Upcycle Progress Update: Biophilic Pencil Holder

Holly Young
2023 - new, Post 3 - 2023
4 Comments

One of the most time-consuming parts of my project is the living part of the plants. This week I planted some leftover seeds from my grandmother’s garden in hopes that some will sprout for my final project report. I will take these seeds and transplant them into my upcycle pencil holder once it is complete.

I have been also collecting some upcycled plastic materials for the pencil holder boxy shape. I am still evaluating the best way to attach these structural materials while using truly upcycled materials. If I was in Boulder, I would have liked to use some of the tools like the laser cutter or saws in the lab, but since I am not in town, I am having to think of some other ways to shape my raw materials. This I think has been the hardest part of my project thus far. I have also been collecting old CD’s from my music collection as a kid and also got some pieces of mirror and CDs from my family to glue onto the pencil holder to create the “modern” effect similar to eco-friendly buildings in cities that utilize a lot of mirrors and glass in their design. I am very excited to incorporate a very earthy aesthetic with a modern, clean one.

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Holly Young
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4 Comments. Leave new

  • Heider Iacometti
    February 19, 2023 4:19 pm

    I’m excited to see this when it’s fully completed. For finding ways to shape your materials, one thing I did was take an x-acto knife and etched lines into my materials before I was able to easily break at those sections, maybe give a few of those a try? Also, if you want more mature plants for the presentation, you could try small clippings of plants you currently own, if you own any that is. But I can see how that might not fit your design. Good luck!

    • Holly Young
      February 21, 2023 7:15 pm

      Hi Heider, thanks for your comment! I ended up taking your clippings suggestion so thank you! I think that was a good way to utilize current resources from my grandmother’s garden! I tried your Xacto suggestion as well but I think the curved shape I ended up going for made it too hard to trace over smoothly so had to go with a different method.

  • Anna Lugthart
    February 16, 2023 10:15 am

    This is going to be really cool. How are you planning on containing the plants? Is there going to be some underlying structure beneath the CDs?

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