Cassette-Cycle & Forgotten Obscuria: Reimagining & Recycling Dead Technology
Nicole Majewski
I make purses and home decorations from unique and unexpected items. I began reusing items in my work when I realized the kind of things I wanted just weren't made. It means a lot to me to give a new life to something instead of throwing it away.
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What inspired you to make this project?
Knowing that cassettes could be used as building blocks, and also knowing that they are a huge source of waste as they are an obsolete medium that hasn't caught on again yet is my overall inspiration for Cassette-Cycle. I started on this project when I made the first fabric cassette tape clutch in 2010. At that time, I was tinkering with a new scanner I bought and came up with the idea to make a purse with it. I began selling these purses on Etsy soon after and the demand skyrocketed over the next few years. Friends and acquaintances started giving me all of their cassette tapes, and I couldn't use most of them for my purses because they were clear tapes. I still did not want to throw them away, though because I knew I would use them at some point. I got an idea online to make a nightlight from the clear tapes, and it turned out to be one of my very favorite things I have made! I realized then that I could stack the cassette tapes and use them like building blocks. I started thinking of more practical things I could make with them around the house. I thought of desk caddies of different sizes and more night lights. I began participating in Mini Maker Faires around the Western New York area in 2016, and came up with new projects made with cassettes for each Faire, including a large dollhouse, Christmas and decorative wreaths and a full size, functional tote bag. This year my new project is a cassette tape coffee table, which is part of my new project of revamping old furniture with cassette tapes. I also learned how to use zip ties with cassettes recently, allowing me to make the tote bag and a floor lamp.
By popular demand and project success, I have expanded my exhibit to include recycling other dead technologies, such as rotary phones, VHS tapes and film slides.