A Perthshire upcycling centre fronted by a daytime TV favourite is celebrating a massive milestone.
Sarah Peterson founded the Tayside Upcycling and Craft Centre (TUCC) with her husband Alfie Ianetta in 2020.
Its showroom, beside the A90, between Perth and Dundee, is now a showcase for more than 40 local artisans and crafters who specialise in turning other people’s trash into treasure.
The TUCC team take unloved dressing tables, chairs and other objects and spruce them up so they’re ready to grace the poshest homes again.
And between them they have now diverted 60 tonnes of furniture away from landfill.
That amounts to about 5,000 items that have been given a new lease of life thanks to the Tayside Upcycling and Craft Centre.
Sarah is a regular on the BBC’s Money for Nothing programme, where she creates unique designs out of items saved from landfill.
But the other TUCC regulars include a GP, a molecular biologist, a retired painter and decorator and members of the local men’s shed group.
Their ages range from 18 to 86.
And as well as doing their bit for the environment, they credit TUCC with boosting their income and their mental health.
TUCC team finding joy in climate action
First Minister and Perthshire MSP John Swinney visited the centre to find out more about its work.
He says it’s a prime example of how small local steps can make a big impact on climate – and how doing right by the environment needn’t be all about sacrifice.
“The fact they have repurposed 60 tonnes of furniture is a huge achievement,” said Mr Swinney.
“In terms of climate action that’s very beneficial.
“But they also have that clear creative purpose that brings joy to so many people.”
‘No two objects here are the same’
Alfie and Sarah set up the Tayside Upcycling and Craft Centre after Sarah’s own furniture business outgrew her little shop in Perth.
It is a social enterprise, so a percentage of what the makers earn from the sale of their upcycled items goes back into the running of the centre.
The TUCC showroom, next to the Shell garage at Inchmichael, near Errol, runs workshops and education outreach sessions.
And as well as selling upcycled furniture, it stocks paints, brushes and all the tools customers need to do it themselves at home.
Alfie says he’d like to see a chain of similar centres across the country.
“No two objects here are the same, so people know they’re getting something that’s unique,” he said.
“And then there’s the environmental impact.
“When you buy something new, the wood might be coming from Vietnam, or Madagascar.
“Here, we’re taking furniture that’s maybe been around since the 1950s and putting it back out there so it can last another 70 years.”
Conversation