A great way to resurrect the groovy charm of vinyl is to recycle it!
“Revolver,” 2009, by Paul Villinski. Photograph: Paul Villinski
While it might seem unthinkable now, there was once a time when every household had a collection of whopping 12-inch vinyl discs. With the advent of new technology and higher-quality audio, that archive is now little more than landfill for anyone but vinyl diehards. Nevertheless, vinyl does have its own groovy charms, and a great way of keeping vinyl with us is to recycle it (but don’t tell the vinyl obsessives)!
While compact discs might make convenient coasters, and cassette tapes might not be much good for anything at all, vinyl records are actually an amazing medium from which to create everything from works of art to home accessories. Here are some great ways to find new uses for your classic albums!
1. Wall art
“Birdsong — Popular Songs for Piano Double Huia Record” (from “Rostal and Schaeffer: Popular Encores for Two Pianos”). Photograph: Toggle
While beautiful, these intricately carved pieces by Aimee Gruar, showing the silhouetted forms of Huia birds carved from old records, also have a certain poignancy — though it might seem as though vinyl is becoming extinct, the birds depicted here really are gone forever, with the last confirmed sighting having taken place over a century ago.
“Birdsong — Irish Ballads Huia Record” (from “Golden Hour of Irish Ballads”). Photograph: Toggle
Each of the carvings is unique and, as each is made from a single, solid disc, it only takes one mistake to ruin the design. As well as featuring the original album information, each of the “Birdsong” pieces comes with the album sleeve that once housed the LP, adding another layer of meaning to the artwork.
“Birdsong — Elaine Paige Double Huia Record” (from “Elaine Paige: Stages”). Photograph: Toggle
The birds illustrated up top can be recognized as male due to the relatively short length of their beaks, while the two images below show females, distinctive due to their long, thin beaks.
2. Butterflies!
“My Back Pages (Second Iteration),” 2008, by Paul Villinski. Photograph: Paul Villinski
Paul Villinski’s amazing installations embody everything that is positive about music, showing flocks of brilliantly colored vinyl butterflies seemingly emerging from old record player turntables. As the artist explains, his designs, imbued with the symbolism of the metamorphosing insects, are about making the air visible — and in these cases with the sight of music floating on the breeze.
“My Back Pages (Fourth Iteration),” 2008, by Paul Villinski. Photograph: Paul Villinski
“[They] have a quirky, otherworldly quality,” says Villinski. “Like a strange child has trained the insects, or as if the butterflies are performing some ritual dance we are not usually privy to.”
“My Back Pages (First Iteration),” 2007, by Paul Villinski. Photograph: Paul Villinski
Every single one of the dozens of record-built-butterflies is unique, carved into a slightly different shape and from a different record, but each is simultaneously part of the same grander design.
3. Jewelry
Black and white designs. Photograph: VLING
Can’t get enough of that vinyl feel? Don’t want to leave home without it? Then VLING jewelry might be what you’re looking for. Through its online store, Alarm Industries sells a whole range of vinyl bling, using recycled records to achieve amazing effects. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind and made from genuine recycled vinyl records.
Color designs. Photograph: VLING
The intricately carved designs come in all shapes and sizes, exhibiting the amazing properties of vinyl. The firm even has a line in limited-edition colored jewelry, made from tinted records. They also create custom designs, so anything you can imagine they can build.
4. Funky fashion
Men’s Yellow Vinyl Roman Record Cuffs. Photograph: Christine Claringbold
When heated, vinyl is actually pliable enough to take all manner of shapes without losing its form, so if you can’t get enough of vinyl, you can do more than just hang it around your neck. The cuffs above have been made from an old 45 rpm yellow-tinted Grand Funk Railroad record — due to which they are in extremely limited supply. And, because each of the handmade accessories is crafted from a different record, every single one is unique. This really is some funky fashion!
5. Canvases
Space Invaders. Photograph: snippets101
If you don’t want to cut something out of your old records, or shape them into something new, then vinyl can work surprisingly well as a canvas, without degrading color or detail. Painted directly onto old vinyl discs with the use of a stencil, the design above was inspired by the classic Space Invaders computer game, while the image below takes its cue from the Star Wars series, depicting a Snowspeeder from The Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps these are analog versatile discs?
Snowspeeder. Photograph: snippets101
6. Bowls
Photograph: Queen Puff Puff
If you’re not putting records up then you can always put things in them. Nicole Vasbinder’s boutique accessories firm specializes in retro and vintage designs, so working with vinyl records is only natural. The designs feature artists such as Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Elton John (seen above) and Adam Ant (seen below), for some real retro chic.
