In our latest edition of ‘8Shades Of,’ we speak with our newest contributor – art strategist by day and crafty mum-of-three @littlecitytales, Stephanie Poon – about her best eco habits, love for DIY and how to get kids interested in upcycling.
See also: @littlecitytales: DIY Mother’s Day Egg Carton Cards
1. In one sentence, tell us what you do!
I am an art strategist who is passionate about crafting with my three kids, mostly with upcycled materials. We document our crafts on the @littlecitytales grid and hope to share with the community ideas about turning waste to magic, along with DIY play things that are budget and environmentally friendly!
2. Why are you an 8Shader?
We depend on our environment – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. The more we protect our environment, the more habitable our home is. I want our next generation – and the next – to enjoy nature and have clean resources available, meaning action needs to be taken now to ensure that privilege.
I first encountered the concept probably when our friends started organising beach clean ups, and we saw firsthand just how much plastic and rubbish was in our oceans and washing up onto the beaches. As horrifying as it was, it was a real call to action and we began to change our habits and become more aware.
I’m also interested in the concept of social sustainability, and how systemic structures and fundamental processes relating to society can improve social imbalances for long-term community growth.
3. Your best eco habit, and your guilty not-so-green habit?
Nearly all of our kids’ clothes are hand-me-downs or bought secondhand from Retykle to encourage a circular economy!
In terms of not-so-green habits, there are lots of areas I still need to improve on, especially with food deliveries and choosing restaurants that offer eco packaging.
4. Fave eco product?
My Kinto flask – it has travelled to many different cities with me and enjoyed countless different coffee blends.
5. Fave veggie dish in HK?
The Za’atar flatbreads at Treehouse!
See also: 8Shades Of… Christian Mongendre of Treehouse
6. How and when did you first start crafting from upcycled materials, and how did you get your kids interested?
We started crafting three to four years ago, but only really turned to using upcycled materials more recently in the past year and a half. We have a box of “waste” materials such as toilet rolls, corks, wash and dried bottles, yoghurt pots etc, that they can freely use as craft materials.
It’s easily accessible, along with other tools such as glue, scissors, tape, markers and they’ve become accustomed to dig around and use their own imagination to create something when they have free time. It’s a nice screen-free activity, and there’s no pressure to create beautiful “artworks”. I think this really helped get them interested.
Our crafts on the grid are mostly guided activities that I do together with them as a family activity, and so I always reiterate that crafting is about the process – having fun while making something rather than the end product.
7. What are some of your favourite crafts to date?
Below are three of my top picks, all of which make use of everyday materials like cereal/snack boxes, toilet paper rolls, and tissue paper that comes with retail purchases, but I would definitely recommend having a glue gun on-hand as an essential craft purchase!
Father’s Day Upcycled Instant Camera
Recycled Castle
Dyed Tissue Paper
8. What shade of green are you?
I’d say I’m somewhere between a leaf green and an olive green so not quite a forest green yet, but hoping that we will get there one day.
Follow @littlecitytales on Instagram
NEXT: See all ‘8Shades Of‘ interviews
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