Guy Upcycling Trash Into Umbrella Proves Anyone Can Be Useful Even If You Feel Like Trash
It's all about perspective.
By Tamara Jayne — 06 Aug 2021, 11:48 AM
One man's trash is sometimes another man's... new umbrella design
On Thursday, 5 August, Afiq Kamal posted a video of himself upcycling plastic packagings into a colourful umbrella.
His TikTok quickly gained over 800,000 views and 195,800 likes since.
What most people consider as trash, Afiq saw as something useful.
"Sometimes things need to be seen in a different perspective," he shares in the video.
Inspired by the streetwear culture during his studies abroad, Afiq, who's a chemical engineer graduate, found it interesting how some of them would often upcycle old clothes into "new" cloth.
"I used an old umbrella as the base and patched it with plastic wraps of everyday items found at home that I had collected for a week," he tells SAYS.
Some of the old food packaging he used were MAGGI, sugar, and Indomie packets, as well as bun and chocolate wrappers, among other items.
He spent more than 20 hours to complete the product, from measuring and cutting to finally pasting it onto the umbrella
"It is fun to play with the design that we want, plus mix and match colours and patterns without any limitations. Most importantly, we can reduce waste in the world and help sustain a beautiful environment," Afiq adds, during the interview.
Malaysians have been loving his creativity and some even said that they would buy it
Among some of the comments though, Afiq noticed that several confessed to him that they are afraid to upcycle items in case they don't look good.
Wanting to encourage them, he says to not get too concerned about making a perfect end product.
"It is actually more pretty if it looks a little bit messy and clunky because it is proof that the items are made by you. It will have a more personalised touch and that's what makes upcycling beautiful."
"I don't have any rights on the design or the idea, so I will be delighted to see many re-creations from people," he adds, saying that it would be a win for all to help reduce plastic waste on this planet.
Grateful for the positive response from the public, the 23-year-old reveals that he has a sketch and design for an upcoming project in the works.
"I cannot tell what it'll be yet because then it won't be a surprise when I post. Hahaha." However, he adds that it will be something that can be worn and used.