Photograph: Queen Puff Puff
Each record is carefully molded into the shape of a durable bowl, taking its strength from the curves in its design, while the original record label sits in the base. But, don’t forget, they have a hole in the middle!
7. T-shirt designs
Photograph: Junior Massive
If there’s one thing that’s always true of vinyl records, it’s that they have a hole in the middle. Working with that idea, Junior Massive have made a series of portrait designs, each one using the hole in the center of the record as an eye in a silhouette design, encircled by a psychedelic rainbow from the original record print.
Photograph: Junior Massive
But, these aren’t just wall prints — they’re the basis for a series of T-shirt designs manufactured by the company in Melbourne, Australia.
8. Clock
Cold Flames wall clock. Photograph: Daniele Margaroli
Being round and having a hole in the middle, vinyl LPs fulfill all the criteria required of a basic clock face, and with the abundance of obsolete records available, many people have taken up the challenge. While it’s not unusual to see recycled albums bearing their original central logos, vinyl also makes a great surface to paint on. The design above, “Cold Flames,” was captured by Daniele Margaroli and bears a stunning painted design of embers flickering in space.
9. Card holder
Cardholder. Photographs: Yinnon & Danit Simhi. Groovy
Made by Yinnon and Danit Simhi of Groovy, this sleek business card holder does away with office clutter, combining funky style with a functional aesthetic and holding up to 20 cards at a time. In any case, it’s a great way to keep things on the record!
10. Pinwheel
Sunshine Yellow Mandala Pinwheel. Photograph: Christine Claringbold
Recycled vinyl can come in all shapes and sizes and can take on all sorts of uses, whether inside the house or out. Using a mandala design, Christine Claringbold has even made a vinyl pinwheel, which will spin in the wind when planted in the ground in your garden or positioned on your balcony. Though it might need to be taken out of the sun on hot days, the pinwheel really is a testament to just how sturdy vinyl is!
Ten Most Creative Uses for Old Vinyl Records | 1-800-Recycling | Alarm clocks, watches, calendars. dontbel.com
July 12th, 2010
[...] View post: Ten Most Creative Uses for Old Vinyl Records | 1-800-Recycling [...]
Zanith Jain
July 12th, 2010
Aweomse awesome piece of work. Very impressive. I loved the butterfly concept. . !! :)
Richard Lawson
July 13th, 2010
Lovely. But it will end in tears, because some of those vinyls would have been worth loadsamoney in a few years’ time.
Becky The Minx's Blog!: 10 Most Creative Uses for Old Vinyl Records
July 13th, 2010
[...] Creative Uses for Old Vinyl Records A great way to resurrect the groovy charm of vinylSource:http://1800recycling.com/2010/07/uses-old-vinyl-records/ Publicado por Becky en 03:04 Etiquetas: creative uses, old vinyl [...]
d.prieto
July 17th, 2010
you forgot they make great clocks too!!!!!!!!!
Joy Corcoran
July 18th, 2010
So much of vinyl will be worth very little or nothing, it’s kind of cool to see it being transformed instead of just thrown away. I saw a perfect Hoagy Carmichael record be warped into art and it almost broke my heart. However, I have all the recordings of his I want so as we make the world a greener place, it’s nice to see things being reused and given a different kind of value. Each art form has it’s preservationists, now we have repurposers in the mix. Yay!
John Bentley
July 29th, 2010
Great ideas and so much raw material around. Thanks and appreciated.
World Wide News Flash
July 29th, 2010
Ten Most Creative Uses for Old Vinyl Records | 1-800-Recycling…
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
ELLEN
September 27th, 2010
Great idea. How do you cut the records into shape?
Jane
October 13th, 2010
What do you use to cut them?
Save the Vinyl #7: Butterfly Art | Digital DJ Tips
November 14th, 2010
[...] is now little more than landfill for anyone but vinyl diehards,” says Michael Simon over on 1800recycling.com, highlighting Paul Villinski’s work. Photo: Paul [...]
Nhartz
November 15th, 2010
Hey, do you know how artists melt down the vinyl to bend it? I’m a college student at the Columbus College of Art and Design, and I’m interested in doing something similar with old vinyls (ones beyond repair, of course).
