1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew

by Garth Johnson

Artists and crafters have always been recyclers, but for many, it has not only become a thrifty choice, it has become a moral imperative. 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse contains a cutting edge collection of the most inventive work being made with re-used, upcycled, and already existing materials. The work in this book ranges from clever and humble personal accessories to unique and important large-scale works of art, including paper art, fashion, jewelry, housewares, interiors, and installations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Crafts, Art, Reference, Design

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Sarra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Minus one star for the poor and confusing set-up of the book - instead of including information (materials used, methods, et cetera) about each project with the photo, said information is confined to a tiny index at the back of the book, making reading up on the projects way more trouble than it's worth. I'm also perplexed as to what guidelines were in place for the "reuse, remake, restyle, recycle, renew" aspect - many pieces were obviously created from brand-new materials purchased explicitly for these pieces.
Minus one star for reinforcing arbitrary binary gender roles by titling one chapter "Man Crafts" (only men are interested in glasses made from beer bottles and modded bicycles?) and combining it with "Geek Crafts" (thus reinforcing the societal stereotype that only men are geeks).

[Kerry Crabbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book a long time ago and opened it again because I'm taking a Managing Makerspaces class. There's nothing to read, it's just pictures of repurposed items. A lot of really cool projects, it's just too bad there's no directions on how to make any of it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was about a 3.5 rating. There are some very clever and amazing crafty things pictured in the book. but I was stymied by some book layout issues.

The premise of this "all photos" book is to present items "remade" from something used for another purpose previously, in some manner remade, restyled, recycled or renewed. The book meets the need of the newish "upcycling" movement.
The number "1000" in the book's title is misleading since there are definite repeats, but I guess the author was aiming for a round number.

I was most interested in the "Paper, Collage + Assemblage" chapter and the "Jewelry + Adornments" chapters, both of which provided some great creative inspiration and ideas. The soft goods chapter, which you'd think I'd like as a knitter, was mostly sewing items which I didn't think were very appealing--most were a bit weird for my tastes.

Jeff and I thoroughly enjoyed looking together at the all-too-short "Geek Craft + Man Craft" section which includes all variety of things made from cogs, wheels, computer parts, etc--including a functional wood computer keyboard with keys made out of scrabble letters, and a keyboard made from old, round manual typewriter keys, lending it a steampunk look.

The book ends with a chapter on fine art and installations made from recycled materials, which appropriately rounds off the book with some even wilder inspirations, including woven sapling vessels encircling a building (reminiscent of the woven sapling house in the movie Where the Wild Things Are).

The biggest drawback to the book is that the photos are only labeled with the artists' names and country plus the photo credit. I had to constantly skip back to the appendix where the title and materials for the piece were listed. What the beautiful or weird items were remade from is what this book is all about, and why make the reader work so hard to discover what materials the artist used?
The text listed in the appendix was not even very long, so it could have been printed small with the photos themselves. I feel the book would be more interesting and usable with the materials listed directly there--after all, it's all about reusing materials, so tell us up front what the materials are!

[Velma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by my friend Garth Johnson and including several of my one-of-a-kind handspun yarns, 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse is a reduce-reuse-recycle'ers dream. Page after page of art and craft by some of the most, well, creative folks in Humboldt County, California, this coffee table tome will inspire the re-maker in you to turn discards into useful and beautiful items. But don't think you'll get instructions or how-to's: this book is strictly a photographic compendium of inspiration only; you'll have to bring your own know-how to the table to create your vision of giving renewed life to cast-offs. But rest assured, you'll find this graphic wonderland a source of infinite inspiration for your own restyling adventures.

[Shelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally, I love Quarry books, as they usually always represent the utmost quality in both content as well as design and layout, and are printed on gorgeous, glossy paper. This is my first time reading a volume of their "1000 [Something]" series; moreover, this is the first time I have read one of their books in electronic format (ebook on Hoopla as opposed to Kindle). So right up front, I have to confess that I believe the bulk of my complaints are related to the fact that I was not reading a print copy. I also have no idea if some of the shortcomings I describe are simply restrictions of the medium, or if they could be improved, and whether that would be the responsibility of Quary (the publisher), or of Hoopla. Therefore please take this review with these particular technical constraints in mind.

My most major complaint – and now I fear it is relevant to all Quarry "1000 [Something]" books but am not sure – is that detailed information about each artwork is in an entirely separate section of the book from its photo. The pictures of the artworks fill the main part of the book, with just a number underneath, followed by the artist's name with their country, company if applicable, and photo credit where one is needed. So, to see what any item is made of – or even is – requires paging to the back of the book. It's a pain, especially on Hoopla.

And the images are WAY too small. I can barely see any details in them.

