Salvage Sister gets busy at Acorn

Channel 4’s Salvage Sister is visiting Jersey on Tuesday 3 July to work with Acorn and pass on her upcycling expertise.

Charis Williams has been invited to Jersey by the Jersey Employment Trust and will be doing interactive workshops at the Acorn Reuse Centre in Trinity with Acorn clients to create unique items from reusable materials. 

“We are delighted that Charis is coming over to join us for the day. Her work is a perfect fit with the work that we do at Acorn and we are looking forward to putting her tips to good use for the benefit of the charity and to make some unique pieces for Jersey homes,” said JET Executive Officer Jocelyn Butterworth.

Charis’  visit and the Acorn workshops, which have been sponsored by Beaumont Structural Consultants, will also be the launchpad for the Acorn Reuse Challenge. In true Salvage Sister fashion, Charis has already designed a trophy for the winner which includes reuse items. The challenge is open to all Islanders and involves upcycling a soil box. The winner of the challenge will be the person who creates an item which most catches the eye and imagination of the judges.

At Tuesday’s workshop JET will film a 10-step guide to upcycling the box. “With Charis’ help we’ll show people the basics but after that the imagination and design skills will be all theirs. We would love to see what local artisans would come up with!”

The soil boxes are available from the centre in Trinity at a cost of £5 and the competition will be open until 31 August. Details of the Acorn Reuse Challenge and the 10-step guide will be on the Acorn Facebook page where the winner will be announced and pictures of the designs will be posted. 

The Acorn Reuse Centre is Jersey’s largest social enterprise project and the new centre and facilities at Trinity will be finished and launched in September this year. Acorn Reuse Centre benefits Jersey’s environment by upcycling and reusing tonnes of unwanted items, providing training and employment opportunities for people who might otherwise struggle to find employment, while helping lower income families enjoy an improved quality of life by providing the opportunity to buy reasonably priced reused goods.