Mattie Mae Larson

About the practice

Upcycle Hawaiʻi began with Mattie Mae Larson’s lifelong concern for the environment and a desire to rethink how we make things and manage waste. Raised on Hawaiʻi Island, she began upcycling as a child, making gifts for family and friends from materials that might otherwise have been thrown away. Her work became more focused after participating in large beach and coastline clean-ups with Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund. Confronted with the scale of debris washing ashore, she began asking a practical question: what could be done with all of it? In 2014, Larson began selling upcycled products at farmers’ markets and events across Hawaiʻi Island. By 2018, she launched the Upcycle Hawaiʻi online shop and incorporated the business, expanding from local markets into a production studio and wider retail network. Today, the studio works with three main reclaimed material streams: fused plastics, melted marine debris and reclaimed vinyl banners. These become zipper pouches, wallets, earrings, keychains, luggage tags, eyewear cases, ornaments and limited-release tote bags. Upcycle Hawaiʻi is committed to low-energy and zero-waste processes. Even its own cutting scraps are shredded and re-melted into new sheets for future products, creating a closed-loop approach within the studio.