With a little know-how, you can infuse new life into old, discarded furniture. | PHOTO: A.C./UNSPLASH
Upcycling 101 for Food, Fashion and Furniture
Live and Learn: Lessons on how to reduce your carbon footprint.
By Alexis Nicols
Slow food, slow fashion and slow furniture design are all part of the sustainability movement. Peel back the layers of time to recall when wasting food was out of the question. Mending clothes was the norm, instead of fast-fashion shopping. Furniture was passed down to the next generation and lovingly repaired, not replaced. Nowadays, convenience is always top of mind and time is of the essence, resulting in more waste. According to a recent landfill report from advocacy group Waste to Resource Ontario (W2RO), the province generated 16.88 million tonnes of waste in 2024. The report notes that this level of waste isn’t sustainable, and that landfills will reach capacity by 2037 — or sooner. It suggests that reducing waste is essential to addressing the issue.
It’s never too late to reassess your impact and get in sync with sustainability initiatives. Consider learning practical strategies by taking classes that develop skills you may not even know you have — and that help keep “stuff” away from landfills, reducing your impact on the environment.
SELECT A BOX TO JUMP TO THAT SECTION.
Upcycling and mending clothes
Sustainable cooking classes
Give new life to your space
The beauty of kintsugi
Upcycling and mending clothes
Embracing green living can be fun and satisfying, as you stitch your way through the contents of your closet. Opt for mending clothes to preserve, say, a much-loved shirt or pair of pants. Or perhaps coax out your creative side and upcycle clothing by way of a sewing class to enhance your existing wardrobe.
In-person: Many public libraries in Ontario offer “makerspaces,” where you can learn sewing and use sewing machines, with expert guidance available on-site.
- Free of charge with a library card
- 1.5 to 2 hours for an introductory workshop
- Book a class by visiting your local library in-person or its website, online
Online: Closet Core Patterns offers virtual classes focused on sewing as a sustainable alternative to fast fashion. Learn about sewing machines, tools and techniques or opt for lessons on how to fabricate a wide range of clothing pieces (including jeans, coats, lingerie and even swimwear).
- Beginners basics to techniques for experience sewers
- From $73.75 per class
- Visit closetcorepatterns.com
Tip: Sewing-supply stores often host private sewing classes, group sessions and retreats, based on local interest and demand. Phone or head over in-person to your local notions shop to see if they offer sewing lessons on-site.
With visible mending, the repair stitchwork turns a tear or hole into a creative feature. | PHOTO: KATYA PHOTO/ADOBE STOCK
The Mend Trend
Visible mending is a unique and creative sewing style using colourful thread to turn small clothing tears into works of art. Damages and imperfections are highlighted, not hidden away — a wonderful and sustainable way to add a design element to a blown-out knee on blue jeans or a small hole in a favourite top. This approach aims to revitalize clothes, express your personal style and extend the life of your clothing.
Online: Take a visible-mending workshop with textile artist Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou. She teaches creative-repair sewing techniques that utilize colourful thread and yarns coupled with eye-catching patterns. It’s ideal for those who prefer learning from home.
Sustainable cooking classes
Reducing food waste is at the core of sustainability in the kitchen. Learn how to utilize each and every part of your ingredient. Turn vegetable scraps into a tasty, delicious broth. Repurpose leftover meat into dumplings and make marmalade from citrus peels. Cutting back on waste enhances your cooking skills and helps you organize pantry staples and create meals that are good for your family and good for the environment.
Online: PlantYou Scrappy Cooking Recipes is guided by Canadian plant-based cooking expert and best-selling author, Carleigh Bodrug. She provides a collection of recipes with videos, pictures and explanations that walk you through reducing food waste with her “scrappy” cooking techniques.
- Creative recipes for leftovers
- Free
- Follow along at your own pace through recipes and videos
- Visit plantyou.com
Give new life to your space
It’s a given that, in any home, there’s a furniture piece that would benefit from a little extra TLC. Maybe it’s a dresser that has been relegated to the basement to house miscellaneous odds and ends. Or it could be a chair that requires you to sit on it just right for comfort. A little know-how goes a long way to returning it to a place of pride in your house. Learn how to upcycle old furniture or how to repair it — give your imagination free rein.
