My weekly progress is going well with my upcycled vinyl billboard wallet. Main concerns were the flexibility of the material, its work-ability compared to leather, and its structure. All of these concerns seem to not be an issue, with initial progress in sewing the wallet.
Figure 1: Initial sewing test, figure shows what one side of the wallet would look like. Afterwards, chafed sides and top surface to see texture that it would create. Very happy with the outcome, will proceed in making the actual wallet in the next few days.
To create this initial piece, I first acquired the vinyl billboard from RepurposedMATERIALS, I went to their location in brighton instead of ordering from their website (https://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/). Their address was 13505 E 112th Ave, Brighton, CO 80603, and I got to view several of their vinyl billboards. I decided on a green texture as it caught my eye the most.
Figure 2: This is the vinyl billboard. Cut from the darker green texture for my initial test seen in fig. 1.
The next step was to learn how to sew. The ITLL as well as the Idea forge both have very nice sewing machines that students can use. I followed the instruction book at the sewing station and learned how to sew.
Figure 3: A preview to the instructional steps of the Instruction Book, this is page 13.
The workstation provided all necessary equipment for my initial progress as well.
Figure 4: Various measuring devices, thread colors (different shades of green and white), needles, and cutting devices are at the work station.
So far I am very happy with my progress and hope to share my upcycled wallet soon.
Figure 5: ITLL sewing machine used.
3 Comments. Leave new
This is a great idea Will, I am excited to see how it turns out! I like how you went out of your way to take a class in order to move forward with this project. I just lost my wallet, so if it all works out maybe I can get you to make me one!
This is such a cool idea, I actually have an upcycled wallet made out of similar material! I’m glad that you were able to quickly and easily learn how to sew using the ITLL and Idea Forge resources. This reminds me of a company that does similar work, using billboards to make tote bags (https://www.rareform.com/). If this is something that interests you, I highly recommend checking out their stuff!
Will, awesome progress! Cool to see how workable the material has ended up being, makes me curious what other cool projects could be made from these billboards. Also cool to see the practical skills you’re learning through the project of sewing and stuff! Really like the layout images you have in front of the sewing machine and the aesthetic you’re sticking with – keep up the good work!