Sweet dreams are made of this: teen builds her own bed

Saturday 09 June 2018

A Year 8 student from Beaulieu Convent School is having sweet dreams after building her dream DIY bed, upcycled from pallet boards by Acorn Enterprises.

Clara O’Sullivan, approached the Trinity-based social enterprise to help her create the DIY pallet-board bed, inspired by a photo she saw on social media network Pinterest.

Acorn Enterprises is the vocational training arm of the Jersey Employment Trust and includes the Acorn Woodshack. Among other things, they save timber that would otherwise be burned to make high quality products, such as furniture and picture frames, which are then sold from the store in Trinity.

Delighted at Clara’s passion to reuse and up-cycle, Acorn helped her source the right pallets and prepare them before construction.

John Hill,  Acorn Enterprises Manager, said: “Clara’s enthusiasm really inspired me, and it was heartening to know that young people in Jersey are interested in reusing and upcycling. Projects like these are great for the environment as it means we are putting less items into the waste stream. Clara’s project perfectly combines reuse and upcycling, which really is at the heart of what we do at Acorn Enterprises.”

Pictured: Clara and John Hill with the pallets.

To make the bed, Acorn Enterprises removed the nails and sanded the boards down. At her home, Clara assembled the bed herself and decorated it with fairy lights.

Clara said: “I am so grateful to John and the team at Acorn for making my dream bed come true. When I explained to John what I wanted to achieve, he really listened and found the pallet boards which his team transformed.

"I would recommend anyone who sees a reuse project on social media to visit Acorn Enterprises. They have so many interesting items coming into their Woodshack workshop, ready to be reused and upcycled. It’s brilliant to have this facility in Jersey and more people should make use of it as it helps support the environment and our community."