Finally, there are lots of multiple items by the same artist – for instance, there might be ten different aprons by the same person, all in the exact same style. If a call really went out for submissions, one would think the curator would have gotten plenty to spread the joy around a little more. There is so. much. repetition. And there's a lot of repetition, too.

Oh, and one more thing that I had planned to leave out, since the poor design of the book is not the fault of the contributing artists, but I feel like it just needs to be said. Most of the items in this book are either impractical if not utterly useless, and I'm afraid that a good proportion of them are just outright ugly.

A disappointment, and my first bad Quarry experience.

[jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have long since forgotten why I picked up this book, but I'm sure glad I didn't buy it. Some items look to be made from fully brand-new materials, so I question the strictness of the definition of "reuse, remake, restyle, recycle, renew." The concept of "Man Crafts" sharing pages with "Geek" stuff is laughably outdated thinly veiled misogyny. The vision of the book was jumbly, far too many of the crafts depended on a " collage of garbage " aesthetic, none of the photos are big enough to show enough details to really inspire someone, etc. This is not the best of green design.

[Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a big upcycling fan and expected this book to be chuck filled with was to reuse items. Instead I found it was just full of pictures of things people have made with no description as to how just the pictures of the item and the name of the creator. I cannot imagine a practical use for owning this book.

I think the person who complied this book was a little too focused of quantity and not focused enough on quality.

[Bunny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hey, you know the point of making a book of "ideas" for creative reuse? Actually including the ideas.

How about when you put pictures of 1000 different upcycled projects, you actually tell us what is being upcycled, rather than making us flip continuously back and forth to an appendix?

Waste of valuable reading time.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to look at, but really you could get the same effect browsing through Etsy. In fact, a lot of the artists in this book are on Etsy. I did really like the "Art" section that showed some interesting stuff.

[Michelle Glatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this gorgeous, inspiring art book at the public library sale for just $1. Pretty fitting, I think.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually just a book of photographs of projects. Some of them are very, very cool, and there is a directory of contributors in the back in case you really liked something and wanted to try and find it. Some of the artists had Etsy shops. There is also a short list of blogs and websites and another list for recycle centers for alternative art materials. Hopefully, if you like one of the projects enough you can either figure out where to buy it or make it yourself.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a visual treat. It is loaded with color photographs of lots of clever ideas transformed into beautiful works of art. I saw this book at the library and was so amazed at the quality and quantity of photographs and ideas I had to buy it. If you like to consider yourself as someone that likes to recycle and renew... you should enjoy the projects in this book.

[Johanna Haas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at artists doing upcycling projects, this book gives plenty of inspiration - I could get lost in it. Unfortunately, it gives less information about the projects and their materials, or about the artists. I still think it's great.

[Snickerdoodle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Creative projects - yes. Any of them useful or worthwhile or beautiful - extremely few! Not at all what I was expecting. An exercise in creativity for the makers of these things but the book was nothing more than a vanity project - not worth my time.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting at all. I found a few things interesting but without know the materials and where to go to get instructions it would be hard to recreate.

The photography is great. And the variety of the projects.

[Sue Mosher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing ideas for art from junk. Love a lot of them. Reminds me of what my kids do. :-)

[Sadie Borkowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hipster nonsense.

[NayDoubleU · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would give 0 if i can. The set up in this ebook is trash

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

cool ideas but no instructions 😕

[Christine Turner]

HCPL Nonfiction 745.5 Joh

Artists and crafters have always been recyclers, but for many, it has not only become a thrifty choice, it has become a moral imperative. 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse contains a cutting edge collection of the most inventive work being made with re-used, upcycled, and already existing materials. The work in this book ranges from clever and humble personal accessories to unique and important large-scale works of art, including paper art, fashion, jewelry, housewares, interiors, and installations.

Notes
Garth Johnson is a studio artist, writer and educator who lives in Eureka, California. In addition to maintaining the website "Exteme Craft" (www.extremecraft.com) Garth writes for CRAFT magazine and his writing has been featured in museum catalogs, magazines, and books worldwide, including a contribution to the upcoming book Handmade Nation from Princeton Architectural Press. His first DVD, ReVision: Recycled Crafts for Earth-Friendly Living will be released by Eyekiss Films later this year. His artwork was featured in a solo show at Gallerie Maxim in Cologne, Germany in August, 2008. Garth received a BFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MFA from Alfred University. He has taught at Georgia State University, Columbus State University and is currently a full-time instructor at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, CA. In addition to teaching, he is a sought-after lecturer and visiting artist, with recent lectures at Ohio State University, Illinois State University, and the Kansas City Art Institute.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught my eye because of the interesting cover. Also, I'm a big fan of browsing on sites like Etsy.com to see creative ways that people have reused everyday items.

