~ MEET THE ARTIST ~ Mattie Mae Larson, Upcycle Hawaii

Photo credit Upcycle Hawaii (used with permission)

Brace yourself for the awesome to follow! Mattie Mae Larson of
Upcycle Hawaii is one incredible person making a major difference in her community and the world. This gal is living my dream!

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Mattie Mae has been an artist all her life, winning her first art contest in kindergarten while the rest of us were probably eating the glue!

While pursuing a variety of jobs as an adult, Mattie Mae found herself constantly thinking about creating art and repurposing materials. In April 2016, after months of selling items at markets as a side job, she bravely decided to quit her secure job to pursue her dreams of creating and upcycling full-time.

You can help make a difference!  Donate to Upcycle Hawaii (through GoFundMe) to help their business grow and further spread their mission! 

Mattie Mae and a mound of recovered ghost nets.
Photo credit Upcycle Hawaii (used with permission)

Mattie Mae has turned her passion into Upcycle Hawaii, a thriving business which offers a variety of unique, handmade items created using recovered marine debris and/or reclaimed materials gathered from local businesses.

Aluminum pop tabs earrings, gifted to me by Upcycle Hawaii. Mahalo!

The demand for Upcycle Hawaii’s products currently exceeds their supply! Since opening, they have outgrown their initial work space and are currently in the process of moving into a larger production studio in Hilo.

We couldn’t resist creating something with the tabs we mailed Upcycle Hawaii!

People are pretty excited about Upcycle Hawaii’s mission, and for good reason! Let’s take a closer look at the work of Mattie Mae Larson, an incredible artist, environmentalist and business owner.

Beach Patrol

Very often, Mattie Mae can be found combing the shorelines of the Big Island in search of marine debris, manmade items that have washed ashore from sea. Sadly, she doesn’t have to look far. The Ka‘ū coastline, on the island’s southeastern coast, is home to some of the dirtiest beaches in Hawaii, including one of the worst in the world.

The majority of visitors to the Big Island are unaware of the dire situation that lurks along the shorelines, many times not far from some of the island’s “must see” locations.

Don’t forget to check out our list of Over 50 Amazing Resources for Kids, All About Hawai’i!

Heartbreaking walk across the shore.
Photo credit Upcycle Hawaii (used with permission)

The Big Island is the eastern most island in the Hawaiian chain and it is relatively close to the Pacific Garbage Patch. Because of this, incoming winds and ocean currents meet its shores first after traveling uninterrupted in the open ocean. The Big Island acts as a sifter and removes whatever items might be floating in the waves. It is along these otherwise gorgeous shores that Mattie Mae spends hours recovering materials to repurpose into new items.

One of the items she is looking for are ghost nets, which are ropes or nets lost or discarded by fishing vessels. They are a dangerous, frequent item found along Hawaii’s shores and removing them from the beach is no easy task as they are snarly and heavy.

Green Sea Turtle basking at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, Big Island, HI.

As ghost nets drift through the ocean they “ghost fish” and continue killing a variety of marine life, including my favorite creature, the Green Sea Turtle. Ghost nets also destroy fragile coral reefs as they are pulled through the currents. Because the synthetic materials used to make fishing gear don’t break down, items lost at sea can cause damage for decades.

For native, often endangered, wildlife, basking on a beach becomes life threatening when the sand is literally covered in pieces of sharp plastic and lines you could get tangled in. Mattie Mae is here to help by removing countless yards of ghost nets, and plastic debris, from the beaches of the Big Island.

Bookmark/Ornament with green and blue ghost net fibers.

Once cleaned, Upcycle Hawaii melts together the ghost net fibers, and post-consumer plastics, to create beautiful earrings, keyrings, nightlights and bookmarks/ornaments (Mattie Mae is wearing the earrings in the video below!).

By using materials washed ashore, Upcycle Hawaii is giving already produced “trash” a new purpose. We think that’s outstanding!

 Mattie Mae is making a huge difference in her community, and the environment, by cleaning up Hawaii’s beaches and amazingly, her efforts don’t stop there!

You can help make a difference!  Donate to Upcycle Hawaii (through GoFundMe) to help their business grow and further spread their mission! 

Diverting Waste from Local Businesses

What happens when a business winds up with extra materials they have no use for? Most often, those items are considered “trash” and thrown in the dumpster.

But what happens to those materials when Upcycle Hawaii lives nearby?! Mattie Mae has other plans for them!

