Often dealing with what is left over seems to be so time consuming that most of us choose to look the other way. Yet, for some ‘waste not, want not’ is the driving force behind their work ethic. We look at how Bengaluru-based Sudha Mahalingam and Kiran TN have taken to giving residual bits of wood a new lease of life.Lovely, dark and deepWhile a tarred road brings a certain ease to life, it also the harbinger of civilisation’s woes. Sudha says her home in North Bengaluruwas surrounded by farms and forest but once the road was laid two years ago, the area began developing into a layout.“Trees were being cut and everywhere I looked gnarly, knobbly pieces of wood were strewn about. I would bring them home and clean them up, trying to figure what they could lend their shape to,” says Sudha. “I’d also pick up wild calabashes that were abundant in the area. They would dry up and fall right there where they grew. I felt these had interesting shapes that could work well for lamps. ”Sudha went online, looked up tutorials and taught herself how to affix wires and switches. “I began using these lamps at home; they were highly appreciated by guests who came by, which encouraged me to make more.”Apart from the bulb, wires and fuses, Sudha tries her best to make these products as natural as possible and uses linseed and tung oil to polish them. Soon she branched out into crafting mirrors, clocks and hangers. “There is no end to what you can do with a little bit of creativity and soon I began making tables from irregular-shaped slabs of wood.” Sudha held an exhibition-and-sale of her products last year to offload some of her inventory that had grown substantially.