Check out the opportunities in upcycling, from secondhand hubs across Africa to east London's hair salons and a dumpling-waste-turned-noodle business. Plus, scroll to the end for some wholesome baked-goods news.
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01. Artist Selinam Kofiga Gbemu grew up visiting Accra's Kantamanto Market, the biggest secondhand hub in West Africa (through which 15 million items of clothing pass each day). That led to The Slum Studio: his fashion design project committed to recycling and repurposing clothing while establishing an upcycle culture in Ghana 🇬🇭.
02. Meanwhile, at Gikomba Market, East Africa's biggest secondhand hub, Rummage Studio is turning denim, leather and corduroy clothing into patchwork bags and wallets.
03. RE=COMB collects plastic waste from east London businesses to make recycled combs, piks and barrettes. Its founders (hair stylists in the fashion industry) started the business because they couldn't find sustainably made tools.
04. There are ways into upcycling even if you make new products – bespoke furniture brand Lozi sells cute egg cups and board games out of its plywood offcuts 🪚.
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05. WALTER is a fancy ceramic water filter. The name is inspired by iconic British vacuum brand Henry. Yes, it's $425. And, yes, it looks way cooler than your BRITA.
06. It could match your $420 hand-blown glass flycatcher 🪰.
07. We've been talking with Vicky Yang, founder of London-based Yang's Noods, a dried noodle brand that's quickly been snapped up by the city's hottest delis and markets. How did she do it while holding down a day job as a designer? We slid into her DMs…
What inspired you to start Yang's Noods?
‘I started making noods by accident – initially, I wanted to make some dumpling wraps but failed miserably and ended up having leftover dough. I didn't want to waste [it], so I turned [it] into noods! As I love sharing food, I gave a few to some friends, who gave them to their friends. It all snowballed from there.’
You've been able to get into quite a few shops early in your launch – how did it happen? Any advice to share?
‘My friends recommended me to sell on the app DELLI, and then lots of people and shops found me through there and Insta. After gaining the confidence of people really loving my noods, I approached some local shops that I love. I learned quite a lot along the way, as I'm completely new to the food business, like the finance, admin and operations of it. But I'd say just be as thick-skinned as you can. You don't ask, you don't get. How's anyone going to know you and your product if you don't shout about it?’
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DIG DEEPER.
Ready to try something outside of your day job? Check out our guide to goal setting to help plan your future aims and first steps.
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08. Happy Medium is a studio for casual artists in New York City 🎨. It holds workshops on figure drawing and large canvas painting and hosts an art cafe, where customers can order and get stuck into their own craft projects. It's just settled into a permanent space (and has a fun interactive website).
09. Megan Dorsey comes from a family of antique dealers and now she's found her own niche. She's the owner of a company called Everthine Antiques & Stationery – her thing is stationery and paper goods based on black Victorian women.
10. Publichood Coffee is a coffee roaster in Jakarta 🇮🇩 – it has cafes and a roastery in the city, and it also lets other coffee companies rent its site to co-roast beans.
11. Ornella Cicchetti launched a record label in Rome a decade ago called Sounds Familiar – then she added a clothing line, and now she's opened a shop in an old car garage.
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12. Mohcyn Bousfiha, founder of concept store and hotel Moro (which we featured in our last book), spotted some openings around Marrakech 🇲🇦.
- ‘Our friends Rosena and Fred are behind Boutique Souk – the most successful event agency in Marrakech and beyond – and they're now opening Farasha Farmhouse, [also in] Marrakech. It's out of this world. You can go chill, spend the day, have lunch – they'll also organize parties and weddings.’
- ‘The brand-new place to be, especially for breakfast and takeaway, is Blue Ribbon, tucked behind the very famous Australian restaurant +61. What makes the venture more exciting is that the founders – Aziz and Sarah – also own a farm called Sanctuary Slimane, where they produce veggies and more.’
- ‘I'm very proud of my friends Robert and Tiberio from Beni Rugs. They're always working on collaborations with brilliant interior designers to create stunning Moroccan carpets. Their showroom is in Tameslouht, a village near Marrakech. What I like about their vision is that they've democratized the Moroccan carpet – the customer can choose the design, the colors, the size, etc.’
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13. Just around the corner from Moro, Maison Brummell Majorelle is a stunning new design-focused hotel.
14. Indian entrepreneur Sangeet Paryani launched a sneaker store called Superkicks in 2018. It's since blown up, rode the streetwear wave and opened stores in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru and, recently, New Delhi.
15. Our contributor Varsha Bansal spotted this leafy bookstore and cafe in Bengaluru 🇮🇳: ‘Champaca is set on the top floor of an old bungalow, with an aim to promote all kinds of authors, including the ones who write in local languages like Kannada. It also has an interesting subscription where it delivers books based on a theme – this year's is loneliness and connection.’
16. Will Gen Alpha read a print magazine? Anyway is a publication for curious tweens.
17. Good Tape is a print magazine about podcasting, from a founding member of Simplecast.
18. The demand for size-inclusive footwear is growing. Lithuanian designer Ieva Juskaite started her shoe brand JIIJ, which is available in EU sizes 35 to 46. ‘Every other day, I get messages from girls and boys who have bigger shoe sizes than EU 42, saying they've never seen shoes for themselves like JIIJ and that they're extremely happy that I'm making them,’ Ieva told us.
19. Korean artist Jisu Kim once studied at Sotheby's Institute of Art in New York. She now runs a fun pet clothing brand called Little Beast.
20. This Stockholm-based urban mushroom farm is taking off 🍄.
21. Christopher Selig is the chef behind these ramen kits, which are sent down to customers via a bucket from his apartment window. Based in Berlin, he's been producing the kits since 2020.
22. After recent negative comments, Mandy Yin, founder of London's Malaysian restaurant Sambal Shiok, broke down the price of a fried chicken dish: ‘Yes, our fried chicken costs £13. After taking off VAT 20%, we are only left with £10.80, from which we deduct cost of chicken and other ingredients (£3), cost of staff to prepare entire dish from start to finish (£4.50), cost of rent and rates (£2), cost of keeping the lights, heating/AC, fryers on (£1). We are left with a princely 30p after you factor everything in.’
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23. Cloudy Donut was founded by Derrick Faulcon after he was incarcerated for 11 years 🍩. In addition to helping more than 200 inmates get their GEDs, Derrick researched everything about the food industry with the hopes that one day he could build his own empire. He hopes to use ‘reverse gentrification’ to bring black businesses into affluent white areas. Check out his space for culinary creatives of color – The Brown Collective.
24. 90-year-old Yiorgos Hatziparaskos is one of just a few bakers still making phyllo dough by hand. You can see him in action at his bakery in Rethymnon, Crete.
25. In more wholesome baked-goods news: Tharshan Selvarajah, who's originally from Sri Lanka but immigrated to France at age 21, has just won a prize for the best traditional French baguette of the year 🥖. The winner is awarded €4,000 and a one-year contract to supply baguettes to the Élysée Palace, the residence of the French President. Here's Tharshan's bakery.
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Elsewhere in Courier:
🤳 On TikTok: Step inside Ghia's dreamy LA office, located in a stunning house.
💻 Online: What to do if you want your business to be about more than profit.
📰 In print: We follow an up-and-coming creator navigating viral fame in our latest issue.
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