Andrea Edmundson and Victor Quiros see art in everything.
Even used plumbing parts.
When they had some repairs done at their home recently, the couple asked for the old pieces.
“The plumber said, ‘Really? You want to keep this stuff?’” Quiros recalled.
Yes, actually, they do. And they’ll happily take your weird castoffs, too.
Earlier this summer, the husband and wife duo launched Upcycle Tucson, a creative reuse arts center in an industrial office complex on West Grant Road and across the street from HabiStore, which sells donated, new and used items and benefits Habitat for Humanity.
Upcycle Tucson is part recycling, part creativity and all fun. The idea is to take in donated items — and thus keep them out of landfills — then sell those discarded goods, which can be transformed into art. On Oct. 1, the business will start selling supplies at a quarter to half of regular retail prices as well as offer art classes.
“We’re trying to get people to challenge their own creativity,” said Edmundson, who’s dabbled in many hobbies over the years, including painting and stained glass. “The idea is you go in and get quirky art supplies you can’t get anywhere else.”
Right now, Upcycle is stockpiling donations and accepting all kinds, from traditional stuff like paints and beads to items that require outside-the-box thinking, like some recently acquired packaging material made of thin, brown cardboard punched with holes and folded into triangles. Also waiting for just the right project: skinny metal pieces from a disassembled organ.
Local artist Ryan Blackmer of Blackmer Studios, who uses reclaimed materials in his creations, recently donated a couple of truckloads of merchandise. He’s completely on board with the idea of an eco-conscious business that offers people a chance to poke through unusual items that are all in one central location.
“They are in the same mindset that I am, that you can almost take anything that most people think they’re finished with and make something beautiful out of it and have fun and be creative at the same time,” said Blackmer, who creates his art with computer-controlled cutting machines and laser engravers.
In their research, Quiros and Edmundson found upcycling centers sprinkled across the country.
“The creative reuse movement is big,” said Quiros, who along with his wife frequented an upcycling spot in Washington D.C., where the couple lived for 5½ years before moving back to Tucson this spring.
The two would spend Monday through Friday at their government jobs — Quiros worked for D.C. Superior Court overseeing mediations while Edmundson, who has an education background, worked for the state department — but their weekends belonged to their local upcycling center, where they took classes.
“We got hooked,” Quiros said.
When they decided to move back to Tucson, the two — who previously owned a catering company and internet store here — decided upcycling was the way to go.
They expect to appeal to not only those with a creative streak but treasure seekers, too, since the merchandise will be constantly changing.
“It’s always a hunt,” Edmundson said.
