‘WasteLess Wonderland’ Launches and Latest Workshops Announced
Friday saw the launch of ‘WasteLess Wonderland’, a brand new alternative Christmas experience at Westgate Oxford and the latest workshops have been announced.
Designed and curated by HemingwayDesign, this year’s festive experience at Westgate Oxford is a contemporary reinterpretation of the classic Christmas market with a sustainable theme.
Launched last Friday and running until 22 December, guests will be able to experience an eclectic, festival line-up of attractions, events and experiences, including Oxfordshire’s first Charity Super.Mkt. Upcoming activities include:
- 2 and 3 December, reinvent your party wardrobe. Chloe Baines is running a free workshop where guests can upcycle and breathe new life into garments you already own, from shortening an evening gown to turning your pullover into a reversible Christmas jumper.
- 1 and 8 December, sustainable Christmas wreath-making workshop by Strength and Stem, a social enterprise florist. Learn how to make your own festive wreath using seasonal foliage and decorative elements such as dried flowers, berries and fruits. Guests will come away with a beautiful personalised Christmas decoration either for themselves or for a festive gift – workshops from £35
- 9 December, free Furoshiki wrapping workshop – learn the basics of the zero-waste Japanese wrapping technique. Discover how to wrap items for carrying, gifting and decorating courtesy of the Furoshiki Wrap Company.
- 10 December, free Wrappers Delight workshop. Artist and designer Lucy Grainge’s workshop will use a variety of printing techniques, transforming boring brown parcel paper into sheets of colourful, personalised gift wrapping
For bookings and details, visit: https://westgateoxford.co.uk/wasteless-wonderland
WasteLess Wonderland is showcasing some incredible talent from the city and beyond as part of a Christmas market experience which will offer ‘good for-the-planet’ gifts from independent designer makers, festive food produce, and street food from local suppliers as well as workshops that reuse and repurpose leftovers from Christmases past.
Each Friday from 3-7pm there will be a ‘Recycled DJ Party’ with Charity Shop DJ using vinyl records sourced solely from charity shops. Guests can pick a record, get behind the turntables and have a go at being a DJ themselves, dedicating their tracks to friends at the event.
Three food brands from Oxfordshire are part of the experience – the Wonky Food Company will be selling jars of great-tasting relishes that use imperfect and surplus fruit and veg that helps tackle food waste; Climatarian Kitchen will be serving street food dishes all made from surplus food; while Damascus Rose, a social enterprise supporting refugee women in Oxford, will be selling delicious Middle Eastern food.
Charity Super.Mkt, the ‘department store for second-hand style’ launched earlier this year by Maria Chenoweth and Wayne Hemingway, also opened last Friday as part of the ‘WasteLess Wonderland’ experience.
The Westgate Oxford store joins Shepherd’s Bush and Greater Manchester as new locations for the brand, which has previously opened successful pop-ups in London, Kent, Glasgow and Reading. In its first week of trade, the Oxford store has sold more stock per square foot each day than any other Charity Super.Mkt store to date, resulting in stock being replenished daily.
The opening at Westgate Oxford responds to the growing popularity of pre-loved shopping and creates a unique retail experience for guests looking for quality, affordable products.
Brendan Hattam, Centre Director at Westgate Oxford, said: “This is a never-seen-before festive experience and we are delighted to be pioneering our WasteLess Wonderland for the first time in the UK, here in Oxford.
“We all have a part to play in creating a more sustainable future and we believe this year’s Christmas experience will have the same Westgate festive magic, while encouraging guests to think about recycling, reusing and wasting less.”
Wayne Hemingway from Hemingway Design said: “Whilst most of us love Christmas, it’s a time when we buy more than we need and then there are those well-meant but unwanted gifts.
“It’s the most wonderful but wasteful time of the year. At a time when we must think about the future of the planet and its resources, and whilst the ‘cost of living crisis’ continues to impact on many people’s daily lives, the time is right for a fresh look at city centre seasonal celebrations. WasteLess Wonderland does that in a celebratory way without dialling down the joy.”
According to Government statistics, at this time of year around 30% more waste is generated, including more than 1 billion Christmas cards and 500 tonnes of Christmas lights which are thrown away each year.
ENDS
