TO MOST people a pile of abandoned washing machines is an unsightly mess, something they wish the council would clear up.

For Jim Church, however, it represents an opportunity to turn scrap into cutting-edge interior design. He reclaims the stainless steel drums from old washing machines, for example, to make bedside tables and lights: the perforations in the drum throw patterns around the room, while a piece of acylic, made from a factory off-cut, provides the table top.

Church, 30, who has a degree in industrial design, has always enjoyed going to salvage and scrap yards, but only recently thought about turning his hobby into a business. He had the idea for his first design, “Blocko”, when he spotted 50 industrial glass bricks at a salvage yard. “The second I saw them I thought I just had to have them. They had loads of cement on them; I was cleaning them up in the kitchen, when I lifted one up to the light and saw the reflection shining on the ceiling. I thought: ‘Great, I can make them into lights’.” He experimented with inserting different lights into the brick, but eventually settled on LED lights “because they’re low-energy and longer-lasting”.

Like all his designs, “Blocko” began life as a present (in this case for his Mum). “Drum”, the bedside light and table, was a present for his fiancée. He made a backgammon board for his Dad from two hollowed-out Dandy and Beano annuals: the spine of the book acts as the centrefold for the board, and the counters are old bottle tops. For the protoype, his father, Roger, a dentist, filled the serrated bottle tops with dental resin to prevent them from scratching the board; the finished design uses organic resin. The board can be folded up and put back on the bookshelf, looking to all intents and purposes like two comic annuals.

Church, who works as an in-store designer for Saatchi & Saatchi X, has now set up his own business from home. He makes his designs in the living room of his flat in Forest Hill, South London. “I have 15 washing-machine drums sitting in the lounge at the moment, which my fiancée, Julie, is not too chuffed about,” he says. “We are looking to move, so I can get a workshop in the garden.”

He gets his washing-machine drums from the Appliance Re-use Centre in Croydon, which repairs old machines and passes them on to low-income families. Those that cannot be repaired are stripped down for scrap metal; some are given to him. He keeps an eye out for other sources, though: “I went on a bike ride the other day and noticed about 30 old washing machines in this bloke’s garden.”

“Magic” was made as a birthday present for his Mum, Chris. As its name implies, the piece is made from used Magic marker pens. He simply peeled off the labels, then slotted them into a spare piece of acylic to form pegs. “I was going to make them into a coat rack, but that would have covered the pegs, so I made them into a key-holder instead.”

“Drum” proved the turning point, however. “Everyone said: ‘I want one, I want one,’ which is when I thought that I really enjoy doing this, finding things and making something new, so why don’t I try to make a living out of it?”

“Drum” costs £239, “Blocko” £85, “Magic” £89, “Backgammon” £119. To buy call 07799 037324 or e-mail jim.church@tiscali.co.uk

Jim Church’s work will be on view at the (re)design 06 exhibition, September 21-26, Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London E1. The event is part of the London Design Festival, 020-7014 5313, www.londondesignfestival.com

Appliance Re-use Centre: 020-8862 8002

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