#upcycled creative

A reconditioned piston and arm with a fitted quartz clock face.

Height: 25cm x Width: 10cm.

12 Months Warranty.

Ever wondered what paint to use to achieve that vintage charm?

For those of you that get great satisfaction out of doing your very own upcycling, you may have already used an Autentio paint to achieve that fresh vibrant look. It's a great chalk paint that's used to give furniture that vintage charm.

There are also other paint products that you can use for any exterior projects you want to give that upcycled vibe and if you fancy giving your indoor walls a bit of a makeover, they have a range of wall paints too.

Upcycled Creative have been using Autentico paints for many years now, and we think they're great! So much so, that we've decided to stock them for purchase by our customers. We know that so many people enjoy giving old furniture a new lease of life, but without losing it's original sparkle, however, we still get asked for recommendations as to how this can be achieved.

For anyone that's never upcycled before, using the wrong paint for a first project can be enough to make you feel defeated and unsatisfied with the results. It can also be pretty devastating if you decided to get creative with an old family heirloom, only to wind up with a result that brings you to tears if the wrong products are used. 

That's why we want to point potential upcyclers and those already getting in on the action to Autentico.

For the newbies of you out there, you may also be interested in the fact that we are currently putting together some furniture painting courses for 2018. We'll have more news on those in the up and coming weeks. We're really excited about them!

Keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook and Twitter pages, where we'll share more information on these courses. But for now, if you are interested in seeing the range of products from Autentico that we have to offer, pop in to see us, or visit our website for more information. 

For the gin lovers out there, and we know there are a lot of you, on Saturday 10th June it is World Gin Day!  That's right a whole day dedicated to the 'love of gin'.

All over the world, lovers of the botanical quencher are celebrating with cocktails or just a straight forward G&T. Not that an excuse is needed for this delicious refreshment, but why not join in the celebrations?

Many bars across the UK are taking part, so you can expect some exciting concoctions on the drinks menu and if you would like to get involved yourself, you can find out how by visiting the website. 

Of course, we'll be making the most out of the leftover bottles and getting a little creative.

You can see more of our bottle inspired lighting in our gallery

What's your favourite gin cocktail? Perhaps you like a specific type of gin due to the design of the bottle? There are so many on offer these days and with clever marketing the glass design is getting more and more creative. Which is great! It gives us more interesting items to upcycle!

You can get involved with World Gin Day on Twitter, using the hashtag #WorldGinDay. You can also share with us at Upcycled Creative your pictures of how you're celebrating the occasion @reupcycled or by visiting our Facebook page 

Upcycled Creative are located in the lovely surroundings of Markeaton Park in Derby.

Our workshop in the Craft Village is a great place to come and visit. You can see what we are up to if you happen to be stopping by for a cuppa or an ice cream in the park cafe, or maybe visiting many of the other crafty businesses located in our lovely courtyard.

On June 17th/18th there is also another exciting reason to come and visit because 'The Big Bake' is taking place brought to you as part of The Great Food and Drink Festival.

For fans of The Great British Bake Off, this might be right up your street as there will be a few of the star bakers and winners attending to share a few demos.

You can find out more about it here. 

We're sure that Markeaton Park will be 'abuzz' with activity during the event and we would love for you to pop in and say hello to us during your visit. 

Maybe you could think about upcyling a cake stand for the occasion? I'm sure you won't walk away without a tasty baked treat, so why not create something fun to present your purchase on and then share with us your creations.

Get in touch with us via our Facebook page or Twitter and share with us your baking inspired upcycled creations.

On 19th March many people across the UK took part in 'National Clear your Clutter Day'

Households were encouraged to be ruthless and get rid of as much of their clutter as possible and perhaps in the process, make themselves a little bit of pocket money to put towards a holiday or even Christmas! (yes...we know it's early on in the year, but we know how it creeps up on us.)

 When you decide to have a 'clear out' it can be a bit of an emotional experience. There are many of our possessions that we know we have no use for any longer, but just can't bring ourselves to get rid of them. Many of these items carry sentimental value and can often be shoved away in a cupboard because they are broken. However, throwing them away is just not an option, so what can you do?

Have you thought about upcycling? 

Whatever size your personal treasure is, there is often a creative way to bring it back to life so that it's not just stuffed into the back of your loft, at the bottom of a very deep drawer or even in your garden shed.

Remember when we upcycled Rocky the Rocking Horse? We were able to bring a family heirloom back to life with a little TLC and creativity.

If you missed the dedicated day to clear your clutter, why not do it anyway. Not only is it cathartic to get rid of many possessions that you no longer need, it helps you find those hidden gems again that with a little love and attention, could be bought back to life and put to use. 

Get in touch with us via our Facebook page or Twitter and let us know what you found. Is there anything that could be upcycled and made useful? Perhaps you were able to clear more clutter than you initially thought.  We'd love to hear from you.

