Mix-matched patterns of long-forgotten fabrics overflow the translucent bins in the ceramics classroom. The sounds of students rummaging through each bin to find that one unique piece of cloth to use to make their own personalized patches echo across the room.

What is upcycling? Upcycling: the act of taking used materials and fabrics and turning them into new and unique pieces. This act has found its way to Portola High as president and junior Mia Linville and vice president and sophomore Tabatha Perdomo created the Upcycling Club to foster passion for this sustainable craft.

“Both me and Tabatha would share our projects and bounce ideas off of one another, and we wanted to create a community where others could do this as well,” Linville said. “Furthermore, we wanted to teach individuals how to care for their environment through an enjoyable experience. Not only does upcycling create cool clothes, it helps the environment.”

The club’s first order of business was to host a school-wide clothing drive at the beginning of the year. Using the old clothes that were donated by students, Linville and Perdomo host weekly sessions to teach students the basics of upcycling, such as how to sew or how to personalize an upcycling project.

For their first project this November, they are learning how to create patches with different types of cloth, and students will use the patches to create their own personalized bags. Every month, they hope to focus on one project for the club.

“My favorite thing about upcycling is that you can take old stuff that you don’t use and make it into something new,” Perdomo said. “We’re making patches right now and we’re really open to ideas and it doesn’t have to be like strict. You can just bring in your clothes, bring ideas and we can help out too.”

Over the summer, Linville learned how to sew from their grandmother. After having leftover cloth from their sewing projects, they used the bits of fabric to make patches or sleeves for old shirts and eventually transitioned this love of sewing into upcycling. Then, Linville reached out to Perdomo to start this club where students could learn and teach others about the artistic range and durability of upcycling.

“This club was created with the intention to spread awareness of our generation’s clothing consumption,” Linville said. “If I wanted our members to take anything away from this club, it would be awareness. I want them to understand that they themselves can create something new rather than buy something new and add to the waste of clothing due to overconsumption.”

As for Perdomo, she learned about upcycling hands-on. With a need for new creative projects and feeling like her clothes needed a new spin, Perdomo grabbed clothes off her dad’s shelf that otherwise would have made their way to a Goodwill storage bin and made her first ever upcycling bag.

Senior Luca Ngo is an active member in the club. Growing up in a private school environment limited her ability to express herself as she had to wear the same clothes every day. After transferring to a public school system, she was able to adopt a new clothing style. To help other people find their personal clothing style, she joined the upcycling club.

“I was in uniform, and it was really difficult to show who I really was, and I didn’t develop a sense of style,” Ngo said. “I feel like I could have taken the time in private school to actually formulate my identity, but I feel like clothing itself gives us more power and how it shapes how we allow others to perceive us.”

The upcycling club meets bi-weekly during Tuesday and Friday office hours in Donovan Miller’s ceramics classroom in room 401.

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