Triplets Patrick, Thomas and Anthony Gallegos of Vancouver held up their handmade planters fashioned out of a plastic water bottle and string.
The 6-year-old boys were eager to shield their freshly seeded sunflowers from the persistent wind while walking around Evergreen Habitat for Humanity’s first Remaker’s Fair. The plastic-bottle planters were just one of the featured make-and-take activities at the fair on Saturday.
More than 20 vendors came out to showcase pieces created from reusable materials that would otherwise be thrown into a landfill — a practice also known as “upcycling.” Glass cabinets, headboards and window panes were transformed into tables, benches and decorative wall art.
The boys’ parents, Sarah Martin and Michael Gallegos, stumbled upon the event while shopping for a table at the Clark County Habitat for Humanity Store.
“We saw this and were curious so we decided to check it out. It’s very cool,” Gallegos said. “Why throw something away when you can make something useful?”
Many pieces of repurposed furniture were up for grabs at a silent auction — the proceeds of which benefit Habitat’s Women Build program. The idea behind the program is to boost women’s confidence and skill set in construction — a trade typically dominated by men.
Koko Olszewski, a Habitat construction site coordinator, said the goal is to make women “feel empowered in any work environment that they’re in.”
This take-home message was in part what drew Vancouver resident Christine Ingalls to display her handmade jewelry at the event.
“I think anything encouraging women to try out new things is good,” said Ingalls of Late Night Lampworks.
Ingalls uses glass from beer and wine bottles to create different pieces of jewelry, an idea her husband turned her on to, she said.
“It’s really cool that they’re doing an event to benefit Habitat and to get more people aware of the store here. I think it has a lot of potential,” she added.
While some people merely perused the various booths, others made off with quite the haul, including Woodland residents Brad and Amy Matthiesen. Each carried several items that they planned to use in some do-it-yourself project.
“We like the history behind some of the stuff,” Amy Matthiesen, 38, said.
“And making it purposeful again,” Brad Matthiesen, 34, added.