Bri
January 17th, 2011
@Nhartz-
I don’t know how they did it exactly, but I do know that you can do it with just a plain oven at around 220 degrees. (I’m not sure, it’s been a while) When it starts sagging just a bit, take it out and shape it.
tim
January 17th, 2011
Nice pictures BUT ” With the advent of new technology and higher-quality audio”…ummm sorry, I can’t agree at all with that.
raksha
July 19th, 2011
Michael;
This is a totally cool article on what to do with old vinyl. It would be cool to know how to cut, melt, and shape the vinyl so that we can do what we see here.
As for the, ahem, “tragedy” of using the records for art – have any of you tried to sell vinyl to purported “audiophiles?” Do you know how bloody picky they are about even the slightest blemish or scratch? And if that’s not enough, the jacket has to be tip top.
So I say cut! paint! melt! shape! Yay for recycled vinyl!
Raksha
ps – tim, you’re an idiot and completely off topic.
Gary
November 13th, 2011
Does anyone know how to cut it? A heat gun works good to bend the vinyl
Rachel
November 28th, 2011
An answer as to how to cut vinyl:
By hand using a plexiglas cutter, exacto knife, or box cutter (http://www.ehow.com/how_7634552_cut-shape-vinyl-record.html) or with a CNC router
How not to do it:
DO NOT use a Laser Cutter- Vinyl records are made of Poly Vinyl Chloride, and the heat from the laser will release a gas which is both highly corrosive and a carcinogen.(http://www.buildlog.net/blog/2010/07/laser-cut-vinyl-record-bad-idea/) The result will look pretty, but will wreck both your laser cutter and your body.
What to do with old vinyl records. - Brew Plus Forums
January 14th, 2012
[...] What to do with old vinyl records. This page has some really cool ideas: Ten Most Creative Uses for Old Vinyl Records – 1-800-Recycling. One of them is a bowl like you mentioned. That one and the card holder are my favorites out of all [...]
10 Creative Uses for Old Vinyl Records | Vinyl Lover
April 16th, 2012
[...] buying for the album artwork and not sure what to do with the actual vinyl itself! Check out this blog post from 1-800-Recycling » Leave a ReplyWant to join the discussion? Feel free to [...]
Nanci
April 17th, 2012
I enjoy this creative flair! I actually have a pink case of my old 45′s. I refuse to let them go. Too many memories, and all the time anf effort, years ago to collect. I really would love your technique for the adorable butterflies. Please~!
C David
April 24th, 2012
Most of these are not at-home projects. Note that all of these cut records were PROBABLY cut with a laser, which is also deadly toxic. Sorry to anyone who hoped to make these for themselves.
Tzen
May 7th, 2012
The cardholder would make a great CD holder as well!!
Rickie Luke
August 2nd, 2012
Great ideas for the vinyls, I now know what to do with them instead of letting them sit in a box in the garage (of course, I already downloaded them to my hard drive). But I went a step further with the album jackets. I cut off the front cover and use removeable tape on the back. I have a full wall in my study with this “art work”. It looks great and those jackets meant as much to me as the music did.
Susan Rosier
August 4th, 2012
I have some old vinyl albums that belonged to my parents. Big band style music. Is there anyone in Ohio who would like to have them (free) to make something out of them?
Betty
August 8th, 2012
While they are definitely an awesome and creative thing to do with vinyl (the butterflies, birds, etc), you need a laser cutter. We cut and shape vinyl in our garage and would love to do those “at-home” projects, but simply unrealistic. Using laser is dangerous as it is toxic…The bracelets are easy though as well as the clocks..Also, try notebooks..
Susan
November 6th, 2012
Hey Nhartz, where do you get vinyls that don’t work and that are cheap? I need wheels for this science car project… and anyways a vinyl record is perfect wheels for the car, and I have been surfing for vinyls that don’t work for cheap, but I can’t find any.
Susan
November 6th, 2012
PS: I need the wheels in 2 weeks, so a quick reply would be nice
Jane
November 8th, 2012
Susan…You probably won’t find vinyls that don’t work (they may be scratched but will still work) but best place to find old ones for cheap are in thrift/charity shops, garage sales etc. They’ll be ‘going for a song’ (sorry, couldn’t resist that one). Seriously though, there are always old unwanted ones for cheap in the thrift stores.
Suzanne
November 17th, 2012
Is it possible to order the Butterfly pieces?
jim
April 8th, 2013
i believe a jeweler saw would cut some intricate designs in vinyl. If you remember the jewelers that would cut out the background of a silver dime or half dollar using a jewelers saw.