Quirky revamps

NEXT time you’re chucking away the empties, spare a thought for Darlington entrepreneurs Karen Riley and Donna Feeney, who make a living out of salvaging old beer bottles from bins and turning them into quirky accessories for the home.

Inspired by a love of vintage, they set up new business venture Totes Adore, selling bags, brollies, clocks and scented candles – all of which have been made from old records, empty bottles and other cast-offs that would otherwise be confined to the tip.

“We both love shopping and vintage finds and we’re both quite artistic and thrifty and it evolved from there,” says Karen. “We salvaged a load of vinyl records from a chap in Durham who was throwing them in a skip and people have donated a lot of records that were scratched. They are not bio-degradable and can sit on landfill sites for years so we make cake stands or hair slides and hats out of them.”

The Viva La Vinyl range features wall clocks, hairclips, brooches and funky bags and caters for all musical tastes from disco and Rock’n’Roll anthems to “cringetastic clangers” to bring back old memories.

There’s an Abba Greatest Hits Clock (£15), a John Lennon Album Clock (£25), a Best Of Cilla, an Elvis Blue Hawaii, even a Bat Out of Hell clock.

Also popular are the cheese and lemon boards made out of old bottles which they clean up and flatten in a kiln. Karen and Donna drive around collecting hundreds of bottles from bars and restaurants in Darlington and Yarm every week. They take all sorts from champagne, spirits and beer bottles. Jack Daniels and Gordon’s Gin are among the best-sellers.

“The bars and restaurants have to pay quite a lot of money to get them taken away so they’re quite happy for us to have them – my car has a lovely aroma of empties,” says Karen.

“Some of the bottles can take up to 13 hours firing in the kiln, so it has taken quite a lot of training. The nicest part is that no two bottles ever come out the same. We get quite excited to see what they are going to look like.”

The Gordon’s Gin cheese and lemon board (£20) complete with a chopping knife, is among the most sought-after gifts as it’s perfect for slicing a lemon on to go with a G&T.

They take commissions and in the run-up to Christmas, they are also doing gift boxes including a Bailey’s clock which comes with a Bailey’s chocolate and vintage Babycham glasses.

Friends for 14 years, Karen and Donna both have a background in marketing and sales and met initially at Fresh Radio in Skipton.

“We both like vintage fashion and go to lots of events, like the 1940s weekend at Leyburn,” says Karen. “It’s lovely to see people dress up and quite inspiring to see how people used to make-do-andmend, which is what we’re trying to do. I was speaking to an older lady at one event and she remembered getting a jacket during the war and her and her mum unpicking it and actually making two jackets out of the one. That would never happen now. People just wouldn’t have the time, patience, energy or knowledge to be able to do that.”

Having originally set up the business from home, they have now moved to bigger premises in Faverdale and can be found at vintage fairs throughout the region most weekends. Totes Adore is also available on etsy, eBay and Facebook.

“I couldn’t see my living room for empty bottles,”

says Karen. “We had all the kilns at Donna’s and everything else was stored in her garage or my front room. It got to the point where we couldn’t move.”

Along with ceramics and vintage glassware such as art deco trifle dishes, sugar bowls and sundae dishes, they also sell scented candles in vintage china teacups and saucers. Made from 100 per cent vegetable soy wax and essential oils, the candles are eco-friendly and the Bee Adored range is made from natural Beeswax.

For anyone stumped for ideas for stockingfillers, there’s also a kitsch corner where you can pick up that all-essential flamenco dancer toilet roll cover, Russian doll or multi-coloured cuckoo alarm clock.