Dalziel & Pow carved Crisis' Secondhand September identity out of linoleum

Give the upcycling initiative a raw, hands-on brand identity that mirrors the physical craft of twelve independent UK makers rebuilding discarded garments.

A hand-carved linocut identity — rough chiselled lettering, scissors, pins and a button — mirroring makers physically rebuilding discarded clothes.

The twelve makers salvaged unsold donated clothes at the Canning Town warehouse, rebuilding them through cutting, weaving, screenprinting and patchwork. Dalziel & Pow bypassed sterile vector curves: they carved 'Create for' into lino blocks with gouges and black ink, sliced Crisis' red square logo with a diagonal cut like tailoring scissors through cloth, and cut three symbols — shearing scissors, sewing and safety pins, and recycling arrows around a four-hole button.

The system rolled out across sixteen Crisis retail locations in London with 'UNSOLD. RETOLD.' window posters and 24 bespoke maker storytelling boards; clothing-rail swing tags state that fifty percent supports the mission to end homelessness and fifty percent goes directly to the maker.

London design studio Dalziel & Pow partnered with UK homelessness charity Crisis to relaunch Create for Crisis, the initiative that takes centre stage during Secondhand September through the UNSOLD. RETOLD. campaign.

Twelve independent UK makers — labels like LUEDER, Olli Hull and Ashley Knight — visited the Canning Town warehouse to salvage unsold donated clothes, rebuilding discarded garments through cutting, weaving, screenprinting and patchwork. Dalziel & Pow built a raw, hands-on identity to mirror that physical craft: the core wordmark carved directly into linoleum printing blocks with gouges and black ink, and the familiar red Crisis square logo altered with a diagonal slice that lifts the top strip away, capturing the motion of tailoring scissors.

Three accompanying graphic symbols — shearing scissors, sewing and safety pins, and recycling arrows wrapped around a garment button — were also cut into lino. The system came alive across sixteen Crisis retail locations in London: crimson window posters, bold maker portraits, upcycled garments on mannequins, and 24 storytelling boards with hand-drawn notes, fabric swatches and garment sketches. On the rails, swing tags detail the production split: fifty percent to the mission to end homelessness, fifty percent to the maker.

Hand-carved lino lettering carries the human touch the upcycled garments embody.

The diagonal slice through Crisis' red square captures scissors cutting cloth.

Swing tags stating the 50/50 split make the charity's economics visible at the rail.

Maker profiles with sketches and swatches turn sixteen shops into sixteen exhibitions.

When the product is physical rescue-work, build the identity with the same tools as the product: the medium becomes the message.

UNSOLD. RETOLD. ran across sixteen London Crisis shops for Secondhand September 2026, with hand-stitched maker labels and raw corrugated cardboard displays reinforcing the tactile identity.