I thought it was about time I wrote a bit more on how Cactus Revival came about.
It’s a combination of things - so this will likely turn into a series of posts! - but I realise now that the seed was planted well before I was even at school, with my love of ABC’s Playschool and my useful box.
My mum was a primary school teacher, and she would hold onto bits and bobs; egg cartons, boxes, cellophane, loo rolls, and pop them in a box, and I would use my imagination to turn them into all sorts of things. I loved turning something that was about to be put in the bin into something else. Even back then I felt like I was saving something, providing it with another life and a reason for it to continue being used.
I loved turning something that was about to be put in the bin into something else
I also loved the freedom in this type of creativity because there was no expectation that it would be perfect. From the beginning the pressure was off. A pig made from a loo roll and paddle pop sticks was never going to look lifelike. And it didn’t matter if you messed it up as it was destined for the bin anyway. I got a thrill thinking about the problem solving challenge; “how can I make this into something else?”
As I got older, I vaguely remember moving onto drawing, and enjoying it until I had a sudden realisation that it wasn’t something I was very good at. Looking back, I didn’t think I was creative because I thought you had to be good at drawing to qualify.
I didn’t think I was creative - I thought you had to be good at drawing to qualify
Creativity kind of disappeared from my life for some time, only to return when I was a stay-at-home mum after my son was born. Finally, I had an excuse to bring out the useful box again!
I loved sitting on the floor with my son and making trucks, diggers, cement mixers, cows, pigs, cranes, boats, planes, fire trucks, a sewing machine, monsters…you name it, we made it! And it was all from cardboard boxes, paddle pop sticks, wool, paper doilies, pegs, loo rolls, and all sorts of discarded packaging. I was transported back to my childhood, and I now realise this meant I was in ‘flow’.
While I was falling back in love with cardboard boxes, I became interested in sewing. My mum was a great sewist, but she was strapped for time raising our family and never got around to passing on the skills. From my time at the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) I’d learnt about the impact of our consumption on the planet and it was an eye opener. I already loved op shopping and thought sewing and mending was the next natural progression.
I learnt about fast fashion. I hadn’t realised how wasteful the industry had become.
A Google search later, and I’d found a local teacher who ran weekly sewing classes where I honed my skills alongside multiple ‘how to’ YouTube videos.
Learning to sew, I learnt about fast fashion. I hadn’t realised just how wasteful the industry had become. After more YouTube tutorials, I gave mending a pair of my son’s shorts a crack. They weren’t perfect, but their mended holes meant they could be worn again, and I’d created a fun design that my son loved. I was now hooked on mending and the idea for Cactus Revival was created.
I was now hooked on mending and the idea for Cactus Revival was created
Working with clothing that is about to be discarded using materials found at op shops reminds me so much of making from my useful box. I get the same thrill of saving something from the bin and extending its useful life. And just like a loo roll is never expected to look like a pig, a garment that has been visibly repaired isn’t expected to be perfect, and is instead, perfectly imperfect.
Kate 🌵
Image credit: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
