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A former Taranaki woman is turning
attention-grabbing billboards into eye-catching fashion
accessories.
Glenda Keegan, along with business partner
Anna Church, design and manufacture satchel bags from
recycled billboard signs.
The women met in Christchurch and now
live in Auckland, where they have based their company
WAS New Zealand.
Keegan, a former Waitara High School
student, moved to the South Island after returning from
overseas travel.
It was while she was working for a Christchurch
billboard company that she realised the large signs could
be recycled.
"It's a great hard-wearing fabric,
a waste to throw it out. It's an idea I hung on to for
a few years."
The used signs were either destined for
the dump or used by farmers to protect hay from the elements.
The vinyl is tough, rip-stop and UV resistant,
making it ideal for cow food covers – and bags.
Keegan and Church, a graphic designer,
started making bags from retro fabrics, but found "it
wasn't quite right".
That's when Keegan thought of trying
the billboard signs.
"We wanted to make a product we
would enjoy ourselves, that was different, unique and
funky."
Early last year, she borrowed her mother's
sewing machine, knowing "it could sew anything".
WAS New Zealand was launched at Auckland's
Disrupt Gallery in December. Keegan and Church collect
the used billboards, which can be as large as 12m x 10m.
The standard size is about 6m x 3m.
The two women work from home and select
what parts of the signs will became bags.
"They're fun to work with when it's
windy, you almost get knocked over," Keegan says.
She says they are careful not to include
brands or sections that will identify companies.
"It's theirs, not ours to use. But
people are interested to know what billboard their bags
are off."
The billboard signs had been used to
advertise well-known brands and had previous lives hanging
on motorways, streets and buildings.
Keegan says the abstract designs on the
bags make them unique and interesting.
The material is sent away to be cut and
ironed before nickel-plated eyelets are added.
The pieces of vinyl are then sewed by
a professional.
The satchels are fully lined with cellphone
pockets and a zipped pocket for valuables. The adjustable
straps are reinforced with 100% cotton webbing for comfort
and strength.
Keegan says one of the most time-consuming
tasks is removing all the staples from the billboard signs.
"It's not as glamorous as it seems."
She moved to Auckland three years ago
to study as an occupational therapist.
"It's a great place to be as far
as the business goes."
She is in the last year of her studies
and is unsure where her first posting will take her, but
is keen to continue working at WAS New Zealand on a part-time
basis.
"It's a little bit hard to let go
once you've started."
The bags are sold at outlets in Auckland,
Queenstown, Wanaka, Mt Maunganui and at New Plymouth's
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.
Keegan says sales have been steadily
increasing, with New Plymouth selling the most.
She believes an influx of visitors for
events such as Womad has been a factor in the high sale
figures.
She says people often stopped her on
the street to ask her about the bags if she was carrying
one.
"We've had really positive feedback.
I'm surprised at the fuss people make over them."
More designs, including clutch and laptop
bags, are in the pipeline and customers will soon be able
to buy
them over the Internet, at wasnewzealand.co.nz.
Earlier this year, Keegan and Church
helped judge a billboard bag competition at the Vodafone
iD Dunedin Fashion Week.
They made three bags from the winning
sketches, with the final products paraded at a special
show.
"It gained us a lot of publicity,"
Keegan says.
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