It can no longer be denied that the natural world is in danger. The encroach of industry and development has led to an alarming and undeniable increase in the damage and destruction of our planet’s natural systems. While we have yet to reach a unified global effort in slowing the decimation of the environment, there are pockets of industry that are working toward changing their manufacturing and shipping processes in order to lessen their environmental impact.
The arts are not an industry you would consider to be a huge global pollutant, but the fact is that many of the chemicals, dyes, and processes used in the creation of various kinds of art are in fact harmful to the environment. To combat this, many individual artists are switching over to sustainable materials, processes, and shipping methods in order to ensure that they do their own part to limit the negative impact that the arts industry can have on natural systems.
One such artist is Krystyna Szczepankowska of Palm Art Boutique, who creates unique and fascinating housewares, jewellery, and wall hangings made from the entirely natural materials provided by palm trees. In particular, she utilizes palm fronds and palm inflorescences which are typically treated as green waste.
Based in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Krystyna is an IT professional who has only recently discovered her passion for the arts after retiring from her full-time job. In her backyard grow a large number of palm trees, and after watching the leaves and flowers fall to the ground, she became inspired to do something with them instead of just getting rid of them in the green recycling bin. Her experimentations with palm materials started as a hobby about four years ago, but recently transitioned into a business.
Krystyna is self-taught, and during the early stages in her hobby there were a lot of failures and a lot of palm materials ended up in the recycling bin anyways. She improved with time, however, and is now the creator of some truly distinctive and striking pieces of art.
“All my pieces are fully hand made with love and feature natural colours and textures of the leaves,” Krystyna says. “Every item is unique. I focus on being sustainable. I use all-natural materials, also trying to keep all my trims and decorations as natural as possible. I’m doing my best to showcase nature’s true beauty.”
The versatility of palm materials is impressive, which you can see when you look over Palm Art Boutique’s selection. Whether you are looking for wall art to add an unconventionally rustic flair to a certain room in your home or for other decorations or housewares that are unlike any others out there, Krystyna’s pieces are just what you need. In addition to their incredible style, buyers can also rest easy knowing that everything available at Palm Art Boutique is made from materials that would have otherwise been designated as waste. Krystyna’s art is about as sustainable as it gets, and her commitment to keeping all of her materials and processes environmentally friendly is one that hopefully becomes shared by more and more artists in the future.
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