The Lancs student who built a furniture upcycling business from his uni library
A Lancashire student who built a business from his university library says he wants to make a difference in the world of sustainability.
Cole Glover, who is originally from Newcastle but studied at Lancaster University, started Upcite during his last year at university.
Upcite is a place for people to buy upcycled furniture, meaning it has gone from an unused or damaged piece to being repaired, restored and given a new purpose.
People can also sell their unwanted furniture to the company, who will then upcycle it before selling it on.
Cole, 20, started the business out of the library at his university and it has grown into a successful online venture since then.
He said: “I used to sell furniture at college, always buying different bits and bringing it back to my parents’ house and then I realised through working at hotels and stuff there were hundreds of chairs getting thrown away and it inspired me to start Upcite in the university library last year.
“I built a website completely from scratch and grew a community of creative people, and it took off from there.”
Cole added that he has always been inspired by what artists are able to do with furniture and became passionate about wanting to make a difference in the sustainability movement.
He added: “Building on from the sustainability aspect, each piece has its own hand-crafted story. I’ve been inspiring creativity through the use of more meaningful furniture than new furniture. I think it’s a creative way to be different.”
As well as being able to buy the products online, people can sell or thrift unwanted furniture, saving it from going to landfill sites.