WHO IS MATT?Just a resourceful Dad with a life long interest in being creative, a passion for recycling and doing right by our environment and the desire to always try to 'do it myself' where I can.
WHY PALLETS?With two young Daughters, an environmentally conscious wife, and a need to save a few pennies when we can, I was inspired years ago by some books shelves I discovered online made from pallets. I quickly set about acquiring a pallet of my own and made a similar book shelf to fit an awkward space in our home.
After that, a shoe rack and coat hooks quickly followed in the home, and out in the garden, planters, a log store and then a tree house project for the girls was designed and created. A few years later, most rooms in our home now have a pallet project of some description in them, plus many friends and family members have asked me for something for their own homes. Oh, and did I mention they are free. They need a bit of TLC at times, but they are free. THE BIGGER PICTUREAnother of my life long passions has been nature and the wildlife that surrounds us. Whether it was finding a chrysalis as a young boy and watching it turn into a butterfly, or watching the house martins nesting above my bedroom window, I was lucky enough to grow up in the middle of the countryside and with nature on my doorstep.
I've always tried to 'do the right thing' when it comes to our environment - recycling what we can, eating responsibly sourced food plus mending and making do where possible. Now as a parent, and with the planet we live and rely on struggling to keep up with the demands laid upon it, I feel even more responsibility to show my young family that we don't always need to buy new. And when it comes to gifts for friends and family, quite often something made can mean so much more than something bought. |