Recently, we teamed up with two creatives to produce some one-of-one pieces for the size? Creators Series. Helen Kirkum and Mariah Esa crafted two completely unique pieces using excess, waste and scrap material from New Balance’s Flimby factory, which celebrates 40 years of Made in UK excellence in 2022.

Helen and Mariah are at the forefront of the movement towards more sustainable fashion, and have earned numerous accolades for their creations made with repurposed materials. At the New Balance factory, they both collected surplus and waste off-cuts to produce something completely new and original in their own distinctive styles. Take a look and see what they came up with.

Helen Kirkum 1-of-1 Flimby sneakers

For her design, Helen created a pair of sneakers – her speciality – up-cycling leftover materials and waste off-cuts from the factory floor. Completely unique and crafted in her signature deconstructed style, Helen utilised these scrap pieces to create the Helen Kirkum 1-of-1 Flimby sneakers. Comprised of sixty repurposed components, the shoes include everything from suede, mesh and leather uppers, re-purposed New Balance branding, and laces utilised as heel pull loops.

Mariah Esa 1-of-1 Flimby jacket

Mariah selected a variety of roll and cutting scraps to create her apparel piece – a jacket oozing retro style. Mariah saw how some of the premium-quality materials at the Flimby factory were imperfect, and so couldn’t be used on the New Balance production line. It was these pieces which she re-purposed to make the Mariah Esa 1-of-1 Flimby jacket. Taking inspiration from the panel shapes of the Made in UK 991, produced in the Flimby factory, the jacket comes in a vintage colourway combining suede, leather and mesh for a truly textural look which is finished with a heavy-duty front zip fastening.

These one-of-a-kind pieces will be offered to size?access members, with the draw for the items going live on the size?launches app on 08.06.2022. Entries are £1, proceeds will be donated to charity including The Wee Haven Youth Project. The Wee Haven Youth Project is an Edinburgh-based charity, which helps to improve the lives of young people by offering a safe and welcoming place for them to engage with their peers and positive role models.

Full draw T&Cs here.