Old Newspapers Woven into Decorative Items

What you need to know:

Most of the time, designers struggle to find affordable raw material to make their works catchy and cheaper.
But an old newspaper is one material that is now gaining popularity for weaving, enabling designers to come up with unique home accessories.
Damaris Kerubo, a 24-year-old-artist has mastered this art, using newspapers to weave from flower vases, flowers, table mats to baskets.

Most of the time, designers struggle to find affordable raw material to make their works catchy and cheaper.

But an old newspaper is one material that is now gaining popularity for weaving, enabling designers to come up with unique home accessories.

Damaris Kerubo, a 24-year-old-artist has mastered this art, using newspapers to weave from flower vases, flowers, table mats to baskets. Ms Kerubo, who is also portraits painter says she started making the newspaper accessories in 2016 after finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

She started by using plain papers before discovering newspapers. She started by making them and selling to friends who seemed to love them.

‘‘I could use an entire rim of paper to make one basket,’’ she says, adding old newspapers are cheaper options yet she can make beautiful pieces.

To give them a lasting finishing touch and make them waterproof, she uses paints then applies varnish to ensure that they do not spoil when they get in contact with water.

The Kakamega-based designer sells her pieces in Nairobi, Nakuru, Kapsabet, Busia and Entebbe in Uganda.