About
What is Lawless Upcycling?
Lawless Upcycling creates one-of-a-kind, customizable home furnishings in an eco-friendly and creative manner by using discarded wood and metal.
These are Lawless Upcycling’s kinds of upcycling:
Using old products creatively as materials to make new products. Example - Using vintage card catalogue drawers and screws to create front door key organizers.
Using raw materials to make new products. Example - Using excess scrap wood from a construction site to make a table.
Restoring or modernizing an old or damaged product. Example - An old and beat-up wooden desk is cut into a more modern style, sanded and given a new stain.
All of these types of upcycling can be used for any custom projects!
During a brainstorming session, my wife Lizzi suggested “Lawless" because we wanted a memorable name that was also relevant to me and the business. Lawless fits the criteria as it 1) represents me making a career change from corporate law and 2) I don't follow laws or rules in how I put together materials to create one of a kind pieces.
Early on I wanted “Upcycling” to be in the name as it provides a description of the business and what I do. Thus, I chose Upcycling instead of more generic descriptions like “Creations” or “Designs”.
Why the name
“lawless upcycling”?
lawless upcycling on social media
Want more Lawless Upcycling? Then follow on social media!
@lawlessupcycling
https://www.youtube.com/@lawlessupcycling
Link to Lawless Upcycling’s YouTube channel, which will have tutorials and build videos!
You can search Lawless Upcycling and the Facebook page should come up. Alternatively, here is a link to the page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AJFNHLSon/?mibextid=wwXIfr
@lawlessupcycling
my story
Hi, I’m Annie and thank you for checking out my business, Lawless Upcycling. Below I describe how I went from a career as a corporate tax attorney to following my passion and starting Lawless Upcycling, and how I honed my woodworking and costuming skills.
I have always loved making things and figuring out puzzles. Growing up one of my favorite toys was a plastic screwdriver and I spent hours and hours playing with building toys like Legos and K’nex, as well as utilizing available materials around the house. For instance, I made Wild West forts out of popsicle sticks, life size cardboard cutouts of three of the four Beatles (as I was the fourth, John), and ghost props out of tomato cages for me and my neighbor Sam’s epic Halloween decorations.
A school assignment in fifth grade was to write your life’s future biography. I said I was going to be an engineer since I wanted to create and make things.
Later I learned that you have to be super good at math to be an engineer and that wasn’t me. Still, I loved making things and using found materials to create one-of-a-kind art pieces. One of my first significant pieces was for a Senior project in high school, where I created a 6ft x 4ft mosaic of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” using beer bottle caps. (No I didn’t drink the beer; rather I asked a local bar to collect their caps.)
I attended Tufts University for college and I double majored in Political Science and Sociology, and I was super involved on campus from playing on the soccer and softball teams to managing the radio station to various community service organizations. I decided to go to law school due to a Poli Sci course I took my sophomore year called “Race, Class, Sex, and Law” where we read Supreme Court decisions and learned about the evolution of the law. I really enjoyed studying the cases and deciphering the story, facts, and reasons for the holdings. Another reason I decided to go to law school is I wanted to help people and knew a JD was a degree that provides for various ways to do this. After Tufts, I served for two years in AmeriCorps working as a paralegal for legal services organizations. Then I attended Boston University School of Law.
While in law school, I accepted a summer associate position at a mid-size law firm because I got the opportunity to work in all of the firm’s departments instead of only one department like other firms. My longest assignment was in the tax department where I helped edit and cite an article detailing the legislative history of particular terms in the tax code in an effort to influence how such terms should be interpreted and applied by the IRS. I never would have expected that I’d like tax law (especially due to my aversion to math), but I found it interesting - It was like playing the boardgame Monopoly, and trying to figure out how to get your client past Go to collect $200. Thus began my career as a corporate tax attorney. I took three tax law classes in my last year of law school, was accepted into my firm’s tax department, and then while working full-time, due to my firm’s insistence, I got my LLM in tax law from Boston University by going part-time for four years.
During this time I lateralled to a large law firm where I had a significant variety of clients and thus transactions. In both law firms, I learned so much and found some of the work pretty interesting as I like to solve problems, but definitely not all of the work. Further, my work-life balance was terrible and I was working so many hours usually with an unpredictable schedule as there were always transactions that needed immediate work. During this time I got married to my awesome wife Lizzi and I wanted more time to spend with her and our family and friends.
After about eight years of law firms, I switched to an international accounting firm in hopes that it would provide a better work-life balance but that I’d still be able to do the interesting and sophisticated tax advisement that I enjoyed. This was the case in certain respects, but not as much as I had hoped.
The things I truly loved during my legal career were my creative projects - continuing with extravagant Halloween customs, learning how to woodwork during the COVID-19 pandemic, and starting being a drag king - read more about these below.
Throughout my entire time in law school and working as an attorney for 13 years, it was a battle to complete work in a timely manner due to being neurodivergent and disabled. I have ADHD, dyslexia and OCD, all of which conspire to make it difficult for me to focus and complete tasks, especially when I was mostly alone sitting in front of a computer. In addition, I have a profound hearing loss (about 70% loss) and there were so many times when I did not hear words or terms correctly, but I could not ask for them to be repeated. Thus, I had to spend a significant amount of energy and time to try and stay focused and figure out what words were said based on context and understanding the subject matter, which meant a ton more work.
