Do you have aluminium sheets or blocks of wood lying around your home that you just don't know what to do with? We suggest you send them over to the Khaitan sisters who give that 'junk' a stylish makeover at their eco-friendly label, WorkshopQ
Do you have aluminium sheets or blocks of wood lying around your home that you just don't know what to do with? We suggest you send them over to the Khaitan sisters who give that 'junk' a stylish makeover at their eco-friendly label, WorkshopQ
Just like the trash compactor, random junk-loving robot from the 2008 Hollywood sci-fi release Wall-E, Jaipur-based sisters Madhvi and Radhika Khaitan are happiest when you surrender scrap to them with the request to turn it into something functional and funky. 
(Top)Corrugated cardboard tissue paper box and photo frame (Rs 400),
(Left) Silicon rubber coasters (set of six for Rs 890)
Industrial waste including wood, aluminium and silicon rubber ranks as ideal raw material, especially since their home d ufffdcor and accessories label, WorkshopQ, believes in not just recycling but "upcycling" junk into utility goods.
"Upcycling means recycling, but in the process adding value to an object and making it much more attractive than its original form," explains Radhika.
The term, coined by American architect William McDonaugh and German chemist Michael Braungart in 2002, describes giving a second life to an industrial material and converting it into something of greater value. Aluminum and glass, for example, can usually be upcycled into the same or perhaps a product of even superior quality.
Putting the environment first
Radhika is not alone in her endeavour. She and her sister Madhvi work out of a factory based in Jaipur. Radhika first thought up the idea of converting scrap into eco-friendly products with the honest intention of making "green living" a part of everyday life. "Recycling is limited to discarding use of polythene bags and other materials of low environmental value. With WorkshopQ, we wanted to experiment with upcycled stylish objects," says Radhika.u00a0
How about a scrap-over?
Initiated in April of this year, WorkshopQ salvages industrial waste -- aluminium, acrylic, wood, silicon rubber and bio-degradable materials like jute, cork and felt into tissue paper boxes, coasters, table mats, clocks, lamps and light fixtures.
The result is a quirky, yet clever mix of objects, including light fixtures created out of aluminium kettles (they have customised it for a tea caf ufffd in Jaipur), decorative balls made of felt that resemble pine cones (felt is completely biodegradable) and trays made of colour pencils cut and filed to fit. They also use rubber factory waste to make coasters from silicon rubber. "Rubber factory waste is a global problem since it sits in a landfill for years on end," says Radhika.
An additional course in Visual Communication from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles, came handy while starting the label. So, is there a tried-and-tested formula they follow to transform junk into quirky d ufffdcor? "It is about looking at scrap from a different perspective.
Utmost care is taken to ensure it's environmentally friendly," says Radhika. WorkshopQ customises orders and delivers anywhere in India.u00a0u00a0
Till September 19
AT The Society Collection exhibition, World Trade Centre, Expo Hall, first floor, Stall B-38, Cuffe Parade.
log on to www.workshopq.com
email workshopq@gmail.com / info@workshopq.com
call 091-1412470211
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