Recyclique is a co-op of people who do "upcycling" -- We design and build useful affordable products from found objects, trash and recycled materials. Our goal is eye-catching, cool products, that are distinctive (not kitsch!). We use sales of upcycled products to support CommunEcos workshops on environmental and alternative economics education; production of co-op products also creates small income flows for underemployed people. [Our organization was formerly known as YIKES!].
Visit us at our new website: http://www.communecos.org
For info, email: yikes.contact@gmail.com or communecos@gmail.org.
Check out Recyclique, our shop [featuring upcycled goods, vintage and sustainability products].
(see below for photo of house and location, etc.)
In early June 2011 -- Recyclique opened a combination retail & enviro-education center at 2811 Hillsborough Rd (next to the Food Lion). Our hours are 3-6 pm Thur & Fridays, and 10-5 pm Saturdays. We have educational workshops on most Sat. afternoons (usually 2-4 pm) and on Third Fridays 6-8 pm.
Our new site enables us to market upcycled & sustainability products (as well as vintage and thrift finds) and and to do regular workshops and social events supporting sustainable lifestyles and green job creation through micro-enterprise with a focus on reuse and repurposed goods. We have also filed for formal non-profit status as CommunEcos -- the NGO that will house both the Recyclique co-op and environmental education activities. The new CommunEcos website is www.communecos.org. For more info or to learn how to get involved or place your upcycled products in the shop, email: yikes.contact@gmail.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Upcycling Co-op’s new Retail Shop
. . . exploring the arts of creative re-use, sustainable lifestyles, green job creation & our nutty relationships with stuff
2811 Hillsborough Rd., Durham, NC
(green house next to the Food Lion/Monro Muffler)
Past workshops at Recyclique have included:
Sustainable Paper-making, Bee-Keeping, Pranic Healing, Home Composting, Raised Bed Gardening, Crocheting with PLARN (plastic bag strips), Viewing of "Garbage Warrior" film, Viewing of "Inside Job" film, Reading by Steve Hren from Tales from the Sustainable Underground, Solar Thermal Power, Viewing of "We All Fall Down," Vermiculture, Seed-saving from Heirloom Tomatoes, Viewing of "Gasland" film, Workshop on Solar Energy Alternatives, Mask-making w/ clay and paper-mache, Aromatherapy w/ Essential Oils, Hand-made Journals.
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Costume Party -- Fri. Oct. 28th
to celebrate opening of “Night Kitchen”
Frightful yummies/cider/coffee/tea
Live Music by Dylan Turner
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Also, in Dec. 2011 we completed our 5th two-week long Green Career Training with the Forest Foundation & Durham Economic Resource Center [supported by a Golden Leaf Fdn grant]. Cohorts of DERC students have attended the trainings, held in March, May , August, September & December 2011. Each 2-week segment included days focused on Green Literacy, Green Entrepreneurship, Recycling, Sustainable Manufacturing, Residential Solar, Green building, Weatherization, Green Landscaping, & Alternative transportation fuels. Instructors include: Marc Dreyfors, John Parker, Sandy Smith-Nonini, Anthony Watts, Steve Hren, Jeff Ensminger, Henry Wills, Bill Triplett, and Bayyinah Salahuddin.
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Check out the winning entries from our Re-hashed Trash Bash upcycling contest on our FACEBOOK page.
The contest was was sponsored by the new UNC YIKES! Team and the Awards Bash was held on the evening of Dec. 2nd, 2010 in Hyde Hall, at UNC. The prize for "Best in Show" -- for an amazingly strong hammock made from plastic shopping bags -- went to Sam Mize, former NC School of Science and Math student, now at NCSU. Prize winners in the products category included Sue Beauchamp (1st Prize) for her artistic envelopes and Kindle Cherry (2nd Prize) for a revamped floor lamp. Winners in the art category were Charron Andrews (1st Prize) for her eclectic shrine (made from everyday objects) and Diane Moritzio (2nd Prize) for her "Cherry Sky" mosaic from broken glass. The "People's Choice" award went to George Danser for his rotating composter, and the green job "Prototype" award went to the Recyclique co-op for an artistic rain barrel (painted by artist Kim Erny).
Many thanks to our five judges -- which combined expertise from the new NC Re-Use Alliance, Orange Co. Solid Waste, UNC Sustainability Office, the Scrap Exchange and a UNC student perspective.
Criteria: In both categories judges awarded points for aesthetic value or "coolness," quality of construction, usefulness in environmental education, and environmental footprint. For products: additional criteria include usefulness and marketability. Green job prototype criteria included ease of sourcing materials and prospects of being reproduced in a reasonable time by people who do not have specialized training.
Also special thanks to all who donated used shoes for Share Our Shoes -- a Raleigh non-profit that helps clean out American closets and sends shoes to countries where too many people go barefoot..
Due to the enthusiasm that this year's event generated, we may make it an annual event -- but will likely schedule more lead time for crafters and inventors and hold the awards bash in warmer weather if we do it again in 2011. Stay tuned for updates!
Recyclique is best known for its artistic rain barrels -- we are currently developing additional prototypes in collaboration with local crafters. Examples include mosaics from broken tiles and ceramics, revamped lamps, re-used glass products, and "re-jewelry" from found/recycled materials. We welcome folks interested in creating new prototypes.
If you would like to get on our email list to stay on top of activities, email: yikes.contact@gmail.com.
-----------------------------------------------Hey check out our new FACEBOOK page: YIKES! on Facebook
(hope you will "like" it while you're there!)
