upcycle op shop challenge conditions of entry and guidelines

BOSS presents the inaugural Scenic Rim Sustainable Fashion Designer Showcase incorporating an exciting Upcycle Op Shop Challenge on 18 April at The Centre Beaudesert. All are welcome to submit an entry/entries via the online entry form, after carefully reading the following information, and agreeing to these Conditions of Entry and Guidelines.
(See Question 9 on your entry form.)

1. Materials guidelines: Each outfit is to be constructed from a minimum 50% of materials sourced from an op shop/s, and all materials used should be either repurposed, upcycled or refashioned from garments, household linens, found fabrics, vintage or deadstock textiles. No new materials/fabrics should be purchased, however notions and fasteners may be purchased new but used as no more than 5% of the total materials; we encourage makers to use second hand or op shop purchased fastenings where possible, to fully benefit from the valuable (and more economical) resources to be found at op shops and in our own wardrobes and material stashes.

2. Models: All designers will need to either model outfits themselves or provide a model. All models must attend a rehearsal early on the morning of the event on 18 April at The Centre Beaudesert (exact time for each category TBA). The Upcycle Challenge and Designer Showcase will be using the stage area of the venue. NB: We will not be using a runway, or the stairs to and from the stage for this event.

3. Categories: Categories have been created to reflect lifestyles and living in the Scenic Rim and to offer a broad variety of options to inspire clothing that could be worn by visitors and locals alike when attending some of our much-loved annual events and activities. All are non-gender specific, nor age group, ability, or sizing limited. We welcome diversity in garment design and model selection.

Categories are:

1. Active & Healthy Scenic Rim: Sports and leisure wear, wellness apparel, active sportswear for the many varied activities on offer here, from swimming to yoga, hiking to equestrian, croquet to tennis, mountain biking, and more.
2. Farm Gate Trails & Picnics:  Casual wear for relaxed weekends touring the region or on the farm, enjoying the many delights of Eat Local Month, our Farm Gate Trails, and festivals.
3. High Teas & Long Lunches:  An excuse to dress up during the day and also enjoy delectable foods made from local produce right here in the Scenic Rim, where a little extra style will never go out of fashion.
4. Scenic Rim Student Creatives:  Showcasing and supporting our talented High School creatives to design and create their own clothing and explore textile design and construction. Any choice of garment genre is suitable: from sportswear to evening wear, fantasy, workwear, wearable art, whatever you wish to make.
5. Show Ball Glitz & Glamour: Our region has a long history of show balls and gala evening charity events, where Evening Wear can be elegantly simple or a riot of glamorous extravagance.

4. Entry Fees: Categories 1,2,3 &5 will be $10 for the first entry across any of these categories, and $5 for each subsequent entry. These categories are open to all and multiple entries are encouraged. 
(To be clear: $10 outfit #1 + $5 each for other outfits)

Category 4 is open to students and youth only (up to year 12 age), entries are $5 per outfit, with multiple entries allowed.

Collaborative entries are acceptable, please list all names on the entry form.
NB: If more than one entry in a category, different models must be provided for each outfit.

5. Prizemoney: Each category will offer a First Prize of $250 and *Second Prize of $100. An overall prize of $500 will be awarded for the Most Creative Outfit chosen from the five individual category winners. 
*Second prize will be at the judges' discretion in any category with three or fewer entries.

NB: Judges will be sustainable fashion industry professionals. The judges' decisions are final. No correspondence or discussion will be entertained.

6. Tickets: Tickets to the event are $25 including morning tea and light lunch. Bookings are open now at this link. Limited tickets are available, so we recommend early booking to avoid disappointment.

7. Important Deadlines:

·       Entries close at midnight Wednesday 25 March 2026. However please enter and pay for your entry as early as possible to assist us with planning numbers for each category, by using the entry form which will be available soon.

·       Designer information, design descriptions and photographs for each entry are required by midnight Wednesday 1 April 2026.

Email to boonahboss@hotmail.com

8. Designer information and outfit descriptions (200 word maximum per entry):

Please include the following information in your descriptions:

·         Category/categories entered: 1,2,3,4 or 5

·         Name of outfit/look if you wish to give it a name to reflect your design.

·         A short story about you and your upcycling journey. Tell us who you are and how you first came to sewing and upcycling as a creative outlet.

