B Corp month isn’t just an excuse to slap a fancy logo up and call it a day. It’s an opportunity to commit, to do good, to look to the future, and to support your community.
So what did we do? We got our hands dirty.
Led by Tilt Creative Xiyan Chen, we hosted a free papermaking workshop for students at our local community college, Brighton MET. The workshop was hosted by our friends and partners-in-B-Corp RedRoaster, who provided the space to get messy.
We began by gathering the precious materials for our craft: old receipts, paper bags, forgotten printouts, and offcuts, rescued from the Tilt bins. Waste isn’t waste until it’s wasted.
We shredded these materials and suspended them in water, adding coffee grounds for texture and dried flowers for decoration. We assembled these damp wodges onto a screen, and shaped our new sheet, or transferred to a mould to create bowls, trays, vases, and other beautiful objects. From waste to wonder.
The process takes its lead from the techniques for hand-making paper that have existed for over 2,000 years, first developed in ancient China by Cai Lun during the Han Dynasty. An ancient and beautiful example of sustainable craftsmanship. As a group of creative minds who spend much of our time concerned with pixels and plug-ins, it was important to us to celebrate the joy of the handmade, and share it with others.
“The students loved it so much they now want us to do more papercrafting at the college!”
GEORGINA BRIGHTON MET TUTOR & SUSTAINABILITY LEAD
Our goal – beyond making beautiful paper products – was to stimulate awareness and engagement with the practice of recycling. To show how a small change can make a bigger impact, and consider the implications of larger scale sustainable efforts. More than crafting, this workshop was about fostering a mindset of resourcefulness and creativity.
To show the younger generation that it’s possible for companies to care about people and planet, not just the bottom line. To inspire them to think carefully about where they spend their money, and where they might work in the future.
In workshop teacher Xi’s words, ‘We hope that the ripples of creativity and sustainability will extend far beyond our workshop, inspiring others to discover the wonder in what others discard.’
“It’s inspirational. I’m going to do papercrafting for my final piece”
STUDENT BRIGHTON MET
