AN EXPERT 'upcycler', who started while converting a barn into his own home near Lake Vyrnwy, says interest in it has risen sharply because of the cost of living crisis.

Steve Poensgen, from Oswestry and also known as Dr Lampenstein, takes abandoned items such as phones or old mannequins and breathes new life into them through upcycling – turning them into something else.

Steve says his interest in upcycling is down to wanting to ensure that people rely less and less on 'new' things, to help play his part for a greener environment.

"I'll upcycle almost anything I can get my hands on to make lamps and furniture, from old phones and used car wheels to the spare legs of mannequins in a skip," he said.

"Whatever's headed for landfill, I'll do my best to inject it with some life.

"I got into upcycling because of a need to do something meaningful, for my home and our planet.

"There's definitely a rapidly growing interest in upcycling, and more and more people are bringing me random stuff to turn into lamps or furniture.

"Upcycling is 100 per cent starting to become more mainstream, but it's important that it doesn't become 'shabby-chic' and have the soul ripped out of it.

"Together with tackling climate change, we need to repair and upcycle as much as possible, to halt the ever faster turning wheel of consumerism."

Steve said his interest in creating lamps from items such as old phones or car parts came from his previous work putting LED lights on drum kits, and being unable to find a suitable light for his new home.

He said: "After buying an old barn at Lake Vyrnwy to convert into a home for myself, it became obvious as I went along that off-the-shelf lighting wasn't suitable for what I had in mind, nor were 'designer' lamps due to their prohibitive price tags.

"I started creating lamps for my barn with whatever parts I found, from empty birds nests, to rusty buckets and worn out car parts.

"Friends would bring me items to convert, some more challenging than others, and with a reputation for making lamps out of almost anything, Dr Lampenstein was born."

Steve is one of 22 upcyclers to be featured nationally for their work by a PR platform Newspage.