I am a Northampton-based maker who repurposes vintage + salvaged objects -- sourced at flea markets, tag sales and roadside free piles -- into functional art.
I have treasure hunted at tag sales and flea markets since I was a kid. Back then, the focus was on costume jewelry - the bigger the jewels, the better. Years before repurposing became a household word, I wandered into a salvage store in Vermont, fell in love with an old barn door with deep grooves from where the latch had swung for decades, mounted it on a pair of vintage sewing machine bases, and created a dining room table. Reclaimed crafts was born from that moment, and now, I procure beautiful, vintage and salvaged objects from flea markets, tag sales and roadside free piles to transform and repurpose into functional art.
Reclaimed crafts is almost entirely material driven, and I will often acquire an item without having any idea what it will become. Eventually, yardsticks from shuttered banks and hard-fought political campaigns have become boxes to hold business cards, and vintage wooden croquet mallets tucked into barn corners have gotten repurposed into candlesticks, just to name two. I'm still brainstorming how to repurpose the baby blue lawn sweeper I scored at a country fair in New Hampshire years ago. Send ideas!
My desire to share my treasure hunting, brainstorming and finished projects with others began with my blog, where readers followed my adventures perusing road-side free piles, visiting salvage yards, shopping at tag sales and flea markets, dreaming up new ideas and creating projects in my sun-drenched studio. Now, I teach workshops to makers of all ages, hosts DIY wedding parties and baby showers, and sell my creations at boutiques and makers markets in western Massachusetts and beyond.