Marianna Kapantayi-Apostolaki, a resident of Elia, is a busy wife and a mother, a member of the Irida Association and a staunch recycling supporter.

Recently, she was manning a booth of "made over" objects – some artsy, some functional and all of them simply amazing.

When asked what started her on this project, she said: "It’s all about the second chance that people deserve, but so do objects.

“All the objects we have we’ve either bought or someone gave us, or we made them. But no matter how we acquired them, they cost money which we spend most of our time trying to earn."

Mrs. Kapantayi-Apostolaki explained that she spends a considerable part of her day trying to attend to all those objects.

"But how useful really are all these things we seem to accumulate and why do we sometimes feel the need to toss them away?" she asks, rhetorically.  "My idea is to explore other ways so that all these objects can live again, in conjunction with the wider objective of recycling. That is, to minimize the volume of the municipal dumping sites and for objects not to end up there when they can exist somewhere else."

She said the first successful metamorphosis she achieved was her son’s beloved sweater which became a cushion decorating his room. Next in line were skirts that became little girls’ dresses, and later food cans that became lamps, plastic bottles were made into hanging flower baskets and plastic bags turned into place mats, hand bags and coasters.

"Irida, the women’s association in the Gouves Township, showcased my idea at their women’s-day celebration and the interest from people was overwhelming," Mrs. Kapantayi-Apostolaki said. "Older women enthusiastically suggested new ideas, and naturally my biggest supporters were the children of different ages who had found a way to develop their imagination." 

The next expression of the idea for “recycling and creating” will be presented at the flea market sponsored by the students of the grammar school in Elia held on Sunday, May 3. The market will include the children’s crafts from recyclable materials.

"Also, I’m very pleased to announce that the “Axion Esti” Spiritual Centre will include in their circle of seminars the “developing and restructuring recyclable materials” starting in September," she announced.