·         A short story of your inspiration for each outfit and its design. This must include:

a)     a) A description of the original materials used, including the name and location of the op shops and other places where you sourced the materials for your look.            

e.g., “Two cotton dresses sourced at the Uniting Church Op Shop in Beaudesert, have been combined with one of my grandmothers favourite embroidered tablecloths, a blouse I no longer wear, and various fabrics from my stash. I chose these garments and fabrics for the way their colours blend and work together in this design, perfect for a long lazy Sunday afternoon lunch” or

“I bought a men’s suit from an op shop in Grafton NSW several years ago while on holidays, because I loved the blue pure wool fabric. I’ve been saving it in my stash ever since, until recently when a friend gifted me a silk dress that finally gave me the idea of how to refashion the suit for this category, and to make it wearable for me rather than a man.”
NB: (these are ideas only, please reach out if you need assistance in writing your descriptions)

b)    b) Photograph/s of the original articles/materials, prior to upcycling or in progress of construction. This will be shown on stage on the screen behind you/your model while your outfit is being shown, and as your name and outfit description are being announced by the compere.

9. Release permission: I give permission for BOSS and others, including media, to take photographs and/or video of my outfits, my model/s and myself as designer. I understand these images may be used in promotion and storytelling of this and/or any future similar events.

What we need from you now:

·      Your entry form and payment to secure your spot in each category. Entries close @ midnight Wednesday 25 March.

What we need from you next:

·       Descriptions and photos of each outfit in each category emailed to boonahboss@hotmail.com by midnight Wednesday 1 April.

Please remember that we are a small volunteer team of BOSS members putting on this event for our community and we really appreciate your support in adhering to these terms, guidelines, and deadlines for us to organise and run the best possible event on the day.

Please read all the above carefully, and do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any issues or questions using the contact details below. Email: boonahboss@hotmail.com  Phone:  Julie: 0435 992 798 or Erica: 0417 720 352

calling all sustainable fashion enthusiasts !!

BOSS is organising the inaugural Scenic Rim Sustainable Fashion Designer Showcase, an event to be held as part of Fashion Revolution Week, on Saturday April 18 at The Centre, Beaudesert.

Fashion Revolution Week is an annual event that was started in 2014 in acknowledgment of the need for ethical and sustainable fashion practices following the tragedy of the Rana Plaza fire where hundreds of garment workers were killed in Bangladesh in 2013.

The Designer Showcase will feature collections by Scenic Rim fashion designers to highlight sustainable locally made fashion from the region and will also include an Upcycle Op Shop Challenge which will be open to individuals of all ages and experience. 

The Upcycle Op Shop Challenge offers five categories with one of these being a dedicated category for students only, although students are most welcome to enter other categories as well if they choose. 

Categories have been created to reflect lifestyles and living in the Scenic Rim and to offer a broad variety of options to inspire clothing that could be worn by visitors and locals alike attending some of our much-loved annual events and activities. All are non-gender specific or age group limited. We welcome diversity!!

Categories are: 

1. Active & Healthy Scenic Rim: Sports and leisure wear, wellness apparel, active sportswear for the many varied activities on offer here, from swimming to yoga, hiking to equestrian, croquet to tennis, mountain biking, and more. 
2. Farm Gate Trails & Picnics:  Casual wear for relaxed weekends touring the region or on the farm, enjoying the many delights of Eat Local Month, our Farm Gate Trails, and festivals. 
3. High Teas & Long Lunches:  An excuse to dress up during the day and also enjoy delectable foods made from local produce right here in the Scenic Rim, where a little extra style will never go out of fashion. 
4. Scenic Rim Student Creatives:  Showcasing and supporting our talented High School creatives to design and create their own clothing and explore textile design and construction. Any choice of garment genre is suitable: from sportswear to evening wear, fantasy, workwear, wearable art, whatever you wish to make.
5. Show Ball Glitz & Glamour: Our region has a long history of show balls and gala evening charity events, where Evening Wear can be elegantly simple or a riot of glamorous extravagance.

Categories will be judged by sustainable fashion industry professionals, with prizemoney generously sponsored by local arts organisations.

Prizemoney for each category will be: First Prize $250, Second Prize $100, with an additional prize for the Most Creative Outfit $500 chosen from the five category winners.

Terms and conditions can be found here, and the online entry form can be found here. 

The Upcycle Op Shop Challenge will feature in the morning, followed by the exciting Sustainable Fashion Designer Showcase after lunch, when nine Scenic Rim based slow fashion designers will join forces for the first time to show capsule collections of their unique creations.

