Wayne County mother-daughter team turns recycled materials into functional art

It may be true that one can’t make something out of nothing, but Eleanor Mathews and her mother Becky Gluck’s business, Benevolent Trash, is proof you can definitely make something new out of something that used to be something else.

Natives of Northeast Ohio, the daughter/mother team sews bags, purses and the like out of recycled or secondhand fabrics, fibers and plastics. Operating out of Wayne County, they started doing markets this year with the Wooster Farmers Market. They also were at the Smithville Harvest Fest and have plans to sell at the Lake Anna YMCA Christmas Market. Their current retail outlets are Wooster and Orrville’s Sure House Coffee and Rising Up Rock Gym in Medina.

The business got its start when Mathews noticed her cat’s feed and litter bags were a very rugged grade of plastic, and it felt wasteful to throw them away. She wanted to find a way to recycle them and was looking into either melting, welding or weaving the material.

“I was also working part-time at Sure House, where they roast the coffee,” she said. “I asked what was done with the bags after the beans were roasted since those are also a good and durable fiber.”

A freelance illustrator and painter, Mathews began to teach herself to sew on her childhood sewing machine.

“Some months later I tricked/invited my mom into sewing along with me, and we grew out of my tiny art studio space,” Mathews said. “She's a really cool lady with so much sewing experience in tailoring and sewing draperies. I'm a bit of a self-taught hack.”

Gluck worked at Michael’s Bakery before teaming up with her daughter.

Nearly all the skills needed for their new business have been new ones for Mathews — everything other than the logo design because she does have some design experience. She said it’s been a fun challenge learning how to create patterns.

“(It’s all been) trial, error and gleaning wisdom from my mom,” she said.

It wasn’t so much a case of setting out to start a new business venture.

“(It was) more that I couldn't let perfectly good fabrics and materials go to waste when I had the means to make something useful and beautiful from them,” Mathews said.

Benevolent Trash uses a variety of nonstretch materials including coffee bag burlap, bed sheets, sleeping bags, comforters, jeans, khakis, curtains, table cloths, quilts, fabric and leather belts, button-up shirts, and plastic feed bags. So far Sure House Coffee is the only business the Benevolent team works with directly to recycle their waste.

“But who knows?” Mathews said. “We may (have others) in the future.”

Reusing materials isn’t always a simple matter.

“I would estimate about one-third of our time is spent in processing/preparing different materials to actually be usable in sewing,” Mathews said. “It takes a lot of time to break down clothing, draperies, et cetera into usable parts, and oftentimes there isn't as much yardage as you would expect.”

Even with the challenges, the duo loves what they do.

“We love getting to create something useful and cool out of what would have been thrown away,” Mathews said. “It's a challenge worth undertaking. I love making the most of different fabric characteristics to make the most of them in a bag.”

The recycling/upcycling duo is always on the lookout for reusable materials. They can be reached via Instagram for more information.

Mathews shared a fun fact she and her mom have discovered in their venture.

“Did you know that the hemp and jute cordage used to sew coffee bag burlap together looks a lot like ramen noodles after we take it out of the bag?” she said. “Now you do.”

Find Benevolent Trash Co. on Facebook and Instagram @benevolent_trash_co. A website is in the works. Currently, they do not sell online and are committed to their local clientele.