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Third Annual Texas Reuse Contest Winners Announced

Wed, February 03, 2021 4:21 PM | Tamara Kowalski


The STAR Reuse Council is proud to announce the winners of the Third Annual Texas Reuse Contest

Congratulations to all of this year's winners and thank you to all who submitted their reuse projects! This year's contest sought the best reuse projects done in 2020. There were two categories open to individuals and businesses:

  • Best Construction and Remodeling Project of 2020
  • Best Art, Fashion and Furniture Project of 2020

The First Place winner for each category will receive 2 free passes to the 2021 Texas Reuse Tour (dates and locations TBD), a Certificate of Achievement, and, of course, bragging rights!

Second Place winners receive Certificates of Achievement (and also bragging rights!).

And the winners are:

Best Art, Fashion and Furniture Project

First Place: re:3D, Reclaimed Materials & 3D Printing from Trash

    

"For this particular project, we wanted to take excess materials and combine them with 3D prints made from trash to create new objects. We joined forces with a local reuse store to create chairs, benches, tables, and vases. The reuse store provided reclaimed 2 x 2 lumber, reclaimed wood slabs, and reclaimed glass which we designed around. All of the objects in the images were either printed with reclaimed water bottles, or scrap prints, and the wood and glass are all reclaimed materials provided by the reuse store. All of the pieces were then sold at a silent auction for 1 month at the reuse store.

"We are currently designing objects for round 2 of this successful model. With 3D printing we can quickly adapt to whatever excess material we have and design new objects to print from trash."

Second Place (tie): 

Calder Kamin, Marigold Mongrel & Ultra Violet Vixen

– Foam, cardboard, plastic caps, koozies, plastic bags and rubbish (See more of her works at www.calderkamin.com)

   

"Nature never wastes. That's why I reuse! I am a creative reuse artist in Austin, TX and a board member at Austin Creative Reuse."

Nicole Wayman, From a Tree House to Furniture

    

"Ten years ago, my father, partner and I build a treehouse in our backyard for our then 6- and 4-year olds. After many years of use (hiding, reading, spying) we decided it was time to take it down (we have a small 50x130' lot). Covid hit and we were spending a lot more time at home. We needed some better furniture in our backyard. My now 14 year old and I had the idea to transform the treehouse into outdoor furniture! (It sounded so easy in our heads :) We found a design online and solicited help from my partner. We disassembled the treehouse into raw material (2x2s, 2x4s, 1x6s, 2x6s) and inventoried the wood. We quickly learned that we had to modify the design to suit the materials we salvaged. That took some creativity! After 8 days (2 weekends for full time working parents and online schooling teenagers), we finished two chairs and a table. We were able to reuse the wood screws that we saved during disassembly and found the left over seal and stain from the original project. We were so pleased with the project, I convinced the family to make two more chairs and another table! We slightly modified the design again to remove a little weight on the second set of chairs. Our only investment was our time, hard work and new cushions. Our neighbors were so inspired by our project, they took the leftovers from the treehouse-turned-furniture and made a workbench with custom horizontal storage for stained glass art projects. The very few leftovers from all of this were quickly scooped up by neighbors in response to a Next Door post (free)! Today, we use the chairs and tables every weekend. We enjoy breakfast, backyard movies and backyard social distancing in our new furniture! In addition to having unique furniture we can be proud of, we've taught our kids the value of hard work and importance of creativity!"

Best Construction and Remodeling Project

First Place: Martha Stockton, A Backyard Screen Room

      

"I built an 8'x8'x8' screen shelter in my backyard using:

  • wood salvaged from my old cedar fence
  • a metal frame salvaged from a broken tent
  • a painter's canvas tarp (new)
  • 4x4 posts and 2x4 bracing
  • screening

"I've been wanting a screen porch for years, but didn't want to pay for an expensive addition. My fence was old and falling down, so I removed the fence material, cut off the rotten ends, and used the roughly 4' pieces to construct a series of screened frames. I then mounted these frames to a structure of pressure-treated wood. For the roof, I repurposed the roof frame from a broken tent structure, strapped it to the frame, then attached a painter's canvas drop cloth. The door is two screen curtains I once ordered for a pair of French doors onto my patio. Because I designed it in small pieces, I was able to construct it myself (I did get some help from a friend who cut about half of the wood). I'm really pleased with the result—a small screen room in the shade of several trees in my backyard. I enjoy reading and eating out there, a pleasant retreat!

See all of the winning entries' photos in our Facebook photo album.

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Austin, TX 78731

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