Knysna artist turns trash into treasure

Proving that one person’s junk can be another’s treasure is Knysna artist Alex Chalkley.

The self-taught artist reinvented himself six years ago — much like his art — to become an upcycle artist.

Chalkley makes bags from vinyl flooring, old fire hose pipes and car seat belts, truck tyre tubes and any material that he can find.

He trades as True Knysna Fire Hose Gear.

The 44-year-old said he had quit his job in finance because he wanted to do something that was more in line with his values, and to help the environment.

“Upcycling and recycling is quite young in SA and I wanted to be one of the first people to start doing it,” he said this week. 

“I want people to view waste material differently, to give them a second glance, and a second chance.”

Chalkley said he wanted people to buy beautiful things that were environmentally friendly.

“A lot of recyclable material can immediately be seen as having been recycled and shoppers shop with the eye,” he said.

True Knysna Fire Hose Gear is a one-man operation.

“I go about finding the raw material, cleaning it and making the bags, sorting the logos out and then I sell it to the public,” he said. 

“Because I have never had any training in this, I initially subcontracted the work to a woman I had hired.

“But I was not happy with the outcome as it did not match the image I had in my head so I eventually picked up my own needle and thread.”

He said he had watched YouTube videos to learn how to sew.

Chalkley said that the initial plan was to make the products with a wooden base and then use fire hoses as an accessory. 

He said he sourced a lot of his material from fire stations in the area. 

“Now I also get the hoses from a business that gives me their defects.

“For the vinyl, I get all my offcuts from businesses in town, and for the truck [tubes] I get them from friend in the tyre business.

Asked about his future plans, he said he wanted to see his products on the runway.

“I would like to feature at the J&B Met as soon as that is going again.

“For one of my products to be used as a designer’s accessory would an honour.

“If that goes further I would like to learn about the fashion industry as well,” he said. 

“Because my materials are readily available in most towns, I also want to set up shop in other towns and grow the business in that aspect.”

Besides bags and wallets, Chalkley makes parsh décor which he designs and transfers onto offcuts of fascia boards. 

“I also have other things in the pipeline but I need to establish my market and get everything else settled before I try expanding,” he added.

Chalkley’s work can be viewed on his Facebook page True Knysna Fire Hose Gear. 

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