Green products are becoming more and more popular as humanity is awakening to the damage decades of materialism has done to our planet.  Upcycling as a concept has also become increasingly popular.  Artists are making a whole range of products from our unwanted trash and turning them into treasures that everyone would enjoy.  With the invention of tapes and cds, records have been swiftly diminishing in their popularity.  Many records are so scratched that they are not even playable.  This makes them the perfect trash items to make over into art.  Take a look at some of the ingenious uses I’ve discovered.

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This Etsy creator has upcycled records into fashionable bracelet cuffs.  Etsy is a site where many crafters list their recycled and upcycled goods for sale.  I really like the way the lines of music on the records reflect the light.  They give the cuffs a very textural feel and keep the look of a record.  It’s really kind of cool to be able to easily recognize the item that is being upcycled.

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This image illustrates how coloured records can become fashionable jewellery pieces.  Records used to come in every colour of the rainbow and these pink records with aqua labels really make the earrings pop.  These would be a great piece to have as the eighties are currently being reborn in the fashion world.

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This etsy listing is a Donny Osmond record moulded into a bowl.  Donny’s pearly whites make an amazing border to the bowl and are barely even recognizable as teeth.  If you’ve ever listened to Donny Osmond you’ll know that this bowl is definitely worth more than any album of his ever recorded!

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This record has been cut in half and creatively refashioned into a purse.  I love the white zig zag stitching along the borders of the purse.  It really gives the bag a craftsy feel that it wouldn’t otherwise have.  This upcycled use of a record is also instantly recognizable which really gives it a retro vibe.  I absolutely adore this!

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These reflective coasters are beautiful and simple to recreate.  I might have to try making these as Christmas gifts.  They too are extremely retro and incredibly useful.  Everyone needs coasters for their drinks.

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This soap dish has a very Asian feel to it.  It’s very reminiscent of high end bathroom products available at every home goods store.  I love that this upcycling use is so current while using a material so outdated.  The juxtaposition of the two ideas adds a very unique feeling to this piece.

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This is a sculpture by Jean Shin which is installed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.  It is entitled Sound Wave and really highlights how each “wave of technology” renders the previous obsolete.  The records have been melted together and formed into this incredible black 3-D structure that is dotted with all colours of the rainbow from the center labels.  Jean Shin is an incredible upcycler who I’m planning on highlighting in an upcoming article.

This is my eighth article on this topic which has enthralled me for several weeks now.  It’s amazing to me how creative people can be while maintaining their ideals of art.  One man’s trash is definitely another man’s treasure.  For more examples of artistic recycling, please check out some of my other articles.

1. Artistic Recycling: Five Interesting Maps
2. Artistic Recycling: Incredible Upcycled Dresses
3. Artistic Recycling: Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps 
4.  Artistic Recycling: Metal
5.  Artistic Recycling: Plastic Bottles
6. Artistic Recycling: Egg Cartons
7. Artistic Recycling: Tea Bags