While repairing her broken desk leg, Julie Garretson answers the phone on the floor of her art studio to explain her fulfilling life surrounding her passion for reclaimed materials. Julie is a resourceful artist who makes functional items to save the earth, promote sustainability, and help the Eugene community.
Although constantly undergoing various projects, Julie’s newest venture consists of creating conventional items, like paper, more sustainably. Julie aims to reduce the devastating 11 million tonnes of paper waste. She has succeeded thus far by turning onion skins into paper and even bike tires into flip-flops.
Garretson grew up in a rural area located near a local trash dump. As a result, she saw the negative effects of excess waste on her property. As a result, her family often implemented sustainability, most notably by her mother, who would take them biking to reduce gas emissions.
Due to her remote home, Garretson needed more experiences in the real world, which she says has played into her creative outlook on using resources to create new objects. Piles of junk inspire her to develop and generate lots of ideas. Garretson finds that trash can have inherent value in abundance, which has continued to inspire her venture of sustainable innovation.
Garretson settled down on a fixer-upper farm with her partner, hoping to tackle projects together. Unfortunately, this changed when her partner struck her head while fixing a fence post with a mallet, causing a fatal head injury.
Silence breaks as Garretson fiddles with the desk leg. I watch as it fills and snaps once again. Safe projects are her latest kick following the tragic death of her late partner. The concussion caused suicidal behavior. “I wish the doctors would have told me,” Garretson said. Papermaking, mainly as a simple farm life, is now all Julie strives for.
Julie now supports her community as they give her excess trash to turn into art. Her customers at the Saturday Market said, “Julie has inspired me to look beyond the single use of items.” They even save their leftovers to give Garretson to show their support in her endeavors.