Forging new concepts in the world of up-cycling.
Bat-Fish Studio was created in 2014 by Tracy Yerrell and was set up to address the waste that is created by the textile & fashion industry. Bat-Fish Studio focuses on working with a wide range of materials, using textiles & components that are often bound for the landfills and uses these elements as a creative starting point.
Working with materials that would otherwise be discarded, I have gone on to create a line of clothing using a combination of my original screened art work & reclaimed textiles. As materials come to the studio they are reconstructed into completely new items altogether, altered and reworked, re-imagined, refashioned, up-cycled and repurposed. By incorporating a variety of design techniques & incorporating nontraditional materials, the garments & accessories go on to become unique new pieces of wearable art.
Some materials are sourced from second hand or thrift stores. I also take donations of dead stock fabrics, boxes of forgotten textiles in attics & basements needing to be made into something wonderful. I source off cut textiles from local retail suppliers, theatre costume & custom set designs, interior design houses, & private donations.
I also have a line of jewelry 'Tube*Bella' that is made from the inner tubes of bicycle tires & found objects. Using a wide variety of ingredients from the upholstery industry, reclaimed vinyl, leather & dead stock fabric, I have produced a line of eclectic accessories that use up the wide array of interesting items that come my way!
Fabric sample books from the upholstery industry go on to become 'Singed Exquisite' a line of fascinators that you can wear in your hair, on a hat or clothing.
The bicycle inner tube used to create the Tube*Bella jewelry line is sourced from the local bicycle store Recyclista who work to restore & refurbish bikes. I utilize broken pieces of jewellery, discarded chain, off-cuts of leather & vinyl, unwanted & found objects, all coming from a wide variety of sources, rescued before it finds itโs way to the landfills.
Bat-Fish Studioโs goal is not only to produce & sell clothing & accessories made from post consumer waste, but to educate & inspire others to look at material waste in a different light. By tapping into more unconventional design aesthetics and embracing the idea that waste can really be a resource, it inspires people to get in touch with their own creativity and how they can make a difference with up-cycling & re-purposing. The possibilities are only as limited as our imaginations.
Bat-Fish Studio works hard to expose the myth that just because a product is up-cycled, or produced from recycled elements, that design aesthetics will be compromised. Through innovative & creative thinking we strive to prove the opposite is true, resulting in unique one of a kind pieces.
Bat-Fish Studio also offers Creativity Workshops. A line of classes that focus on using unconventional & re-purposed materials. Designed to be fun & user friendly, they are a great way to experience hands on creative up-cycling! Change is not always made through โbigโ changes but by the small focused efforts made at a local level, day to day. Innovation & creative thought can make a difference, by following a new way of thinking, turning waste into something beautiful and useful for every day life.
All Bat-Fish Studio products are for sale, if you are interested in purchasing any of my pieces please message me for more information. You can also check us out on Instagram & Etsy.