Shimamura Music upcycles discarded instruments into furniture

Popular music chain store Shimamura Musical Instruments has begun upcycling waste musical instruments and turning them into home interior products.

Shimamura Musical Instruments sees a lot of musical instruments whose use have expired, experienced in inspecting and repairing discarded musical instruments. With the awareness of the global environment and the need to make effective use of limited resources, Shimamura Musical Instruments launched the “Musical Instrument Upcycling Project” to give these instruments a second life.

New interior products such as tables and stand lights will be produced using unrepairable, discarded musical instruments and parts that have reached the end of their useful life. The produced interior will be sold at some stores of Shimamura Musical Instruments.

Shimamura Musical Instruments will collect unusable or discarded musical instrument equipment and send them to affiliated organizations. These partner organizations inspect the instruments and clean them for upcycling. However, they will retain the instruments’ aged look, including scratches, stains, and dullness as proof of “having used for years.”

The upcycled furniture, named “tumugu upcycle furniture,” are available for purchase at three stores: Futako Tamagawa Rise Shopping Center store, LaLaport Toyosu Store, and Ariake Garden Store. They are also available on their online store.

Shimamura Musical Instruments is no stranger to doing social good, having donated to children affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and children in developing countries through JICA before. For Musical Instrument Upcycling Project, all profits will go to children in Japan and overseas, either through monetary or through donations of musical instruments.