Reimagining Waste: An Interactive Showcase

Join us for an immersive and interactive evening exploring how waste and surplus materials are being transformed into beautiful products.

What if “waste” wasn’t the end of the story, but the starting point?

Reimagining Waste is a hands-on, immersive evening where London-based makers, designers, and innovators show how discarded materials can be transformed into beautiful, functional products, and invite you to get involved in the process.

Rather than talking about sustainability in abstract terms, this event brings it to life. You’ll move from maker to maker, see materials transformed in real time, and learn simple, practical skills you can use in your everyday life.

What you’ll experience on the night

Throughout the evening, you’ll be able to take part in short, interactive demonstrations and activities, including:

• Handmade Stories: Learn how excess and surplus stock is upcycled into contemporary fashion pieces while preserving centuries-old textile traditions and craft techniques.
• Arda: Discover how the transform waste grain from the Bermondsey Beer Mile into new, animal and plastic-free materials for fashion. You’ll be able to see protein pellets form in real time, offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at material innovation.
• TLZ Movement: London-based designer Nadia will share practical techniques for repairing, customising, and extending the life of garments. Expect accessible tips, educational videos, and inspiration to rethink how you care for your clothes.

Alongside these, you’ll meet a wider group of London-based brands working with waste, surplus, and discarded materials, including:

• Jewellery and skincare brands demonstrating how waste materials and by-products are transformed into considered, high-quality products, with the opportunity to see parts of the making process up close.
• Food and drink brands offering tastings made from surplus or discarded ingredients, showing how creativity and care can turn food waste into something genuinely delicious.

Across the evening, you’ll be able to:

• Learn quick 5-minute skills such as mending, material reuse, or repair
• See how waste streams are transformed into finished products
• Taste food and drinks made from ingredients that would otherwise be thrown away
• Speak directly with the people behind the brands

What you’ll leave with

• Practical skills you can use straight away to repair, reuse, and rethink what you already own
• A clearer understanding of how waste can be transformed into valuable materials and products
• Direct insight from the makers behind some of London’s most interesting circular businesses
• New connections with designers, innovators, policy-makers, and like-minded people

Who it’s for

This event brings together an intentionally mixed audience:

• Members of London councils and policy-makers looking to see real-world applications of sustainability
• Business owners and professionals from the fashion, beauty, and food & drink sectors
• Members of the public who want practical skills and a deeper understanding of how to make more conscious choices

It’s a space to learn, connect, and form meaningful conversations, whether you’re influencing policy, building a business, or making purchasing decisions.

Event Details

📍 10 Dirty Lane, Borough Yards, London Bridge, SE1 9PA (in front of Atis)
📅 25th March 2026
🕒 18:00 - 21:00
🎟 Ticket required for entry

Location

Borough Yards, next to Borough Market. A distinctive destination beneath Victorian railway arches, known for independent makers, culture, and contemporary design.

Book your place

Spaces are limited to keep the experience genuinely hands-on and interactive.
If you’re curious about how things are really made, want to learn practical skills, or are interested in shaping a more thoughtful approach to consumption and production, this evening is for you.

Book your ticket now and join us for an immersive experience that reimagines waste through making, skill, and participation.

About the organisers

The event is organised and curated by Handmade Stories, a London-based social enterprise and fashion brand focused on slow fashion, heritage preservation, and creating meaningful opportunities through making.

It is delivered with the support of Southwark Council, the Mayor of London, ReLondon, and Borough Yards.