This upcyclist gives new life to old junk

Paco Pili is the man Bosch chooses to feature because the guy takes pride in being an upcyclist, redeeming old discarded items from the waste bin and turning them into new beautiful works of art or functional items.

Upcycling? Now, there’s a new green word! Here’s the lowdown on upcycling: “It is the process of converting old or discarded goods into something beautiful, either as an art piece or something of practical use. It is different from recycling because it seeks to repurpose old items and create something even better than the original, whereas recycling is a process of reusing materials such as plastic, paper, metal or glass to manufacture new consumer products. While both are great ways to reduce waste, upcycling takes the artistic aesthetic as an imperative.”

At a recycling forum I once covered in Singapore, I learned by heart these three Rs: recycle, reuse, resell. Believe it or not, I learned about old cell phones being recycled into hair dryers or even brand-new cars! Hello! I learned that Singapore has no landfill because everything is sorted out and recycled.

And now, I’m adding a new word to my lean green vocabulary: upcycling.

Only 24, Paco Pili, a marketing graduate, could have chosen to be a young executive at an ad agency or a marketing firm. But fate had another design for him  and he just couldn’t resist the call of creative design. He would rather sweat in his garage, tinkering with unwanted objects than sit in a tony, air-conditioned office wearing a suit.

It all began as a hobby for Paco during his college years when he was making unique gifts for a special girl he wanted to impress. That may have sparked his passion for upcycling, which has since become a full-time job for Paco who now creates objects of desire for some of Manila’s trendier furniture stores.  He also makes custom furniture for celebrity clients.

Think cozy couches from old bathtubs that have seen better days. And hear this: speaker sets from old luggage and boomboxes from car hoods, among many of Paco’s upcycled works of art.

How does Paco do it? He does all the work with the help of just one assistant. He uses second-hand power tools for which he would hound the flea markets, junk shops, and thrift stores.

He shares, “I used to buy the cheapest tools I could find at auctions and second-hand stores. I felt I saved money on those tools, but they would keep breaking down and I would end up buying the same tools over and over again — so my profits were just wasted on tools that would give out even before I could complete my projects.”

Recently, Paco acquired brand-new power tools from Bosch to try and see if there would be a difference in the quality and completion time of his work.

According to Paco, since he started using Bosch power tools, what used to take four to five days for him to finish now would take just two days. “I am now working on a table made out of an old sewing machine. With my Bosch Sander, sanding the sewing machine’s entire wood surface took me just an hour compared to the full day it used to require,” he relates. “For this project, I am using the sewing machine as a base and I bought a long panel of hardwood for the tabletop. Cutting the hardwood with the Bosch circular saw and Bosch planer was easy and safe, giving me a smooth finish without having to break a sweat.”

Using the Bosch cordless drill also allowed Paco to use less manual force to easily drive pegs into the hardwood tabletop that will be attached to the sewing machine base. Because it was battery powered, the Bosch cordless drill gave him the flexibility to work without the restriction of cables and reach angles that were previously impossible with his old tools.

For Paco, everything old and ugly can be new and beautiful again!

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To purchase Paco’s works of art, visit http://instagram.com/pacopacopili. For more information on Bosch power tools, log on to http://www.bosch-pt.com.ph/ph/en/bosch-power-tools/startpage/power-tools.html.