Upcycle Hawaii has teamed up with local businesses to collect some of their unused “trash.” Living on an isolated island chain means space for landfills is limited, so anytime items can be diverted it’s a good thing.

Sheet plastic received from local businesses.
Photo credit Upcycle Hawaii (used with permission)

Upcycle Hawaii reclaims rubber bicycle innertubes and sheet plastic, once headed for the dumpster, to create some pretty amazing things. Who knew innertubes could be turned into wallets?!

The sheet plastics are turned into Fused Zipper Pouches by melting together several layers with a process using heat and pressure. The bags are waterproof and durable and feature unique, hand painted designs.

Love my fused zipper pouch by Upcycle Hawaii.

I purchased my zipper pouch at the Lacavore Store in Hilo, where a variety of Upcycle Hawaii’s products are carried. In all honesty, I knew this was the one item I wanted to purchase on vacation weeks before I went. Yes, it’s true!

I had reached out to Hawaii Wildlife Fund (more on that in a moment) about the possibility of volunteering on vacation and it was Mattie Mae who responded to my questions. Underneath her name was the Upcycle Hawaii website… and one click later, I was hooked!

Plastic constantly surrounds us.
Photo credit Upcycle Hawaii (used with permission)

Unused “trash” materials hanging out at local Big Island businesses should be aware… Upcycle Hawaii may be interrupting your plans to lay around in a landfill for the rest of your life!

Hawaii Wildlife Fund

In addition to running Upcycle Hawaii, Mattie Mae is currently the Art and Clean-Up Coordinator for Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, a non-profit organization that is “dedicated to the conservation of Hawaii’s native wildlife through research, education and advocacy.” Did I not mention awesome?!

Over the past 23 years Hawaii Wildlife Fund and its volunteers have removed over 265 TONS of marine debris and plastic pollution from Hawaii’s shores. WOW! They have also educated countless people about the impact our personal choices can have on our ocean’s health.

One of the ways Hawaii Wildlife Fund shares its message is through artwork made out of marine debris. My family was fortunate to see Honu Perspective on display at the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo. This project was led by Hawaii Wildlife Fund and Upcycle Hawaii.

Honu Perspective
A Marine Debris to Mural Project by Hawai’i Wildlife Fund.

The artwork was made using bottlecaps collected by local artists, two girls scout troops and a school group during a beach clean-up event. Together they removed over 3,000 lbs. of marine debris, including hundreds of bottle caps.

Honu Perspective stands taller than me and I’m just over five feet tall. To see my favorite animal (on earth) made out of bottlecaps that were found on the beach, left quite a mark. I am so thankful for the amazing ocean heroes at Upcycle Hawaii and Hawaii Wildlife Fund.

Support Upcycle Hawaii’s Mission!

Thanks to the internet, you don’t have to live in Hawaii to support Upcycle Hawaii’s mission… they offer online shopping! YAY! You’ll find everything from reclaimed plastic zipper pouches to stunning clutches and purses made from aluminum pop can tabs.

You can help make a difference!  Donate to Upcycle Hawaii (through GoFundMe) to help their business grow and further spread their mission! 

It’s hard not to fall in love with Upcycle Hawaii and their work. I have enjoyed learning and following Mattie Mae on her journey to reduce waste and educate the public on marine debris. I highly recommend you take a look too… you are sure to be inspired and amazed!

Be sure to check out Mattie Mae’s blog, and follow Upcycle Hawaii on Instagram and Facebook.

Thank you Mattie Mae for your tireless efforts to protect and conserve our oceans, resources and the gorgeous island paradise you call home. Aloha!

Read about our other Hawaiian adventures:

Big Island

• Upcycle Hawaii ~ A Peek Inside their Studio
• A Visit with Upcycle Hawaii to One of the Most Plastic Polluted Beaches in the World
• Hilo Tropical Waterfall Tour with Hawaii Forest and Trail
• Kona House Condo
• Giving Back on Vacation: Hawai’i Wildlife Center
• One Aloha Shave Ice (organic)

Maui

• Volunteering at O’o Organic Farm 
• Maui Ocean Center, Aquarium
• Stargazing at Haleakala National Park
• Best Snorkeling in Maui ~ Molokini & Turtle Arches Snorkel Cruise with Pacific Whale Foundation
• The Best Luau in Maui ~ The ‘Aha’aina Wailea Luau, at Grand Wailea Resort
• Maui Humane Society, Beach Buddies Program ~ Volunteer on Vacation