

thehampshireworkbench.co.uk.

Ingrid: Yeah

Brenda: and I'd love people to follow me and ask me questions, and I can, show you the direction of where to go to.

I can tell you where your local upholsterer is. I've got a big network, so I can say, "Oh, this lady's great. This guy's great. Use this. This is cheaper. There's a sale on here." So yeah, if you wanna follow me, that would be wonderful

Ingrid: I love it. thank you so much. It's been absolute pleasure, and I think what we've really learned here, listeners, is that it... There's a fine line between, wanting to do everything and wanting to start with bigger pieces. Start small if you wanna attempt it yourself. Also, be realistic if this is something that doesn't float your boat, but there's a piece of furniture that you love and you wanna restore, that there are people out there who can do this for you, like Brenda, who are professional upcyclers.

And, it's wonderful that we can keep the environment in mind as well. But this is not your free pass to just hold onto everything and all, everything in your house, but it's indeed finding that joy and finding that space in your house to let those pieces of furniture shine, and yeah, to make it work for the future and to make it work for your home.

It's no longer your... the, chair or the, bed or the dresser or whatever from your nan or from your aunt. It's now from you, and you are in charge of what happens with this piece of furniture, and you can make it work for you in your home. So thank you, Brenda, so much for being here. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.

I can imagine loads of people are super enthusiastic. This will not be me, but I am in awe of everything that you're sharing on your Instagram and on your Facebook page and on your, website. I've been looking at it, thinking, "That looks utterly amazing." So well done, you. Absolutely fantastic, and thank you for sharing

Brenda: Oh, thank you for your time and thank you for such a joyful, fun conversation. Thank you, Ingrid

Ingrid: Take care, Brenda