What started with a discarded roll of paper on the pavement has grown into a movement reshaping the way London’s creatives work. Renee Materials founded by Frieda Bischoff is a mission-driven craft marketplace connecting surplus materials from businesses to artists and designers—saving tonnes of would-be waste from landfill and cutting down the emissions caused by constant new production. While most of their magic happens online, their London-based Hubs (including one tucked inside Shoreditch Town Hall) give creatives the chance to explore materials in real life—making them a natural fit for Shoreditch’s inventive spirit. In this interview, she shares how waste can become wonder, why sustainability shouldn’t come with a luxury price tag, and why her motto “Don’t buy new. Design new.” is catching on with London’s most inventive makers.
Renee Materials is pioneering a new approach to creative sustainability. What first inspired you to connect waste materials with the art and design world?
I am a creative myself, so I know the struggle of trying to find affordable materials that are environmentally friendly and sustainable. I first got the idea for Renee while I was a student, when I spotted a perfectly usable roll of paper discarded in front of a print shop. I knew how expensive this paper was to buy new, and it blew my mind that it was being thrown away when it still had so much life left.
That moment made it all click. I started realizing just how many companies were discarding materials that are so useful for creatives like us. It was clear there was an opportunity to create a platform that could connect this excess supply with people who truly needed it.
You founded Renee while still studying at UAL, which is wild in the best way. What was that early journey like—balancing vision, logistics, and a student schedule?
To be honest, it was a LOT of work. However, I was able to connect Renee with my thesis project, allowing me to research and explore what our business has become today in a university environment. Getting feedback from the project in its early days was so valuable and helped shape the direction of the company that we know today.
Being a student also gave me the unique opportunity to test out the concept of Circular Material Hubs in the heart of Central Saint Martins. This in-person material marketplace attracted thousands of students and gave us a lot of exposure really early on in the project. Not to mention, having so much interaction with the first prototype of the Hubs was so insightful. It gave me so much practical knowledge about how to run Renee moving forward as I could directly engage with potential customers and hear their thoughts.Overall, juggling being a student and starting Renee was really difficult, but I believe that the chance to test everything in an academic environment gave us the head start we needed to make the organization everything it is today.
The motto “Don’t buy new. Design new.” is a bold call to action. How do you see creatives responding to this shift in mindset?
Through this motto, we really want to highlight our bold, innovative approach to creative material sourcing. In a way, it’s almost a playful invitation, encouraging them to think out of the box and design a solution, rather than just going with the typical solution of buying new. I think this way of looking at it really resonates with our creative audience, who thrive on being constantly pushed and inspired, even in how they approach sustainability.
Something we also really want to highlight is that sustainability does not have to come with a hefty price tag. There is a notion a lot of people have that sustainable options are always more costly than their nonrenewable counterparts. However, Renee is able to offer very budget-friendly prices for many of our products. With this in mind, I believe that many creatives will be excited to take up the challenge posed by our motto and embrace designing new while being budget conscious.
From leather scraps to lace offcuts, you’ve diverted serious waste from landfill. What materials have surprised you most in their second life transformations?
We have! And it’s not just about selling materials typically regarded as “waste”, for example, we also sell whole rolls of fabric. Often, you can’t even tell that a lot of these materials had a previous life. It’s incredible the high-quality of materials we can offer considering that these products were supposed to be discarded and eventually would have ended in landfills. That would have truly been “wasteful” ;)
One of the rewarding things about operating a creative space like this is hearing how many unique ideas our reusers have for the materials. Something that really sticks out in my mind is bags of snow confetti from the La Boheme production at the Royal Opera House. One of our customers turned the confetti into pulp, and then used it to make stunning papers where you could still see some of the dust from the royal opera stage. This really shows that the possibilities are endless when creatives tackle sustainability.
With one of the hubs in Shoreditch Town Hall, you’re clearly rooted in the creative pulse of East London. How has the neighbourhood shaped Renee’s story?
