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Remade in Britain announces exclusive upcycling partnership with Grand Designs Live

Britain’s first dedicated upcycling marketplace, Remade in Britain, has announced its official upcycling partnership with the UK’s top home show, Grand Designs Live.

Retailers from the site will have the opportunity to showcase their unique products, as well as running workshops for the 100,000 visitors attending the show at the ExCel in May. The event is now in its eleventh year and is the premier destination for the country’s best and brightest designers, led by renowned TV personality and designer Kevin McCloud.

Remade in Britain, which was launched in November last year by Harrogate businesswoman Donna Fenn, has already seen success and acclaim with new retailers joining the site every day and celebrity upcycler, Max McMurdo hailing the site as the ‘UK home of upcycling’.

More than 300 retailers are now registered to sell their upcycled creations through the site, with this expected to top 1,000 retailers by the end of the year.

The rapidly expanding trend of upcycling has been championed by celebrities including Kirstie Allsopp, Kevin McCloud and Livia Firth, with a growing number of UK companies tapping into consumer enthusiasm for upcycled products.

Although official industry statistics are still to be produced for the UK, countries including the US, Germany and Sweden have seen a huge surge in demand for upcycled products. The popularity of repurposed and vintage items is particularly clear on online artist marketplaces like US-based Etsy and Artfire where products tagged with ‘upcycled’ rocketed from 7,900 in 2010 to 216,024 just four years later.

Donna Fenn, founder of Remade in Britain, said: “Grand Designs Live is the pinnacle of the design calendar so securing this partnership is a real coup for Remade and a true credit to the hard work of our team in getting the site to where it is today.

“We’ll be bringing a selection of our fantastic upcyclers to showcase their work to the public and provide top tips on how to become an upcycler yourself. We’re very excited for the event and certain that it will be a great platform to further build on Remade’s profile and continue our success.”

Grand Designs Live Show Director, Nathan Garnett, said: “Remade in Britain is a perfect fit for this event. We’ve been really impressed with the online community and marketplace they’ve created and how it’s developed in just four months since the launch.

“The quality and imagination of the pieces on the site is fantastic and I’m certain the upcycling area will become a key attraction for our visitors. Kevin McCloud himself is a huge fan of upcycling after working with upcycler and Remade in Britain retailer, Harry Dwyer, on the Supersize Salvage TV show and live event at Grand Designs last year so I’m sure he’ll be keen to get involved in the Remade workshops.”