Trade and designer displays, as well as hands-on stitching activities during the event, will fill out a full day of sustainable fashion inspiration, networking, and learning.

Tickets for this fabulous full day of sustainable fashion design are $25 including morning tea and a light lunch, and are available now here. 

The intention of this event is to encourage community to consider the impacts, ethics, and benefits of slow vs fast fashion, the value of mending and repurposing rather than throwing garments away to landfill, and the wellbeing and mental health benefits of stitching, designing, and creating.

BOSS has been working in the sustainable fashion space for many years and holds annual Community Clothes Swaps, and monthly Share and Repair pop ups in Boonah as well. We also hold street stitching sessions to encourage and teach passers-by mending and slow stitching skills during Fashion Revolution Week on global Mend in Public Day, which this year for us will be Friday 24 April. 

For more information regarding the showcase, contact Julie on 0435 992 798, or Erica on 0417 720 352 or email boonahboss@hotmail.com 

boonah incinerator public forum

An enormous waste to energy incinerator is currently proposed for Bromelton, where Cleanaway plan to burn 760,000 tonnes of ‘waste’ per annum. This facility will include a 30-story high smokestack right on the doorstep of Beaudesert and on the gateway to Boonah and the western Scenic Rim.

The company estimates over 800 large vehicle movements to and from the facility daily, 365 days a year, to bring waste to the incinerator from outside the Scenic Rim on our country roads and highways.

Can we afford to have one of the largest incinerators in Australia operating here?

The Scenic Rim brand is well known for its clean and healthy produce and tourism experiences, which has enabled the region to become a must-visit destination for visitors from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and in fact from all around the world.

 The Lonely Planet named the Scenic Rim one of the top ten global regions to visit in 2022, and last year achieved ECO Destination Certification with Ecotourism Australia.

Community, business, and local government have worked hard together over many years to build the reputation of our thriving region to keep the Scenic Rim spectacular, but now there are growing grave concerns about protecting these values and the health and well being of our local community.

As members of community group Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic have been engaging with the community across the region about the proposed incinerator, it’s become clear that many living here are unaware of this planned development and its potential impacts, and need further information to enable them to make informed decisions on this major project when submissions are called later this year.

Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic are holding a series of public information forums and presentations across the region. Around 80 people attended the initial forum at Beaudesert late last year.

Potential damages to agriculture, human and livestock health cannot be underestimated.

The NSW Independent Planning Commission rejected a similar application for Western Sydney, citing "uncertainty in relation to the human health risks and site suitability", which resulted in the then state government passing legislation prohibiting incinerators from being built in Greater Sydney.

Communities living near these facilities in other parts of the world report impacts to health and agriculture. Should regional families, agriculture and tourism businesses bear the brunt of this toxic industry rather than our urban neighbors?

Waste incinerators release toxic air pollutants, including forever chemicals, produce toxic ash, and are the dirtiest form of energy production. Because there is no sorting prior to incineration, a high percentage of materials burnt will be plastics.

They are a polluting, expensive and unsustainable technology that undermines zero waste circular economy strategies, by competing for the same materials as recycling and composting operations and destroying valuable resources and their embedded energy.

Regional communities around Australia are being faced with the threat of incinerators and are vehemently campaigning against these facilities. Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic is linking with these communities to share their stories, and information from scientists and medical professionals.

In just a few short days, our online petition gathered over 500 signatures. Please add your name. 

To find out more about the potential impacts on you, your children, your business, and your community, the next Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic public forum will be held at the Boonah State School Assembly Hall at 2pm on Sunday 22 February. All are welcome to attend and are encouraged to arrive early for tea, coffee and refreshments.

scenic rim sustainable fashion designer showcase

Calling all upcycled fashion enthusiasts!!

BOSS is excited to announce the inaugural Scenic Rim Sustainable Fashion Design Showcase to be held at The Centre Beaudesert on Saturday 18 April!

The Scenic Rim is home to many creatives in arts and culture, including a number of incredible fashion designers working in the arena of slow clothing and sustainable fashion.

While they are working and independently selling and promoting their labels, they have never had the opportunity to showcase their work collaboratively……until now.

Nine Scenic Rim based slow fashion designers will join forces to show capsule collections of their creations on Saturday 18 April at The Centre Beaudesert.

But wait ... there’s more!

