Reuse, recycle, repurpose. That's what Anne and Michael Murphy, the owners of Eco Relics, are striving for.
Michael loves architectural salvage, and Anne is green, so they merged the two and created a place where things old to others become new to you.
Anne and Michael Murphy joined Melissa Ross in this week's Going Green Segment.
Anne said that Eco Relics takes salvageable items from landfills and sells them. A trip around their store on Stockton Street reveals that there's no limit to what they can salvage. Just about everything can be found there: rocking chairs, vintage sewing machines, pallets, a prison shower stall, and even an elevator.
But it's not just about salvaging old things that could be used again.
"We make new items from the old items," said Michael Murphy. "We go way beyond the scrapping mentality."
Anne said that the response from the Jacksonville community is wonderful.
"We were doubtful at first, and Jacksonville has accepted us with open arms," she said. "We were open for two weeks and we did One Spark. We just got such a great response from One Spark. Both meeting future clients as well as people that need stuff deconstructed that are remodeling or doing whatever."
Eco Relics also buys out estate sales, goes in before home demolitions to find things that could be used again, and buys from contractors. If it's usable and can be sold, the Murphy's will take it so it stays out of the garbage.
The Murphys say it's like a dream for people remodeling or working on new projects. Kind of like a craft store for grown ups, the possibilities are endless for one perusing Eco Relics.
"You'll never know what you're going to find," said Anne.
