NSW Sustainability Award 2026 Nominee — Circular Economy
Handmade in Tasmania
Bags Cut, Sewn and Finished by One Maker
Every RECOLAB bag is handmade in Tasmania, in a small workshop in Coningham where designer and maker Lyn Hellewell cuts, sews and finishes each piece herself. No factories, no production lines — just one Tasmanian craftsperson turning retired sails into bags built to outlast them.
Meet the Maker
Lyn Hellewell, Designer & Maker
Lyn is the designer and maker behind every RECOLAB bag. She believes a lot of waste is just a misplaced resource, and has spent years turning reclaimed sails, decommissioned billboard skins, abandoned festival tents and offcut upholstery into functional, beautiful pieces — all from her workshop on Tasmania's D'Entrecasteaux Channel.
From yacht sails that have navigated the waters of Tasmania and beyond, to billboards from high-end advertising campaigns, each material Lyn works with carries its own story into your bag. Buying handmade from RECOLAB means supporting one Tasmanian small business, not a factory production run.
Lyn's background combines traditional sailmaking technique with a maker's eye for what a worn material still has to offer — a faded number, a batten pocket, a patch from a repair made mid-race. Rather than disguising these marks, her designs are built around them, so the finished bag reads as an object with a past, not a blank canvas.
Inside the Workshop
What "Handmade" Looks Like at RECOLAB
The Coningham workshop is a working space, not a showroom — a cutting table, an industrial sewing machine strong enough for sail-weight fabric, and shelves of reclaimed material sorted by weight, colour and origin. Every bag starts with Lyn assessing a piece of material by hand: checking for delamination, deciding which panels are strong enough to carry load, and planning cuts that make the most of what's usable.
1
Material Assessment
Every incoming sail, billboard or offcut is checked by hand for strength, UV wear and character before it's approved for a bag.
2
Pattern & Cut
Panels are laid out to work with existing stitching, numbers or wear marks rather than cutting around them.
3
Sew & Finish
Double-sewn, bound seams and marine-grade hardware are fitted by hand, the same finishing standard used on the original sail.
Why Buy Local
What "Handmade in Tasmania" Actually Means Here
Locally Sourced Materials
Sails, billboards and fabric are sourced from Tasmania and diverted from landfill before they ever leave the state.
One Workshop, One Maker
No outsourcing. Every cut, seam and finish happens by hand in the same Coningham workshop.
Small-Batch, Not Mass-Produced
Limited materials mean limited bags — supply is capped by what Lyn can source and sew, not a factory quota.
"A lot of waste is just a misplaced resource. Every bag that leaves my workshop carries a piece of that idea — and a piece of Tasmania."
— Lyn Hellewell, RECOLAB
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Tasmanian-Made, Ready to Ship
Every bag below was cut and sewn in the Coningham workshop and is ready to ship Australia-wide with free shipping.
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