Before
One of my biggest concerns about this chair, was that every time I got up, I could find more vinyl plastic stuck to my legs and it would just rub off and get vacuumed up and put in landfill. That now wont happen because...
After:
Ta da!
I basically just used some black calico and a staple gun. I've decided that my favourite tool in the house is now the staple gun. I feel like I can do anything with that thing. Because it is a weird shape, I had to use lots of pins to help. I fixed James' chair as well, and his required a little bit of sewing.
I have had this chair for probably over 5 years now I think. Some people would have just said 'go and buy a new one'. But that means I need to think of disposing of it, the new one would come in more plastic and I'd get yet another Allen key that I will use once. But the whole chair itself wasn't broken at all, and I like the chair. A new chair would cost me well over $100. This craft project, including my new staple gun, probably cost about $30 - $40.
I enjoy fixing things, I like doing craft and making things. Sometimes I don't get it 100% right. But I would always prefer to fix or make something over buying it. However, the whole craft and tools industry (spotlight and Bunnings) needs to change the way it uses single use plastics. I had an unnecessary hard non-recyclable piece of plastic for the new needles (which I had to buy a set of like 10, just so I could get 1 small upholstery needle) and the staple gun. In saying this though, the small amount of plastic that I had was nothing in comparison to the amount that I would have had, if I brought a new one, not to mention how much I would have thrown out if I had gotten rid of the chair. For some things, I could borrow them from people, however, I know that I will use it multiple times in its life, so it is probably easier if I buy some of these things (in saying that, if anyone wants to borrow my staple gun, hit me up). The fabric has no plastic, which is great, I think that system works really well, however, it is difficult to know how ethical the fabric is. At Bunnings, a lot of individual items are plastic wrapped, when they don't have to be. The whole model I think just needs an overhaul. Have lots of things in baskets or boxes, where people just pick them out and take them. Like bulk stores but for craft and hardware.