Cutting down on waste: recycling, upcycling and re-using
‘It just makes me cry when I see things at the tip which still have so much life left in them,’ muses Niki Solomon who runs Plymstock based NP Soft Furnishings with her husband, Paul. And they’re busy. Very busy.
The phone is constantly ringing in the background as the team (of three) field calls from people looking to update their current soft furnishing.
The third member of the business is Jennie. She explains how a large part of their focus is on the environment (‘upcycling is fantastic’).
We’re chatting on Zoom and Niki calls over Paul so he can say ‘hello.’ He’s halfway through an upholstery project which’ll ensure a pair of curtains will be given a sparkling, new lease of life.
The team is taking a short break to chat with Breaktime News about the importance of the environment for their business – and their clients.
The ‘green’ list of what they’re doing is substantial. Where possible, they use companies which can provide specific cuts of material to save any waste from firms that only sell in bulk. Nothing goes to waste.
Looking to revamp that old sofa? Go to NP Soft Furnishings. Perhaps you want to inject some love into tired looking furniture? You do? Well, have a chat with Niki and Paul. It’s something of a lifelong passion for them.
A 30 year old George Smith sofa which has just been re-upholstered. Image provided by NP Soft Furnishings.
In a time before recycling became mainstream, Niki recalls how she would fill her shed with plastic and glass so she could reuse, or recycle, them in some way, shape or form.
‘It was a whole new concept back in the eighties, but I was fascinated by it. My grandmother always said, ‘don’t buy more than you need.’’
Recreating a charm and beauty for household items
And so, a seed was sown to try to move away from simply throwing stuff away. Instead, her focus became a goal to recreate a certain charm and beauty for household items that weren’t past their prime – and were still well within their ‘Best Before’ dates.
‘Furnishings are important for your comfort and soul – they create the heart of your home.’
‘Preserving precious memories is golden and can be done by cocooning old furniture in new fabric by using loose covers and lining curtains in warm linings for a more energy efficient window dressing.’
It’s what Niki and Paul have been doing for nearly a year now as NP Soft Furnishings, using their 80 years of combined industry experience.
Their focus remains on a drive to cut down on waste. But, if anything does ‘need to go’ then it can still have a future purpose as it can be sent to places that can make good use of the material (such as sending it to the team at Luxury from Landfill).
‘The biggest message to send out is the best way to save the planet is to look after what we’ve got and invest in our surroundings. There are small ways you can update your interiors – without causing massive waste.’
The team’s success is partly built on their key set of guiding principles. Print to order. Don’t go for cheap. Using small in house teams which are, ideally, local to them.
They’re also keen on utilising ‘end rolls’ of fabric that would (probably) be thrown away. Waste not. Want not.
‘We make every effort to group orders together so that we only take one delivery,’ says Paul. ‘We never overdo an order, so we avoid ending up with metres and metres of unused fabric.’
Completed restoration for pair of 100% woollen curtains. Image provided by NP Soft Furnishings.
A new lease of life for everyday furniture
‘Everything that comes out of our workshop has been locally made and we know the people who’ve made it,’ says Paul.
The team’s ethos results in a new lease of life for a host of everyday furniture items: from that old headboard through to finding the right set of blinds for the conservatory.
‘You can do so much with what you already have. You don’t have to throw it away. I think the biggest thing to do is to love what you’ve got and to make good choices on your original purchases.’
The old adage of ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ immediately springs to mind. Our chat finishes with Paul pointing out that ‘if you buy a decent curtain track then it will last you the rest of your life.’
And with that thought echoing in BTN’s ears, it might be time to take the lounge curtains along to NP Soft Furnishings – so they can be given a bit of TLC.