One man's trash is another man's treasure. And, for one Eaton Rapids man, there's a lot of treasure just sitting on the side of the curb.
Bryan Russell calls himself the Curbstalker.
He picks up items off the side of the curb and from dumpsters and turns them into unique furniture.
"Mostly I just drive along on trash days and see if I see something I can use or reuse or want to save something for the history part of it. I try to save as much as I can," Russell said.
Riding with Russell, you can see the excitement in his eyes as he waits to see what treasure lurks around the corner.
Russell, a U.S. Air Force veteran who works in logistics, says he started his interesting hobby back in 2017 while he was doing business in Detroit. He says he was bored at night so he started going around and found some neat stuff.
"I started putting everything together and doing a little bit of scrapping to make some cash too. And then I started finding pieces of history," Russell said. "Wrenches from Ford Motor Company back in the day, the architecture that people tear off their house. It broke my heart so I wanted to save it and incorporate it into furniture."
He's turned a bathtub into a couch, made cabinets out of reclaimed stuff, and turned old doors into tables.
He's also reused flooring from older houses to make tables and made coffee tables with things some people don't find usable.
Russell says he travels all over mid-Michigan and beyond.
His hobby makes him feel like he's giving back and doing his part to make sure usable things don't hit the landfill.
"Everything has a use. Nothing is garbage," Russell said. "Hopefully I can give something that was once discarded in the land of misfit toy type thing into something someone will enjoy in their house for years to come."
Russell also has clients.
"I built a table for a couple out of their old porch that they tore out. It was a lot of fun," Russell said.
His work can also be seen in Blue Owl Coffee. If you would like to know more about the Curbstalker or are interested in purchasing some of his furniture you can contact Russell on Instagram and Facebook. Or email him at Curbstalker@gmail.com
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
