Pallets & Poverty: Repurposed Thinking

As mentioned in my last post, I’m getting set to build some repurposed objects. As I was organizing the very humble materials I’ve gathered thus far, I came to a realization. At first glimpse, these crude pallets, ratty furniture parts, and other discarded pieces are simply waste. They are garbage unworthy of attention. We’ve decided as a culture that the best place for this “refuse” is out of sight, rotting in some landfill we never have to see. This happens all too often in American culture, and the “refuse” we choose to discard is not always in the form of packing materials and worn out furniture. All too often, we do the same with entire communities, if not entire classes of people. I’d like to keep that firmly in mind as I try to nourish these forgotten materials into objects imbued with purpose and utilty.

Toward Etsy: Cottage Capitalism

One of the reasons I started this blog was to focus on being resourceful. A resource I have often taken for granted or invested with more baggage than necessary is my artistic training. Regardless of any talent I may or may not have, I do have a couple of art degrees and learned a few skills along the way of earning them. So, lately I've decided to own those skills and try to put them to use. As mentioned in previous posts, I'm hoping to build or buy a tiny house in the near future. That is going to take money, so I'm trying to find ways to generate extra income. Among other ideas, I'm hoping to start making some digital prints as well as begin building some repurposed furniture and crafts. The plan is to try my hand at selling them on Etsy. I have no idea if I can generate any income from this, so I'm trying to make certain that A) I don't invest too much money in the enterprise to begin with, and B) that the time I invest in making this work is worthwhile even if I never make a dime directly from trying to sell the work.