In The historic Old Blacksmiths Yard in the centre of Derby, a hidden gem awaits your visit.

If you've been out exploring the city, doing a spot of shopping or looking for a place to socialise then The Palfrey restaurant and wine bar may be exactly where you want to take a break, relax, refuel, recharge and rejoice.

Tucked up in the corner of Sadlergate, this beautiful building is home to one of the best eclectic food and drink menus in the city. If you're looking for a daytime pit stop or a perfect location to wine and dine in the evening then be sure to take yourself into The Palfrey for exactly that!

Upcycled Creative are proud to have been part of helping create the rustic and industrial vibe that we agree is just right for this prime location. 

The first thing that strikes you when you walk though the door is the warm and inviting atmosphere, not only created by the friendly faces of the bar staff, but also by the clever use of ambient lighting that we love to provide using bespoke design.

Creating a water feature was also a fun way to inflict some creative upcycled flare. Using wine bottles and our love of scaffold boards and pallets, we think this design adds to the rustic charm of the downstairs bar area.

We don't have a picture of it up and running just yet, but if you happen to visit The Palfrey and get a great shot of it in action, we would love for you to share it with us over on our Facebook page or give us a 'tweet' on Twitter.

Now look away ladies...we're about to share another one of our creations but this time it features in the gentlemen's bathroom...

We've not left the girls out though, they have their own unique vanity unit. So ladies... if you are reapplying your lipstick or powdering your nose you'll be reflected in the bottom of an old whiskey barrel.

As you can probably tell, just like with all of our projects, we are really excited and super happy with the end results. 

Providing an establishment such as The Palfrey with our upcycled creations and lighting is something we thrive on as a business. Please check out our other projects and commissions.

Cup of coffee? Tasty sandwich? Slice of cake anyone?

If you're visiting Derby for business or pleasure then without a doubt you're going to be there at a time during the day that falls upon a mealtime. Whether it be breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea or early dinner time, you're going to want to visit Oliver's to satisfy your thirst or hunger.

We're not just saying this because we recently helped get this lovely New York Deli style eatery looking as great as it does with our upcycled creations, we genuinely enjoy the culinary delights on offer. So next time you're in the city, take yourself in for a tasty treat.

Whilst you're at it, take a look at the work we've done to help contribute to the ambiance of the place. 

The first thing we hope you'll notice is the warm and cosy atmosphere. Lighting contributes significantly to creating the perfect ambiance, and so our main feature lights made from iron pipework give off that overall sense of industry, without making it seem 'cold'. In fact it's quite the opposite!

Even when it's cold and rainy outside, you only need to pop inside Oliver's to feel warm, relaxed and right at home. When you pass from the outside, you can feel the warmth radiating from the inside, out.

We also created some great places for storage and display using upcycled scaffold boards, adding to that vintage style but also adding a rustic feel. Again this helps contribute to bringing that all round outside/inside vibe. There's something for everyone to associate with.

This has been such a wonderful project to work on, and we're sure that Oliver's will continue to make it's customers feel just as warm and welcomed as we did during the installation. 

So next time you are in the area, stop on by for your favourite hot drink, a sandwich, or treat yourself to a slice of one of their amazing cakes! (Our favourite was the mojito cheesecake). Grab a paper from the horseshoe paper rack creation and take some time out from your day.

The final result is one we are really proud of here at Upcycled Creative and we are really pleased that everyone at Oliver's is happy with the result too.

You can see more examples of our work at Oliver's by clicking here.

It's great to team up with a company you can trust! 

When it comes to the satisfaction of our customers, it's not just in the result of the final product they have purchased or perhaps an item they have entrusted into us to give a new lease of life, it's about the overall experience. 

It's about the selection, the purchase and of course, the delivery.

 How often have you been excited about a purchase, await it's delivery and found yourself disappointed?

Perhaps it's not arrived within expectations, it's damaged or you've not had a great experience with customer services? It can leave a bitter taste in your mouth and take the shine out of your special purchase. 

It's so important to us here at Upcycled Creative that the whole experience when you turn to us with your custom is one of satisfaction and excitement. After all, we like to think of our creations as special and so therefore our customers are special too and deserve nothing less than special treatment.

We decided to team up with DHL back in May 2016 to ensure that our customers would have peace of mind when it comes to the final part of the purchasing process. This part is where we hand over a product that we've put our love, time and attention to detail into, so we want to make sure it's in good hands for the final leg of the 'journey'. That it arrives with our customers with the same TLC that we put into it.

DHL are a partner of #SBS (Small Business Sunday) a small business incentive idea created by Theo Paphitis of which we are proud to say we are winners. You can find out more about our winning story here.

When we attended the event  back February 2016, it was great to meet with the DHL representatives and to commence our business relationship to where we are now in partnership.

DHL is located right next to East Midlands Airport and so therefore gives us a great opportunity to ship our products all over the  UK and internationally.