The Scenic Rim Sustainable Fashion Design Showcase will also offer an opportunity for home sewers, upcycle fashion enthusiasts and student designers to flex their refashioning muscles in our inaugural Upcycle Challenge on this day.

And due to generous support from Scenic Rim arts-based organisations and locals they will be vying for prize money for each of five categories and an overall Most Creative Outfit champion will be awarded.

Categories have been chosen with the intention to inspire makers to design and create garments that reflect the varied recreational and leisure activities, lifestyle, and unique events we enjoy right across the Scenic Rim each year.

More details on the event and how to enter the upcycle challenge will be released shortly…...watch this space for updates or contact our team at boonahboss@hotmail.com to register your interest and be added to our information list for details direct to your inbox.

 

flower power share + repair pop up

our february share + repair pop up will be all about flowers. we'll learn about creating beautiful bouquets with fresh flowers, as well as making decorative flowers out of lots of different textiles and bits and pieces.

everyone's welcome to join us on the day, and we encourage all ideas, resources, and demonstration projects that people would like to share to make the day a success.

there'll be lots there for inspiration, including loads of resources to use. 

we’d love to have you join us in sharing your skills and knowledge with others on the day, downstairs at wandering foods from 10am - 1pm on saturday 7 february.

upcycled xmas making day

our december share + repair pop up will be an upcycled xmas making day.

think garlands, wreaths, bunting, decorations, fabric gift wrapping and more.

everyone's welcome to join us on the day, and we encourage all ideas, resources, and demonstration projects that people would like to share to make the day a success.

a small library of books will be available for people to peruse and get inspired by, and we’ll also have our BOSS handmade mushroom darners and eco cloths there for sale.

we’d love to have you join us in sharing your skills and knowledge with others on the day, downstairs at wandering foods.

Scenic Rim or Scenic Bin ???

We all know that the Lonely Planet named the Scenic Rim one of the top ten global regions to visit in 2022, and earlier this year the region achieved ECO Destination Certification with Ecotourism Australia. This was the result of meeting global best-practice standards in ecotourism and environmental conservation, backed by a strong, well-managed commitment to sustainable practices.

The Scenic Rim has spectacular landscapes, six national parks, World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforests, eco-adventures, agritourism galore with fresh local produce, craft beer, wines and beverages. The region thrives on the success of Eat Local Month and our Farm Gate Trails, thanks to our remarkable local producers.

While we’re working together to keep the Scenic Rim spectacular, do you know there’s an enormous waste to energy plant proposed for Bromelton, 6km from Beaudesert ?

Communities around Australia and in fact the world are campaigning against these facilities.

Can we afford to have one of the largest incinerators in Australia operating here ?

To find out more about the potential impacts on you, your children, your business and your community, Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic is holding a public forum at the Beaudesert Community Arts and Information Centre at 2pm on Sunday 9 November. We encourage everyone to attend. Come early for a tea or coffee. 

Experts in the field of health, farming, waste and the environment will be speaking on their experiences and concerns this proposal brings.

Waste incinerators release toxic air pollutants, produce toxic ash, and are the dirtiest form of energy production.

They are a polluting, expensive and unsustainable technology that undermines zero waste circular economy strategies, such as recycling and composting; and stifles innovation in the waste management and energy sectors.

By competing for the same materials as recycling operations, incinerators undermine the recycling sector and destroy valuable resources and their embedded energy. The alternative of recycling and re-use of materials retains most of that embedded energy and reduces the inputs to the production and consumption cycle.

Much of the waste material burned in incinerators is based on petrochemicals. These include plastic bottles, bags, packaging, synthetic textiles and even electronic waste. Petrochemicals are fossil fuels and burning plastics derived from fossil fuels does not create ‘green’ energy – it is simply burning fossil fuels in another form.

By claiming to produce ‘green’ energy, incinerator operators can obtain public subsidies, credits, tax breaks and transferable benefits that should be spent on assisting real ‘green’ energy projects such as wind, wave and solar power.

Independent studies have reported that waste management systems that use recycling, re-use, composting and anaerobic digestion generate many more jobs and far outstrip the few positions required to run an incinerator.

Waste incineration entrenches a linear economy in our society that relies on the extraction of virgin materials and rewards consumptive and wasteful lifestyle choices.

Our society needs to transition as soon as possible to a circular economy where resources are not destroyed through landfills or incineration but rather are conserved through reuse, recycling and composting schemes generally known as zero waste solutions.