First Posted: 1/16/2014
Country-chic is not a new trend, but small business owners Stacey Sturdevant and Dennis “Denny” Bedford create a new take on home and garden décor. The up and coming company, “Imagination Creation,” crafts unique and functional items using all recycled materials.
Baking pan memo boards, Mason jar lid pumpkins, and wine bottle birdfeeders are just a few of the one-of-a-kind pieces made by the two. An old window pane becomes a chalkboard and antique china dishes turn into a hat rack with the couple’s unique and “green” view on discarded objects. The official business began six months ago when they started attending local craft shows to get the word out.
Inspiration struck when Sturdevant and Bedford, both of Tunkhannock, realized they shared the common interest and goal in creating something from nothing.
“I like the idea of using something that’s already been used … so that it’s not rotting in a landfill,” Bedford said.
Sturdevant remarked that she would rather take something out of a Dumpster to fix up and be able to say, “Wow, we did this,” as opposed to buying something off of a shelf made from an assembly line.
So where did the business name come from?
“It was all Stacey,” Bedford, 37, said. “I always told her she had quite an imagination … then she said we can call it ‘Imagination Creation.’”
The raw materials used to make the crafts are donated by family and friends, bought at a Salvation Army, or found on the side of the road. Most of the wood used is from abandoned and run down barns, occasionally they will buy wood from local auctions.
The couple’s signature pieces, magnetic chalkboard windows, are prime examples of one man’s trash being another’s treasure.
“If there are windows getting thrown out for the garbage, we’ll take those,” added Sturdevant, 33. Wine bottles for their handmade bird feeders, sold with a small bag of seed, are donated by Sturdevant’s father, Alan Sturdevant, who makes homemade wine.
Approximately 90 percent of materials used are recycled; the only tools that are bought new are paint or decorative knobs.
Pricing varies on the time spent to make each individual item and their size.
According to Bedford, the average time to make a chalkboard window is around 45 minutes, the windows range in price from $30-$45 depending on the size. They also compare prices on various websites and catalogs that offer similar items.
“We don’t want to charge as much as they charge,” Sturdevant noted.
New ideas are already on the horizon for Imagination Creations.
Sturdevant has plans for new and different holiday decorations while Bedford plans to construct coffee and end tables with a rustic twist. Another goal of the entrepreneurs is to someday have their own storefront. But for now they’ll continue to peddle their wares at craft fairs from Wyalusing to Clarks Summit and many places in between.