Designs of gratitude

What inspired you to start PEAHEAD.eco?

Like many people during lockdown in 2020, I had to find a way to occupy myself instead of watching the news and worrying about the pandemic. It dawned on me that I could do more about recycling, beginning with my own household.

At the same time, I started sewing as a hobby. I had owned a sewing machine for years, but had never used it. So, I watched a few YouTube tutorials to learn how to make items such as pouches and purses. I upcycled all my old clothes then started on the curtains in my villas. Around the same time Spinneys’ iconic green and gold plastic bags caught my eye. I’ve always loved the calligraphy on them and it struck me that I could perhaps use it to craft more products.

I learned how to fuse plastic bags to create a type of fabric. The whole process involved working with greaseproof paper, an ironing board and varying temperatures. It took time, but I really enjoyed it. Gradually the things I made caught people’s attention, so I placed a collection box in my community – where my neighbours could drop off their single-use plastic bags – and I also put one of my pouches alongside it so they could see what I would do with the collection. I really have my community to thank for all this. They supported my vision and bought the products I created. 

Your hobby has burgeoned into a much larger project. What all do you make?

Yes, it’s amazing. We make personalised and corporate gifts such as trophies, purses, pouches, dog leashes, which tie back to the dog charities that PEAHEAD.eco is involved with to help raise funds for them. I have also produced large-scale art installations that drive social impact for Etihad Airways, HSBC Middle East, Expo2020 and Dubai Design Week.

What did you do before you moved to the UAE?

I used to organise my own pop-up events in Edinburgh. I also worked at an art centre. But, in 2017, I decided to travel around Europe in a camper van with my dog. I was on the road for 14 months. During that time I came across people with varied skill sets and interests who worked outside of the corporate world. I gained plenty of knowledge about varied professions from design to permaculture. It was also when I learned about Precious Plastics, a company in The Netherlands that builds machines to recycle plastic waste. The recycled material can be turned into functional items. And that’s how my idea for designing products from plastic started.

Has sustainability always played a part in your creative process?

I’ve always been creative, but at the same time I didn’t want my creativity to cause harm. I mean there’s more than enough existing material to design and craft new products. There’s no need to produce new raw materials.

Tell us about the EcoCraftWorkshops you offer.

That happened organically, I’d never really planned for it. It started with Dubai Design Week where I was asked to conduct a workshop. After that more and more organisations reached out to me to run craft workshops for events. 

My business mentor at the Dubai Business Women Council pointed out that there was obviously a demand for what I was offering. So it made sense to take advantage of the situation and earn a living out of creative recycling.

PEAHEAD.eco designed our new limited-edition Spinneys tote bags. Who creates them?

I worked with a team of tailors in Ajman as well as an embroiderer. Prior to working with me they’d never made bags nor worked with plastic. They thought I was absolutely mad! In the end it all worked out great.

We are recycling more reused plastic bags than ever before, thereby preventing them from ending up in the environment.