About Our Materials

Where We Source Our Materials

Quix Art & Design makes extensive use of recycled and reclaimed materials in all of our designs. But where do we get these materials? Here are a few stories about our sourcing process:

Note:  We take care to ananymize where we source our materials at the request of and out of respect for the property owners and businesses that are kind enough assist us in sourcing our materials.

Old Rail Depot in Ottawa County, Oklahoma

One of our designers first sourced materials from this building as a teenager, many years before Quix Art & Design was founded. The building had partially burned in an electrical fire, and the old wiring needed to be removed to allow for repairs.

The work was dirty, smelly, and slightly dangerous. The floors and ceilings were rotten and fire-damaged, and the building was home to pigeons, raccoons, and even a few homeless people. But our designer was up for the challenge.

In the end, it was worth it. The salvage from this building provided us with a rich cache of materials that we still use on occasion today. Had it not been for our efforts, that wire along with all of the other demolition debris would have likely ended up in a landfill.

Derelict Roadside Motor Court Motel in Ottawa County, Oklahoma

This motel was once a thriving stopover on Route 66, but it fell out of fashion and fell into disrepair. When we were allowed access to the structure and its contents, nearly everything was ruined from an ordinary perspective. But we saw opportunity in the rusted and mud-covered goods.

One of our designers even found a hand-painted set of plates that he uses for special occasions to this day. The glaze was crazed and stained, but it had unmistakeable character.

The real find here was several rolls of aluminum electrical service wire. The wire was of the obsolete 100 amp service type that rarely sees use in our energy-hungry modern households. But to us, it was a treasure. We were able to pick up literally miles of this wire and a few other things we found to our personal liking in exchange for merely helping the owner organize and move a few things he wanted to preserve.

Again, we had saved some more materials from the landfill and some of us scored some beautiful dinnerware with a story as well.

Abandoned Pile of Used Utility Poles in Delaware County, Oklahoma

One of our designers had been driving past this pile of used utility poles for ages. They lay on the land of a property owner that he sometimes worked for. When she took note of our work and asked him to design some hair sticks for her, he lamented that we didn't have any suitable materials, but he did have a solution.

He mentioned the pile of utility poles with their still attached heavy-weight ground wires. The property owner noted that she had planned to use the utility poles for a construction project and needed to get rid of the wire to do so. She also didn't want to burn the poles, as that would release harmful toxins into the air.

We were able to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. We took the wire off of the utility poles and used it to make hair sticks. The property owner was able to use the poles for her construction project. And everyone was happy.

Construction Sites

On occasion, we source materials from construction sites by working with contractors to salvage scrap materials that would otherwise be thrown away. We have salvaged old wood, metal and electrical wiring. By working with contractors, we are able to divert these materials from landfills and give them a new life.

We hope you enjoyed these stories about how we source our materials. We believe that it's important to find creative ways to reuse and recycle materials, and we're always on the lookout for new sources. If you have any suggestions, please let us know!