I finished the book in one sitting! Besides the 2 page introduction, there weren't a lot of words in this book. The 1000 images are presented along with the name of the creator and where they are from. The images are organized into 6 chapters (though the author admits many of the items overlap categories):
-Paper, Collage, & Assemblage
-Couture & Soft Goods
-Jewelry & Adornments
-Geek Craft & Man Craft
-Housewares & Furnishings
-Art, Interiors, & Installations

Examples of some of the ideas I liked: Book covers made into purses, books made into bookshelves, postcards used as wallpaper, jewelry made out of typewriter keys or Scrabble letters (I have a necklace charm made out of a typewriter key from a local store!), a chair made entirely of wine corks, and a quilt made of squares cut out of old t-shirts (I have one of these, too - my mom's friend made it for me). The book is filled with so many great ideas, but even if you're not inclined to attempt to make any of the items, it's still fun to look at them all. My only complaint is that I had to look in the image directory in the back of the book to figure out what materials went into the items - I wish it had simply been listed underneath the picture because I tired of flipping back and forth.

[Yaaresse · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 50% when it was obvious the last 50% wasn't going to be any more interesting than the first 50%.

This could have been so much more interesting, but basically it's like a Pinterest account run amok.
It's badly organized. Lots of photos, but not useful information on the materials, methods, or artists. As for ideas for crafters, it's really a lot of stuff one doesn't want made into other stuff that no one else wants. Fine for an art exhibit, but it's all mostly stuff that's going to sit around and collect dust. I'm all for recycling and upcycling, but the point should be to make something that is useful in its own right rather than to just bragging rights about not throwing something out.

___
DNF Disclaimer: Usually I don't mark my DNF/abandoned books as "read" or give them a rating. That said, I might do one or both of those if any of the following is applicable:
A) I read 25% or more. It's a completely arbitrary limit, but that is more than enough time for a book to prove its value to me.
B) I find the content or writing especially inane, insufferable, or just plain old dull.
C) Either the content or author's POV simply annoyed the hell out of me.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing collection of creative ways to reuse old stuff was a real kick to my creative impulses. The author arranges the creations in groups by material or theme, such as "Paper, Collage & Assemblage" and "Geek Craft & Man Craft," though there are some artists who end up in each category for one reason or another. The arrangements on the pages are very clever and works of art in themselves, sometimes for color, sometimes for shapes. Of course, there are the crazy things like a tin foil dress and spiky jewelry that look like they would only torture the wearer, but the ability of finding beauty in discarded materials is what shines through.

[Lana. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of ideas as described in the title (though not exactly 1000 since there are similar items that are duplicates).

While the projects certainly involved DIY for the maker, don't expect this to be a DIY book with instructions or material listings. This is purely a "look book" of sorts for inspiration.

Good for people who might like the look at DIY, but not necessarily interested in doing it themselves (each photo does list the maker, and their company), or for those already who have some DIY skills in need of a small spark to kickstart a project.

[BeckBe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is NOT a how-to book, so you need some knowledge of materials and methods if you want to make any of the projects shown, or refer to instructions elsewhere. That said, this book is simply amazing. It ranges from simple coasters made of album covers to elaborate art pieces requiring metalworking skills and everything in between. It features sections on paper crafting, couture and soft goods, jewelry and adornments, geek craft and "man craft" (???), housewares and furnishings, and art and installations.
Besides providing tons of inspiration for projects, it is just plain fun to look at.

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

What great book! So artistically amazing - I got so many great ideas from it. I would definitely recommend it to people who love arts & crafts.The book contains only photos, no craft instructions. It is more like an arts & crafts exhibit showing creative works from artists all over the world. Just to give you an idea: Necklace made from cards, barbie parts (face/lips) necklaces, table cloth made of Splenda packages, handbags made out of zippers...You get the idea - it's really epic!

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up from the library (alright I made the order it and then picked it up) and I really liked it! Most "recycling other stuff for crafts" books give detailed instructions on how the project can be redone. I don't always like that because it takes away from the creative process. This book has relatively no words in it at all. Page after page of images with the artist's name and country equals 1000 IDEAS, not 1000 projects you should copy. Bravo.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this book! The title was exactly what the book was... ideas for creative reuse... but unfortunately there were no descriptions on materials or methods used! This pic is just 1000 pictures of (albeit fantastic)"Creative reuse" I would reccomend this to experienced mixed media artists and craftsters, but not to anyone who wants to learn how to actually do this type of art.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art as well as useful items made by repurposing items. Many many artists are respresented in this book. It was fun to look through and see how really creative people can be. Very inspiring book. Makes me want to look at things a bit differently. A wonderful resource for artists or those who just want to be inspired and amazed.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book out from the library by the title. I was hoping for more every day type reuse ideas. This book is geared to artists and has cutting edge type crafts. The format is different with all the pictures in the front and descriptions for each picture in the back.