Upcycling Aesthetic – Irish Pub

I have chosen to make my Upcycle Project in an Irish Pub aesthetic. Some of the main features of an Irish Pub aesthetic are dark wood, old relics, live music, and often dark colors such as green, red and blue. The main upcycled feature in my project is a cello neck. I plan to use the cello neck along with brass mouthpieces and possibly other parts to make a coat rack.

The cello was  graciously donated to me by H. B. Woodsongs because it had too many cracks and chips to be made playable again. When thinking about what aesthetic I could use cello pieces for the dark wood reminded me of the Irish pubs I visited last spring. I studied abroad for the spring semester in Dublin and visited pubs across Ireland. From pubs in small villages to pubs in the city centers there were many similar features. One of my favorite features was the dark wood paneling, benches, stools and trim. Irish pubs also tended to be dark so that likely influenced my perception, but the deep tones of wood were distinct and were different than many of the common lighter woods used in the United States. Additionally, traditional Irish pubs are filled with conversation and live music. Common instruments are fiddles, guitars, uillean pipes and bodhráns (a type of drum). While a fiddle is much smaller than a cello, the wood work is similar and seems like it would compliment an Irish pub aesthetic.

From the Rocky Mountain Music Repair shop, I was given trombone and trumpet mouthpieces that I intend to use as the hooks on my coat rack. While Irish pub music generally doesn’t include trumpets or trombones the walls are frequently covered with knickknacks and relics of the locals and travelers.

When I was thinking a coat rack could be a simple, useful and creative project I started thinking about whether I wanted a free-standing coat rack, a wall mounted coat rack. Since I can’t easily mount anything to the walls of my apartment but would enjoy displaying the art I make, my plan is to make a hanging coat rack that hooks over the front door or the pantry door. Having a coat rack that hangs rather than is free standing is also fitting of the Irish Pub aesthetic because Irish pubs have so many wall hangings. In most of the Irish pubs I visited the walls were like a museum of photographer, old newspapers, pub goer’s achievements and random pieces of art.