Hasta La Ideas

by Tisha Leung

The Tie Clock is Umbra’s latest repurposing design taking up well-worn ties from Goodwill and giving them new life as a clock. Designed by Alan Wisniewski for U+ Collection, Umbra’s higher-end division, twelve ties act as the hour indicators with a pewter-faced timepiece. The cravats, scoured from the thrift shops in Canada are outfitted with wire frames slipped inside to keep them taunt, making them big on presence and light in weight. The clock runs on a single AA battery and measures 44″ across.

Umbra’s efforts at repurposing before, all of which they define as “good design,” include last year’s Cassetta, also designed by Wisniewski with cassette tapes stacked around a mirror’s perimeter.

The Tie Clock will be available through Umbra in mid-March for $275.