Design, Create, Remake – Repeat.

One (wo)man’s trash could very well be, another (wo)man’s treasure. That is the philosophy by which Maslisa Zainuddin lives and swears by. Lisa is a Program Leader and Lecturer at Sunway University’s School of Arts, Department of Art, Design & Media. She is also a Designer and Researcher who strives for the pursuit of Sustainable Design through Adaptive Reuse by making, remaking, creating, and recreating all things beautiful from unwanted objects. 

In a tongue-in-cheek way, Lisa calls herself a ‘junkie’; someone who sees potential in objects others may deem as junk. She is on a mission to make her surroundings a healthier and prettier place, one junk-fix at a time. In other words Lisa is a very proud Upcyclist.

Lisa’s foray into the world of repurposing came about rather unexpectedly. Petite by stature, confidence did not exist in abundance in her. Couple that with living with a severe hyperhydrosis condition, everything from shaking hands to opening doors and even walking are daily struggles. 

Too tiny to buy clothes off the peg, Lisa took matters into her own hands, bought a used sewing machine, taught herself how to sew and make alterations so that she could start to refashion old clothes into unique pieces, and never looked back. Through refashioning, Lisa found her personal identity and her own voice, which blossomed into self acceptance, and eventually, a degree of confidence.

So what started off as a necessity, grew into a way of life that she is proud of. Aside from refashioning, Lisa also repurposes unwanted objects into functional works of art that encapsulate cherished memories. Little did she know over a decade ago that this would end up becoming her calling, and that sustainable design would develop into her academic research pathway. 

Basic principles of design such as emphasis and proportion still remain as her guiding principles in every design project she works on, regardless of the material and object. She hopes to study and showcase how the benefits of upcycling, refashioning and repurposing can play a role in identity development, along with heritage preservation.

Lisa is looking forward to exploring this theme further, to encourage people to see possibilities and ask the question; ‘What if’. She is curious to find out how individual upcycling efforts can assist in making the world a better, and prettier place. Lisa is hoping to tease a pathway in crafting a society where thrifting is no longer disparaged, and where it is sexy to be creative and eco-conscious.

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