And follow us on TWITTER @YIKESnc
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Past Educational Workshops: (See workshops page for more info)ON GREENING THE ECONOMY:
We collaborated with the Black, Brown Green Alliance (BBGA) and Good Work in 2010-2011 to hold a series of meetings on "Slow Money" (alternative lending for sustainaqble enterprises) in Durham. In 2011 meetings were held on March 23rd, April 19th, and May 18th, and we had three previous meetings with community members in the summer and fall of 2010. Special thanks to UNC interns Derrick Bennett, Dan Kennedy and Lauren Stewart, for their assistance with organizing the fall and spring meetings.
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On July 24-25, 2010 we held a 3-D Mosaic workshop!! -- 
A comprehensive workshop taught by Durham mosaic artist Paula MacLeod on how to upcycle an ugly duckling of an object into a swan using mosaic techniques.
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UNC Students & YIKES! -- In 2010-11 we worked with about 23 UNC students on a variety of environmental education projects in Durham and Chapel Hill, including the ReHashed Trash Bash last fall. Max Rice did a display on Humanure (composting of human waste) and Elizabeth Lee did a display on plastics recycling at Earth Action Day on April 9th in Chapel Hill and at the NightLight club's Earth Week events in the week the followed. Derrick Bennett assisted in the Slow Money project. All three were enrolled in Prof. Sandy Smith-Nonini's "Environmental Justice" service learning course at UNC.
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Other 2010 activities:
A comprehensive workshop taught by Durham mosaic artist Paula MacLeod on how to upcycle an ugly duckling of an object into a swan using mosaic techniques. --------------------
UNC Students & YIKES! -- In 2010-11 we worked with about 23 UNC students on a variety of environmental education projects in Durham and Chapel Hill, including the ReHashed Trash Bash last fall. Max Rice did a display on Humanure (composting of human waste) and Elizabeth Lee did a display on plastics recycling at Earth Action Day on April 9th in Chapel Hill and at the NightLight club's Earth Week events in the week the followed. Derrick Bennett assisted in the Slow Money project. All three were enrolled in Prof. Sandy Smith-Nonini's "Environmental Justice" service learning course at UNC.
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Other 2010 activities:
Fri. July 30: Recyclique painted barrels with youth as "performing artists" at the Hillsborough Last Friday festival, Old Courthouse, downtown Hillsborough.
Many thanks our 12 outstanding heat tolerant volunteers at the Eno Festival on July 3, 4 and 5. The quality of barrels painted surpassed those from any previous festival, and our new canopy performed like a dream !
--------------------------------Donated Materials: In April and May, thanks to a contact from Katie King, in our student group, we acquired 61 new large barrels and 14 small ones from a new supplier in Person Co., with very low costs per barrel, so this allows us to divert funds to labor to aid co-op members.
GOOD NEWS on Sales: We sold our 2nd batch of 5 barrels to the Habitat Re-Store in March, and all but one had sold at last check. In spring and summer we've had many new orders (some for two barrels). And our newest item: painted mailboxes were also popular! (who knew?)
Green job income flows!! We are now devoting some income from sales to pay members in need of extra income to do barrel conversions, painting and transport, paying at a piece rate (Durham's living wage used as guide)
New Opportunities and Supporters: Our application for a Durham Craft market table was accepted, and Carpe Diem, a Durham based house cleaning company, generously sponsored our table -- Many kisses to Wendy Clark!
Many thanks to Kim Erny, the artist mother of Kevin Erny (one of our service learning interns) who donated time to paint a beautiful tropical flower barrel for us, which we plan to auction at a future fundraiser. Also, our new series of artist-led upcycling "how-to" workshops started in July, and we hope to continue "how-to" events in the coming year.
Spring 2010 Events:
SAT. MAY 1 ,"Water Wise: Saving Money & Surviving the next D rought" -- the last of 8 workshops on energy and climate/green lifestyles topics we presented this spring in the Sustain series, w/ Durham Parks & Recreation. This one featured Hope Taylor , exec. director of Clean Water for N.C. -- at the Holton Career and Resource Ctr. -- see Workshop page for more detail.
On Sun. Apr. 25th we painted barrels at a Green Festival at Eno River UU Fellowship, as guests of the new Green Earth Ministry there.
Other events this spring included interest meetings and tabling at UNC, and workshops w/ students of YO:Durham, Carolina Friends School, a Cary Scout Troop (led by UNC Students), and a booth at Earth Action Day (Chapel Hill) .
On Sun. Apr. 25th we painted barrels at a Green Festival at Eno River UU Fellowship, as guests of the new Green Earth Ministry there.
Other events this spring included interest meetings and tabling at UNC, and workshops w/ students of YO:Durham, Carolina Friends School, a Cary Scout Troop (led by UNC Students), and a booth at Earth Action Day (Chapel Hill) .
We're most well known for our artistically-painted rain barrels -- which sold well for the 2nd season in a row in 2009. We also build prototypes, including a solar space heater which now heats our space on sunny winter days. We have plans for future workshops on revamped lamps, attractively designed or painted compost, recycling & trash bins, self-watering plant containers and chicken coops. -- See rain barrel pages on this website for more detail on barrels, prices and pics!
Join us! -- We held meetings and round table sessions with Good Work in 2009 to develop a democratic co-op model in which members provide leadership and make decisions together about production and marketing and how to share proceeds. Our members benefit from our shared workshop space, use of common materials and supplies, hands-on instruction by artists, crafters and carpenters, and shared marketing. We host booths at local arts and environmental festivals and will soon have shared retail space in our center at 2811 Hillsborough Rd. We've also sold rain barrels through the Orange/Durham Habitat for Humanity ReStore. We have a system in place for sharing a portion of proceeds with members in the co-op who put sweat equity into our common product lines. . We need skilled crafts people, carpenters, crafters & visual artists - come join us. For more info: Email: yikes.contact@gmail.com.
