He’s a regular at flea markets, junk shops and thrift stores. The nature of his craft makes it certain that he would be covered in grime and his own sweat before the day is through — which, no matter how unpleasant it may all sound, are all welcome indications that he is on the verge of resurrecting the dead.
Of course, by resurrecting the dead, we mean goods and materials that have reached their end of life, yet have been saved from the landfill to be repurposed in an unusual or artful manner.
At 24, marketing graduate Paco Pili could have been a young executive at an ad agency or marketing firm. But the lure of creative design made him give up a promising position at a local bank to pursue upcycling. Today, he takes pleasure in turning unwanted items into furniture that bring an element of fun to homes and offices.
Upcycling is the process of converting old or discarded goods into something beautiful, either as an art piece or something with practical use. Upcycling is different from recycling because it seeks to repurpose old items and create something even better than the original; whereas recycling is a process of reusing materials such as plastic, paper, metal or glass to manufacture new consumer products.
While both are great ways to reduce waste, upcycling takes the artistic aesthetic as an imperative.
Paco has been upcycling for the past three years. Beginning as a hobby in his college years, upcycling started off as a means to create unique gifts for a girl he was trying to impress. However, it has since become his full-time job, creating pieces that have been purveyed by a few of Manila’s trendier furniture stores. Today, he creates custom furniture for celebrity clientele.
He has made interesting appliances and furniture that become instant conversation pieces such as couches made from bathtubs, speaker sets from old luggage, and boomboxes from car hoods, among many others. Depending on the complexity of the project, it usually takes him one to two weeks to complete a single piece of furniture, beginning with finding and purchasing the materials, to designing the concept, through to constructing the final output.
The construction of the furniture usually takes up the most time, as he usually does all the work with the help of just one assistant. He was using second-hand power tools but recently acquired brand new power tools from Bosch to try and see if there would be a difference in quality and completion time.
“I used to buy the cheapest tools I could find from auctions and second-hand stores,” said Paco. “At the time of purchase, I felt I saved money on those tools. But they would keep breaking down and I would end up buying the same tools over and over again – so my profits were just wasted on tools that would give out even before I could complete my projects.”
According to Paco, this changed when he started using Bosch Power Tools. He realized that a project that once took him 4-5 days, would now take just 2 days to finish.
“I am now working on a table made out of an old sewing machine. With my Bosch Sander, sanding the sewing machine’s entire wood surface took me just an hour compared to the full day it used to require. For this project, I am using the sewing machine as a base and I bought a long panel of hardwood for the tabletop. Cutting the hardwood with the Bosch circular saw and Bosch planer was easy and safe, giving me a smooth finish without having to break a sweat.”
Using the Bosch cordless drill also allowed him to use less manual force to easily drive pegs into the hardwood tabletop that will be attached to the sewing machine base. Because it was battery powered, the Bosch cordless drill gave him the flexibility to work without the restriction of cables and reach angles that were previously impossible with his old tools.
“The Bosch Impact Drill made a significant improvement on the quality and precision of my work,” Paco added. “I recently just completed a lamp made out of galvanized iron pipes. Precision is more critical in this project to minimize instances of shorting and grounding, and the Bosch Impact Drill helped me to accurately create the cavities needed for the wiring. Despite the thickness and rigidity of the metal, I was able to complete drilling in a few hours and with less physical pressure compared to the full day it usually took.”
But perhaps the best part of using Bosch tools is that Paco no longer has to worry about leaving a project unfinished or experience delays in completion due to power tool failure.
“Apart from the safety and precision of using the Bosch power tools, I am more assured of the longevity of the tools and I know my Bosch tools guarantee the best performance every time,” Paco stated. “The support service is very reliable, so in the event of a problem, I know that help is only just a phone call away.”
By using Bosch tools, Paco can now create more furniture pieces and earn more from precision and superior-quality work. He is currently working on a few more bathtub couches and tables made from old luggage, but more importantly, he can now explore new innovative designs for future projects. His projects exude 60’s hip with a modern vibe, putting a quirky twist and artistic form to practical function.
