ARTS Balla woman’s vinyl records a hit

Henry McGlade

A Mayo woman is creating quite a stir with her habit for upcycling. Using old vinyl records, she has been producing all sorts of beautiful, functional items, from cake stands to handbags, all under the label Reloved Vinyl Creations.

Celia Anderson, was born in Switzerland, raised in South Africa and has been living in Balla for the last 12 years. The third youngest of a large family without much income, she and her brothers made use of anything they could lay their hands on to create their own toys. Plastic bags became snow boards, broken skis and an old rocking chair became a sledge.

For Celia, making the toys was just as fun as using them, maybe even more. And perhaps that was when she developed her love for recycling. Even when she was earning a good income, she still was very active in caring for ‘a greener world’.

Pringle tins turn into pencil cases. Glass tea lights turn into miniature pots for plants and the list goes on. “I’ve broken so many items in the process of trying out new ideas and crafts,” she laughs. But then that’s fine, as she had originally saved the items from the dump in the first place. And she’s having fun, which is the most important thing.

Some friends call her a magpie, as she hates throwing away anything that could be reused or turn into something useful. “I’ve come a long way to being called the ‘Upcycle Queen’, thanks to my friends on Facebook,” says Celia.

So how did she come to choose vinyl records to use for crafts? Well, they actually chose her in a way.

At the time she was looking for bowls to keep her smaller craft items organised. Her usual coffee-jar lids were just too small and some other ideas were rejected, as they were not suitable or strong enough to hold the items. Browsing through the internet, Celia came up with an idea.  She asked a few people about old vinyl records and was contacted by a friend who collects and sells them. He had a big box destined for the dump.

The idea of those records going into the earth was galling to Celia, so she asked him to keep them for her. That’s when it all started.

Celia began by making a vinyl-record clock and showed it off on Facebook. After that, she received loads of orders, including personalised items, where she would replace the record label with a photo. She’s done loads now, for birthdays and wedding anniversaries, even company logos. At the moment she is designing one for the Cafolla’s diner in Castlebar.

Although she prefers to design creations when the ‘arty bug’ strikes, she’s happy to take orders and enjoys making other people happy while also ‘damaged’ vinyl records from being thrown away. Celia’s used them to make anything from fruit bowls to cupcake and jewellery stands, and she’s now started making vinyl record handbags.

Celia absolutely loves designing the handbags and has called them MIM Bags (Music In Motion). Orders are coming in already, but she tells the customers that they have to be patient, as she can only work when she is in the mood. “Being in the mood to create something comes across in your work,” she says. Each handbag is totally unique, no two are alike. Like the clocks, Celia plans to offer personalised handbags with the record label replaced with photos, but that is way down the road for now.

Most of the vinyl craft is quite easy if you know how to do it, Celia says, though she admits she has broken quite a few discs, toxified her kitchen, burnt her fingers and cut her hand a few times. But it was all trial and error and, most importantly for this Balla-based crafter, a lot of fun.

For more information on Reloved Vinyl Creations, visit facebook.com/relovedvinylcreations.