When looking at discarded waste, it takes a special kind of person to see a world of possibilities. One such person is Lizl Naudé, founder of Lilly Loompa, who has redefined what it means to be resourceful through her creativity.
Launched in 2016, Lilly Loompa Upcycled Hip Homeware creates beautiful homeware products made by upcycling waste material. These materials are carefully sourced from waste and sustainably reimagined as beautiful, yet purposeful products by founder Lizl Naudé and her team.
Finding Potential in Waste
Lizl, who has more than 20 years of combined experience in entrepreneurship and design, is a social entrepreneur from Cape Town whose past challenges led to her subsequent successes. “Between 2006 and 2016, my family and I navigated rough financial terrain when we lost all our material possessions a few times through bad investments, burglaries and other losses,” Lizl shares. “This was the start of my upcycling journey – when I unknowingly started seeing the potential in waste.”
For Lizl, the challenges she faced were crucial in shaping her new mindset and approach to design, as she learned the importance of being resourceful while experiencing loss. “The foundation of our business is one of being resourceful. Our motto is to use what you have. So when we design, and even through the production phase, we sometimes do not have the proper tools, equipment or expertise. But I believe our superpower is being resourceful and my team is always committed to finding a way.”
The Value of Hipcycling
As a natural creative, Lizl thrives on designing products that are practical and add value to people’s lives. This is why she refers to Lilly Loompa’s upcycling process as ‘hipcycling’. This involves creating homeware from discarded waste and transforming it into desirable products that would complement any home. “Eco-friendly, handcrafted and 100% South African, each Lilly Loompa piece that was once trash is now a meaningful piece of treasure,” she says.
Lilly Loompa’s products include glass platters made from repurposed wine bottles, stud earrings made from milk bottles and lamps made from used jam tins.
All the brand’s creations and initiatives have cemented Lilly Loompa as a leader in the upcycling industry, earning it various awards over the years. These include the 2020 Indalo Inclusive South African Women Entrepreneurs Award, the 2021 Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Sustainable Design Award and the 2022 Stellenbosch Network Ideas for Change Challenge Award.
“The awards we’ve won over the years have validated the idea behind our business, but nothing tops the feeling of giving people meaningful income opportunities. This year, we have started building a small, but dynamic team and I am super proud of us!”
Changing Mindsets
Over time, Lilly Loompa has encouraged people to recognise the need to think and become more sustainable. As the business increases in size and impact, Lizl becomes more and more proud of how far the team has come: from building the business from scratch to becoming a change-maker in the industry.
“When I started the business, no one was interested in junk, but I remained committed and continued even on the tough days,” smiles Lizl. “Now, slowly but surely, we’re changing people’s mindsets about the possibilities of waste.”