Sustainability and minimising waste are core values in my business. I opt for minimal, recyclable packaging on my products and find creative ways to repurpose materials. For example, I often reuse packaging from parcels I’ve received to reduce waste and give materials a second life.
When I had my range of greeting cards printed, I used repeat patterns on many of the cards, which I designed in Adobe Illustrator. I accidentally forgot to expand the patterns in Adobe Illustrator before sending them to print. This oversight resulted in a white line appearing on 6 of the 10 card designs. The issue wasn’t visible in the printer’s proof but became clear only after the cards were printed.
Instead of discarding these cards or selling them as misprints, I set them aside to find a creative and sustainable solution that didn't result in them ending up in the recycle bin. After forgetting about them and then continually moving the task on my to do list, I finally stopped to think about them and came up with a plan.
I’ll be upcycling the faulty greeting cards into smaller versions, which I’ll offer at markets at a special price. For the remaining smaller offcuts from these, I’m still exploring possibilities, such as collages. In the meantime, I enjoyed weaving the thinner strips together, which actually turned out to be a nice mindful exercise.
I would love to hear any ideas you have for the remaining scraps, as pictured above. If you’re interested in the non-misprinted cards, you can find them in the Loopla online shop. Loopla online shop.
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