In-person: Griffin Vintage Furniture (Waterdown) offers a private furniture painting workshop.
- Prepping and painting techniques for beginners
- Bring your own piece of furniture, paint provided
- $189.99, one 6-hour session
- One-on-one classes
- Visit griffinvintage.com
Online: Funky Junk Interiors offers video tutorials on how to upcycle old furniture into whimsical and wonderful new pieces.
- Geared to novice furniture upcyclers looking to repurpose a beloved piece, learn paint techniques and improve on their basic upcycling skills
- Free of charge
- Visit funkyjunkinteriors.net
The beauty of kintsugi
Derived from the Japanese words kin (“golden”) and tsugi (“joinery”), kintsugi refers to the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold-coloured lacquer and celebrating imperfections.
In-person: Studio Mooi (Toronto/GTA) conducts classes on how to create or repair ceramics.
- Beginner-friendly
- Pottery pieces provided
- $135 for 3 hours
- Visit studiomooi.ca
Online: POJ Studio offers virtual classes in kintsugi through self-paced videos that you can watch and rewatch to master the techniques on how to repair ceramics and how to fill in missing pieces.
- Free of charge
- DIY repair kits priced from $175 each
- Visit pojstudio.com
Get started
Taking a class lets you explore your creativity, discover hidden talents and have some fun — all while learning how to live more sustainably. CAA
Related stories
Reduce Your Food Waste
Makers’ Markets Encourage Sustainable Practices
Explore the Growing Trend of Slow Travel
Upcycling and mending clothes
Sustainable cooking classes
Give new life to your space
The beauty of kintsugi
Upcycling and mending clothes
Embracing green living can be fun and satisfying, as you stitch your way through the contents of your closet. Opt for mending clothes to preserve, say, a much-loved shirt or pair of pants. Or perhaps coax out your creative side and upcycle clothing by way of a sewing class to enhance your existing wardrobe.
In-person: Many public libraries in Ontario offer “makerspaces,” where you can learn sewing and use sewing machines, with expert guidance on-site.
- Free of charge with a library card
- 1.5 to 2 hours for an introductory workshop
- Book a class by visiting your local library in-person or its website, online
Online: Closet Core Patterns offers virtual classes focused on sewing as a sustainable alternative to fast fashion. Learn about sewing machines, tools and techniques or opt for lessons on how to fabricate a wide range of clothing pieces (including jeans, coats, lingerie and even swimwear).
- Beginners basics to techniques for experienced sewers
- From $73.75 per class
- Visit closetcorepatterns.com
Tip: Sewing-supply stores often host private sewing classes, group sessions and retreats, based on local interest and demand. Phone or head over in-person to your local notions shop to see if they offer sewing lessons on-site.
The Mend Trend
Visible mending is a unique and creative sewing style using colourful thread to turn small clothing tears into works of art. Damages and imperfections are highlighted, not hidden away — a wonderful and sustainable way to add a design element to a blown-out knee on blue jeans or a small hole in a favourite top. This approach aims to revitalize clothes, express your personal style and extend the life of your clothing.
Online: Take a visible-mending workshop with textile artist Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou. She teaches creative-repair sewing techniques that utilize colourful thread and yarns coupled with eye-catching patterns. It’s ideal for those who prefer learning from home.
With visible mending, the repair stitchwork turns a tear or hole into a creative feature. | PHOTO: KATYA PHOTO/ADOBE STOCK
With visible mending, the repair stitchwork turns a tear or hole into a creative feature. | PHOTO: KATYA PHOTO/ADOBE STOCK
The Mend Trend
Visible mending is a unique and creative sewing style using colourful thread to turn small clothing tears into works of art. Damages and imperfections are highlighted, not hidden away — a wonderful and sustainable way to add a design element to a blown-out knee on blue jeans or a small hole in a favourite top. This approach aims to revitalize clothes, express your personal style and extend the life of your clothing.
Online: Take a visible-mending workshop with textile artist Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou. She teaches creative-repair sewing techniques that utilize colourful thread and yarns coupled with eye-catching patterns. It’s ideal for those who prefer learning from home.