Shoreditch, with its vibrant and artsy reputation, is the perfect location for our Hub. The creatives that visit our Hub there always have so many unique and innovative ideas for their projects. I love to engage with them and find how they’re using the materials, often in ways I never would have imagined. Many of our customers’ homes, studios, or universities are located right in the area, showing that we are perfectly placed in a neighborhood full of artistry and creativity.
At Renee, it’s really important to us to highlight our community, and we always try to post Instagram stories showing our customers and the materials they’ve chosen. We want to make it very clear that the creative community is at the centre of our operations!
Additionally, more and more of our material suppliers are based in Shoreditch. Our business model gives them advantages as well–allowing them to avoid waste disposal costs and improve their environmental performance. This mutually beneficial system has allowed us to significantly expand our catalog and offer a much wider range of materials. The diverse mix of businesses in Shoreditch have allowed us to continue diversifying our supply, being able to give creatives even more opportunity for reuse.
Shoreditch is full of makers, thinkers, and doers. Are there any local creatives or collectives that you’ve collaborated with or been inspired by recently?
It really is. To be honest, having the opportunity to communicate with customers when they come into the hub or online is really inspiring. We’ve seen everything from LCF students using our materials to make eccentric clothing collections, from hobbyists creating intricate home decoration. The possibilities are really endless with the variety of materials that we offer, and seeing the complete transformation that our materials go through is a really great feeling.
In terms of specifics, we had the opportunity to meet a costume and set designer in our Shoreditch Hub. Because the Shoreditch Town Hall is a community centre, there are various groups from around the community who gather together there. This designer had discovered us through the signs posted around the Town Hall while attending a theatre rehearsal. It was fascinating to see her point of view of our materials from a set design standpoint, as this is not one that we hear often. This broadened our insight to the many different uses our materials have!
Renee is all about community—from businesses offloading offcuts to artists giving them new life. What does circular creativity mean to you in practice?
Community is definitely at the heart of Renee. We rely on the support of both our suppliers and customers to work together with us to build a more green future. Just recently, we were thrilled to announce that we’ve diverted over 14 tonnes of materials from the landfill. This tangible achievement represents the practical impacts that circular creativity has in reducing waste. Another important aspect of circular creativity to highlight is how it transforms the creative process itself. With traditional materials, there’s often a set system in place, and makers may be more inclined to stick with what they’re familiar with. Working with unconventional materials, some of which they may have never seen before, makers are allowed more freedom and experimentation. This opens up new possibilities to push boundaries , try new techniques, and discover more innovative ways to create.
When you’re not reimagining the future of materials, where in Shoreditch do you head to recharge, eat something great, or discover new inspiration?
It’s hard not to feel inspired when walking around Shoreditch! All of the street art gives the neighborhood so much character, and with new works constantly popping up, it always gives me something to look out for. With all the good weather we’ve had recently, I’ve been spending a lot of lunches in the Allen Gardens. It’s the perfect place to relax in the sun, people watch, and chill out. The artwork under the train tunnel is great to look at, and sometimes there are even people using the zipline in the park. It’s a great vibe.
I’d like to close by saying that, at the end of the day, crafting and creation are hobbies for everyone. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or someone just starting out, it really has the power to enrich your life in so many ways. Not only is it a fun and fulfilling way to express yourself, but it’s a great way to exercise parts of your brain that you may not always use, and very relaxing and therapeutic. For those who are eager to dive into making but don’t know how to start, we’ve got you covered. Renee sells various “creative kits” on our website, which is a great starting point. These are things like coaster-making sets, scrapbook making sets, and other pre-designed projects that can give that initial spark of inspiration. We also have various “inspiration boxes”, which focus on a specific material (like fabrics, leather, paper, etc), containing sample materials of all kinds. If you know a certain medium you’d like to design in and want some materials to help inspire, they are the perfect product to do just that!
We also share many examples on our website and Instagram, we call them “reuse-stories”, showcasing how our materials have been used in creative projects by others. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced, there’s always something new to create.
