Store promotes eco-friendly art at Tivoli Village

Reclaim; recycle; repurpose ---- that's the mantra behind Artifact.

Owner Molly Walters is so dedicated to seeing that her store offers only eco-friendly items that even her business cards are made from cut-up cereal boxes.

The store is in the Market LV portion of Tivoli Village at 420 S. Rampart Blvd., Building 6, Suite 240. It contains the works of 180 artists, all of whom work with reclaimed materials.

Walters said the idea came to her in a dream.

"I just knew it was going to happen," she said. "I saw myself here; I saw it all. I never doubted it for a day."

A look around Artifact reveals cleverly recycled or repurposed art and home items. Old television sets with knobs and dials jut out of the wall, with the screens replaced to function as wall mirrors. A cane back chair was restored by weaving belts. Canning jars were filled with decorative rocks and made into candles. Throw pillows are dressed up, reusing fabric from, presumably, a ball gown.

Ryan Boase lives in North Carolina. He collects antique horns and crafts them into functional sculptures. The store had two examples. One was a trumpet he found in Chicago, from the 1920s, that was affixed to a rectangular block of wood. Another was a horn from an old record player, a 1910 Magnavox, also affixed to a block of wood.

Walters took her iPhone, pulled up a music file and set the phone into a slot in the wood base. Even though the iPhone's volume was low, the air filled with music, which pulsed from the horn.

"It's a sculpture that amplifies," she said. "You can use an iPad or iPhone. Each piece is one of a kind."

Scott Hawley's business is Stoneoak Woodworking & Design. He uses only reclaimed wood and said he can recycle almost any kind as long as it doesn't contain metal. The items on display at Artifact were made from pallets, platforms that allow forklifts to slide their forks into shipment bundles. Now they have a new purpose as furniture.

"Each one of my pieces has a story behind it," he said. "This is giving new life to something that would have gone to a landfill."

He said having Artifact show his pieces has freed him from doing his own marketing and, as a result, spurred his creativity level to new heights.

Another local artist, Joyce Straus, creates oversized wall sculptures, utilizing items from everyday life - a broken doll arm, used-up makeup, a baseball, a spoon - and combining them in intriguing patterns to become 3-D wall art. She had never shown her collage pieces in a gallery before now.

"The Fertittas have a big mirror in their home (near her)," Walters said. "And she's done a big piece that's in the Bank of America building. I'm so honored to be able to have her in my gallery. I mean, I get chills. She's that phenomenal of a person."

Dream notwithstanding, the slant for Artifact went through a few incarnations before settling on recycled and repurposed art. Walters and her husband, Brian, an attorney, wanted to launch a store that matched their personal philosophy and values. It started as a children's store, but then her retail designer experience kicked in, as did her ecological leanings. It all came together over nine months.

Originality and thinking outside the box for repurposing merchandise were key to selecting the artists to carry. She calls them "alpha" makers ---- pack leaders for other artists to jump aboard the eco-friendly bandwagon.

She said she never has to find artists, as they find her. However, not all are considered right for Artifact.

"The hardest part was having to leave stuff behind because it didn't 'fit in,' " said manager Kacia Pretty.

Walters explained further.

"Everybody that I put in the store, I have to feel an emotional connection with them ... I want (it) to be an experience for the clients," she said. "I want the store to read authentic. And I wanted there to be a story behind every piece. And if an artist doesn't bring me that, (they're not offered to be part) of the gallery."

Near the front door is a space that will be swapped out with items made locally, with different artists featured each month.

Walters said more artists not currently represented in the store are creating pieces that will be offered around the winter holidays.

Andrea Young, who owns the Market LV with her husband, Russell, said she had a gut feeling about Artifact and Walters.

"It's going to be phenomenal," Young said. "It's so unique, and she's so passionate about what she does."

Hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 672-2780, email artifactresale@gmail.com or visit artifactlv.com.

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.