THE Oxfam Bookshop in Tavistock has been featured in national upcycling magazine 'Reloved'.

Shop manager Val Sharpe said the volunteers work hard and it was 'fantastic news' to be featured in the magazine.

After the bookshop had been open for about six months in 2011, one of the volunteers, Sarah, noticed an opportunity to make better use of the items not selling.

As a retired art teacher, Sarah was able to oversee the new crafts introduced to the shop.

The project, which was initially started selling handmade cards, has now been going for four years with a range of upcycled goods on offer.

Volunteers give old books too damaged to be sold a new lease of life and decrease the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Using pre-loved books, maps, atlases and sheet music, the crafty shop assistants create framed prints, handmade cards, envelopes, notecards and postcards.

Val said: 'We thought it was brilliant to be featured in the magazine! This is something we do that was instigated by volunteers, so it is fantastic for them.

'It varies what we use, a lot of atlases go out of date so it gives us the chance to make use of something that people wouldn't buy. There are also books that we get all the time like the "Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady", things like that just lend themselves to the bookmarks and envelopes.

'It's pages from books that people recognise that make the best products.

'Some of the books we get in are in shocking conditions — retired people bring in books from their childhood!'

A new product, recently introduced to the shop are the origami bookmarks, designed to slip over the top corner of the reader's current page, the small square bookmarks are made from upcycled patterned paper.

The bookshop is also looking to upcycle old vinyl records, Val said: 'When we can find the time we hope to start selling things made of vinyl. We have been looking into making book ends, given that we are a bookshop.

'It's a fantastic way to show people that we try to do what we can to make use of all the books we are given.

'We make sure the products don't look too shabby to be sold; a lot of it is trial and error but we always do the best we can.'

Val added that the upcycling projects are not only able to reduce the amount sent to landfill but also raise crucial funds for the charity, which ultimately, serves as the shop's main purpose.