And here's our thoughts behind the RECLAIMED project:
RECLAIMED
Crafted | Curated | Gathered
Matt and Elizabeth Smith love the old saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
Items that were put out for junk day - frames, wood, ladders, chairs, candle holders - and fated to be dumped in a landfill have been salvaged, cleaned-up, and repurposed for second lives as useful or decorative objects - like framed chalkboards, wooden boxes for organizing, wood ladder magazine racks.
Clothes that were stained and tattered beyond mending have been repurposed into beautiful and rich strands of garland.
Plants that are typically disregarded on a nature hike - trampled under foot or cut down as weeds - have been collected, preserved and displayed so that they can be appreciated for their intricate, delicate, and typically-unnoticed beauty.
The Smiths undertook this "RECLAIMED" project with the rule that nothing could be purchased. Everything in their shop is made of things that were found, given to them as another man's "trash", salvaged from the house that they recently gutted, or things they already had. The only things they cheated on and had to buy were special glue for the dried botanical art and some nails for the reclaimed would boxes.
The Smiths hope that the thought behind their arts and crafts will point to the One - Jesus Christ - who has salvaged, cleaned-up and repurposed their sinful lives to be ones of glory, beauty and purpose. They also hope that their inventive ability to transform thrown-out items into beautiful and useful items will inspire others to think twice before they contribute to a landfill.
Crafted | Curated | Gathered
Matt and Elizabeth Smith love the old saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
Items that were put out for junk day - frames, wood, ladders, chairs, candle holders - and fated to be dumped in a landfill have been salvaged, cleaned-up, and repurposed for second lives as useful or decorative objects - like framed chalkboards, wooden boxes for organizing, wood ladder magazine racks.
Clothes that were stained and tattered beyond mending have been repurposed into beautiful and rich strands of garland.
Plants that are typically disregarded on a nature hike - trampled under foot or cut down as weeds - have been collected, preserved and displayed so that they can be appreciated for their intricate, delicate, and typically-unnoticed beauty.
The Smiths undertook this "RECLAIMED" project with the rule that nothing could be purchased. Everything in their shop is made of things that were found, given to them as another man's "trash", salvaged from the house that they recently gutted, or things they already had. The only things they cheated on and had to buy were special glue for the dried botanical art and some nails for the reclaimed would boxes.
The Smiths hope that the thought behind their arts and crafts will point to the One - Jesus Christ - who has salvaged, cleaned-up and repurposed their sinful lives to be ones of glory, beauty and purpose. They also hope that their inventive ability to transform thrown-out items into beautiful and useful items will inspire others to think twice before they contribute to a landfill.
