These Sisters Are Turning Scrap Into Creative Accessories

On our screens, in the papers, on the billboards, everywhere – there is no way to deny the lurking effects of climate change. Taking the charge of fighting global warming does not require a science degree, neither is it a tussle between dragging or rushing, as one so often does while getting to the bottom of music theories. Our contribution towards slowly reversing the environmental catastrophe can be as simple as segregating garbage, identifying objects which can be recycled, and upcycling. The folks at WorkshopQ are all about the latter, and quite dedicatedly so.

WorkshopQ, a Mumbai-based venture of siblings Radhika and Madhvi, is one of the few that is drawing a line on the stone around the concepts of reusing ‘waste’, and creating objects for daily households from the many we end up tossing heedlessly. Paving a nurturing future, Madhvi reminded Homegrown that “We all learnt our 3Rs lessons of Recycling. (but) Recycling is (also) an umbrella term for downcycling and upcycling. While downcycling reuses products to produce a product of lower quality and value, upcycling is just what the opposite is.”

Making use of design thinking which takes into consideration factors like typography, aesthetics, ergonomics of a product, WorkshopQ first comes up with a design idea, and subsequently source the raw materials… or what for most people would be utter garbage, for example, outdated motherboards, scratchy vinyl records, archaic machine parts, spares from automobiles, the list can go on.

An ever-present murmur following their processes of trial and error can be heard. The mortals at WorkshopQ are repeatedly probing a path for an Endless Possibilities avenue. That said, the team reminisces experimenting with various kinds of material to create a probable upcycled product.
“It all started at a friend’s aluminium factory when we spotted crumpled balls of coloured aluminium scraps,” says Madhvi.

The makers at WorkshopQ focus on their aesthetics and methods, realising that there is not much of a market for products which look like a waste. Landfills, they believe came up purely because of our callous habit of splurge buying and then getting rid of such objects. Resistance to shifting to sustainable ways of living, was then naturally, incoming. Needless to say though, that did not bring down the duo because they believed in their collaborative efforts of bringing life from waste with even the help of artisanal Indian products, thereby also helping the skilled artisan.

Their assortment of upcycled products include lamps, trays, desk accessories, photo-frames and a number of others that you can view on their website. Sustainable, innovative and ethical are key components of WorkshopQ’s set up, and all three are pretty darn evident in the work that they are doing.

If you enjoyed reading this article, we also suggest you read:

Learn how to make your own Bamboo Bicycle with Vijay Sharma

An Indian upcycling brand reimagines waste in wonderful ways

This Delhi college employs Afghan refugees to make edible utensils