Market Report — Be Creative!

A Saturday journey to a store featuring décor created from architectural and hardware salvage in Amherst, Ohio, was a lesson in repurposing old into new. The eco-friendly trend of using old hardware, crystal door knobs, salvaged wood planks and architectural elements to express style and creativity was on display. The owner said people come in […]

Bottle Tree

We put our first bottle tree in the yard more than 30 years ago – a “trunk” and “branches” made of iron rods, with wine bottles slipped over the “branches” to mimic foliage. Today there are bottle trees, bushes, and planters made of iron or copper rods and bottles of different sizes and colors. Latest […]

Flower Sculpture

Do you have a dinnerware set you’re not using? Every winter we go to Design Miami/Basel to see what’s new in the contemporary art world. I stopped by a booth that had flower sculptures made with vintage dishes. Want to try to make your own? Find a piece of plywood and cut a square base. […]

Tennis Racket Mirror

Don’t throw away those old tennis rackets in your attic or basement. Wooden rackets made up until the 1980s are the perfect frames for mirrors on your walls. A pair looks the best! Take your racket to a glass or frame shop, and ask for a custom-cut beveled edge mirror. Then place the mirror on […]

Silver Rethought

We always enjoy spotting objects repurposed for other uses. Every year thousands of art collectors gather in Miami for Design Miami show. Ornamentum Gallery had a booth at the fair. They had sculptural art, jewelry and decorative pieces made with plastic antique silver-plated trays, flatware, and tea sets. The pieces were very clever and very […]

Purses Made from Vinyl Records

Creative collectors are making new treasures from what many think is trash. At a recent flea market we saw a booth filled with purses made from vinyl records and record albums from the 1950s and after. Patti and Rocky Bosley of RPM Treasures used both the record and the empty record case to make something […]

Watering Can Birdhouse

This birdhouse was for sale at an art show for $35. Take an old metal watering can, cut a piece of wood to close the top of the can, and drill a hole in the middle of the wood so the birds can enter. To add flair, string beads from the spout to mimic a […]

Antique-Inspired Bike Racks

The Larchmere district is a Cleveland neighborhood with historic buildings. It is occupied by design studios, art galleries, quirky gift shops, and antiques businesses. In 2014, funds from the City of Cleveland’s Public Art Program paid for an artist to contribute to street improvements. The LAND (Landscape Art Neighborhood Development) Studio put out a call […]

Create Your Own Artwork

The contemporary design pieces at the famous Design Miami show gave us an idea. Become a curator and create an installation for your yard. Be inspired by the great works at the show that sell for thousands of dollars to knowledgeable collectors and investors. Pop art is still popular so create a usable icon. The […]

Mason Jars

Like a lot of collectors, I’m a gardener and flower arranger. I look for unusual flower containers and holders (flower frogs). At the Burton flea market, there was a strange top for a Mason jar at a booth filled with bottles. Instead of a flat round piece inserted into the screw-on rim to seal the […]