The Dunedin Curtain Bank is calling for designers and crafts people to help start a new initiative.
The curtain bank is looking for artists who are keen to use donated curtains not fit for their original use to create items such as handbags, clothing and quilts, to be sold in a shop opened by the charity.
Profits would go into funding the curtain bank so it could remain open, curtain bank manager Sara Crow said.
The initiative would hopefully provide a sustainable way to fund the curtain bank, she said.
‘‘We have these amazing resources which we can make designer handbags, arts and crafts with.
‘‘We can make all sorts of things.’’
As well as reducing landfill, the initiative would provide a platform for artists and designers.
‘‘We can sell bags . . . but we can do that ourselves with volunteer work,’’ she said.
‘‘What we are actually wanting is artists and aspiring fashion designers who can put a label on something to get some local airtime.
‘‘We’re trying to think into the future and tap into the fashion aspect of Dunedin, where there’s a lot of people who want one-off items.
‘‘I think that’s a big thing in Dunedin, the fashion aspect, because of the university and the polytechnic.’’
As well as designers being able to sell their products, they would also be doing ‘‘something for the greater good’’, Mrs Crow said.
The curtain bank is a charity run by part-time staff and volunteers that provides thermally lined curtains to help contribute to the relief of poverty.
Mrs Crow said anybody wanting to get involved with the initiative could come to the curtain bank directly or find more information on its website, www.dunedincurtainbank.org.nz.
