Profession / role:

Buyer

Company / organisation:

WelshTrini

Website (if you have one):

www.urbanupcycle.co.uk

My primary role in relation to fashion is:

Entrepreneur

I am looking to discover or buy

Advice and guidance

About me / About business or organisation:

What is Urban Upcycle? We believe in giving a second life to fabrics, using our imagination to create something that is original, tactile, beautiful, desirable and functional.

Who are WelshTrini? A girl from Wales with a passion for fabrics and stitching. A guy from Trinidad with a love for old things. We share a love for recycling and repurposing. We can be found most weekends rummaging in charity shops and London's street markets.

What started out of necessity has now become a way of life for us. We’re both divorced, and have an overriding need and desire to nurture and provide for our families. With a limited disposable income we were increasingly looking to charity shops to furnish our homes and clothe ourselves.

What struck us was the quality of items that were being discarded, many garments barely worn and sometimes even brand new. We love natural, good quality fabrics - 100% wool, 100% cotton, 100% linen, 100% silk for their aesthetic beauty and durability.
We’re both creative people at heart who are also passionate about using quality materials and recognised that there was an opportunity to create a business with integrity and bring our creations to a wider market.

We have begun to source and use interesting vintage fabrics that we find in charity shops (thrift stores) here in the UK. We're excited about what we're discovering.
Each of our products/items is entirely unique and carefully curated - we spent time carefully choosing and matching fabrics to create something that is bespoke, limited edition and highly visually appealing. Our design philosophy is based on function, form, simplicity and playfulness.

Career history / Company history:

New company, recently formed