Over the last couple of years, my ADHD symptoms and stress levels became worse for various reasons, with a major one being me and my wife dealing with severe chronic ailments that continued to decline and limited our physical activity, which then had a negative effect on our mental health. In 2024, we finally had to make the painful decision to not have kids since it was hard enough to care for ourselves, let alone kids.
As a result of these things and a few other stressful events, my mental health was not good and I was in a deep depression - so much so that I took a medical leave of absence from work so I could take care of myself, which also included taking care of Lizzi. While out on leave, I reassessed my life. I had been pretty unhappy at work for a while and I did not think anything would change enough to make my job worth it. Also I really wanted to get into coaching as it would give me the opportunity to have time with kids and remain involved in sports even though I could no longer play myself. Finally I recognized how crucial it is for me to be creative and social on a regular basis.
I was determined, however, to return to my job for a while as I wanted to implement the strategies I had been learning in a familiar environment and I wanted to provide some quality work and help my colleagues who had been covering for me while I was out. However, less than a month from when I returned to work full time, in May 2025 the accounting company did a massive layoff, which included me. This was not surprising considering I had been out for a some time, but it still didn’t feel great. I decided to give myself the summer to really think about what I wanted to do next and what would be the best for my mental health and happiness. As September got closer, I became more and more sure that at this time, I did not want a corporate tax job or really any legal jobs. (I did some pro bono work over the summer to see if I’d be interested in another area of law, but I wasn’t.)
In August 2025, I was sitting on a Cape Cod beach staring out at the ocean, and thought to myself, “I just want to make things… If not now, when?” When I am going to start doing something I really care about - something that gets me up in the mornings instead of dreading work? Life is too short to be as unhappy as I was. Also my physical health is declining and it is unclear how much longer I will be able to handle physical labor. Further I didn’t currently have a job so it would not be like I was quitting a stable job. Finally, I had to accept my increasing neurodivergent traits and that I needed to make a change.
And thus, Lawless Upcycling was born. Here are my main motivations for starting Lawless Upcycling:
Each project is a new puzzle to solve as what I make is in part determined on what materials I have sourced. I love the creative upcycling challenge that results in handmade, one-of-a-kind items.
I am excited to work with clients to create home furnishings that are not only perfect for them but also add unique art to their home.
I want my business to be environmentally conscious.
I hope to inspire and teach other people (especially women and minorities) how to upcycle as well as trade skills, such as woodworking and welding.
I needed to prioritize my health and happiness over continuing with my challenging career.
As of November 2025, I am absolutely thrilled that I started on this journey. I still can’t believe that crafting is now my job! I am excited and motivated in ways that I haven’t been before. Also all the different “hats” a small business owner wears has actually been good for me as I can switch between very different tasks when when my focus runs out. Further, I have already have so many amazing conversations with clients and fellow crafters, and I can’t wait to meet more folks at craft fairs.
Took a welding class.
Also I’ve started coaching girls soccer, which has very rewarding and filled my soul.
MORE TO COME
woodworking
How I started woodworking - Due to Lizzi having an autoimmune disease, we had to stay home during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an activity Lizzi wanted to garden, and specifically she wanted a raised garden bed. She was going to buy one but I had a drill that I used for house stuff and said I’d build her one. I watched a few YouTube videos to get an idea, all of which said that Home Depot would cut the wood for you. Well I went to one Home Depot and its saw was broken as tons of people had been taking on projects. I went to a second Home Depot and again its saw was broken. So in the saw aisle, I watched a few videos about circular saws to see if I could learn how to use one, and I thought I could as well as that a circular saw may be helpful for other house projects. Thus, I bought a circular saw and I built the raised garden bed and it felt AWESOME! So much so that I cleaned out my garage and built a massive shelving system out of wood (6 ft by 10 ft). By this second project, I was hooked on woodworking! I couldn’t believe that I was able to make these massive and useful things that fit our backyard and garage perfectly!
I started watching tons of videos on YouTube and woodworking websites to learn various skills and how to make specific items, such as my custom workbench that rolls so I could use it in the garage and in the driveway, which is great when the weather is nice. When I told my dad about my new hobby, he said “Oh you finally graduated from popsicle sticks.”
As someone who is environmentally conscious, loves a good deal, and solving puzzles, I started to source woodworking materials on my city’s “Everything is Free” Facebook group. Through EIF group, I have assembled a vast collection of wood and hardware that I currently use in many of my LU products. Also I’ve developed a keen eye for materials set out for free on the curb and now have work gloves in my car in case I come across anything that may be useful. You can see a few examples of my trash hauls on the “Upcycling Info & Tips” page.
My car packed to the gills with lumber posted on EIF.
My haul from picking up one vintage TV that John posted in EIF. Ends up he owned an audio electronics store that he was closing so he could retire and he had tons and tons of stuff that he was going to throw out unless I took it…
Over the next few years I made a wide variety of items, ranging from large furniture like drawers with a hutch and a desk to small items like bottle openers and cell phone holders. Most of my items were gifts for family and friends or projects requested by my wife for the house or our numerous pets. You can see examples in the “Past Creations & Costumes” page.
Halloween costumes & drag
One of the first things Lizzi and I bonded over was our love of Halloween and making costumes. See the “Past Creations & Costumes” page to see some examples of our costumes.
In 2024, I started doing drag as Tommy Boss, a 1950s and 1960s rock n roll bad boy with a heart of gold. I was interested in drag so that I could have a costuming outlet all year round instead of just at Halloween, and it would be a creative endeavor that would be more social than woodworking.
Kingdom
Very fulfilling to be in a creative community and sharing ideas and support
MORE TO COME
Contact us
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