Upcycle CHQ

Upcycle CHQ UpcycleCHQ is a reuse & circular economy platform in Chautauqua county, turning waste into value through repair, reuse, upcycling, creativity, & innovation.

This page is owned and managed by GreenClusta Technologies LLC, Jamestown NY

After our recent conversations about building-material reuse, salvage and deconstruction, we want to try something pract...
09/10/2026

After our recent conversations about building-material reuse, salvage and deconstruction, we want to try something practical on here and then grow from there.

Instead of letting useful building materials sit unused—or throwing them away—let’s see if someone nearby can put them to use.

So do you have any of these leftover or salvaged:

- Doors & windows
- Lumber & boards
- Bricks, blocks & stone
- Hardware
- Cabinets & shelving
- Trim & molding
- Fixtures
- Roofing, siding or flooring
- Or other usable building materials?

Please post them in the comments.

Also tell us if it is FREE, FOR SALE or EXCHANGE
And if you’re LOOKING FOR a particular building material, post that too.

Builders, homeowners, landlords, contractors, carpenters, makers, farmers, restoration enthusiasts—take a look through the comments before buying new.

Something sitting unused in one place could be exactly what someone else needs.

Let’s see how much useful building material we can keep in circulation locally.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service recall data google, manufacturers ...
09/09/2026

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service recall data google, manufacturers have recalled more than 37 million pounds of meat, poultry and egg products in first half 2026.

Much of that total came from one massive recall involving nearly 37 million pounds of frozen chicken and other products because of possible glass contamination.

That statistic got us thinking about something closer to home:

How much of our food could we source locally?

We have farmers, homesteaders, gardeners and food producers throughout our communities growing and raising food.

Knowing more of them—and making it easier for people to find and buy what they produce—can strengthen our local food system, support local producers and keep more of our food dollars circulating within our communities.

How much of your food do you currently source locally?

What would make it easier for you to buy more food from local producers?

What do you think?

Let’s keep discovering the people who grow our food and what it would take to build a stronger local food system.

🎉WE HAVE A WINNER!🎉Congratulations to Peggy Petrocy winner of our very first Upcycle CHQ product auction! Our Upcycled P...
09/09/2026

🎉WE HAVE A WINNER!🎉

Congratulations to Peggy Petrocy winner of our very first Upcycle CHQ product auction!

Our Upcycled Proudly American Tote pictured below officially has a new home.

Thank you to everyone who followed, shared, commented and placed a bid. This first auction was about more than selling a bag—it was another small test of a bigger idea:

Can reusable materials + local skills + creativity create products people value?

Today, we took another step toward answering that question.

Congratulations, Peggy—and thank you for becoming part of this UpcycleCHQ story!

Watch out for our next auction!!💚

We want to discover the farmers, homesteaders, gardeners and food growers already around us—and see what becomes possibl...
09/07/2026

We want to discover the farmers, homesteaders, gardeners and food growers already around us—and see what becomes possible when we start connecting them.

Are you one of them?

Whether you run a farm, have a homestead, grow for market, raise animals, keep bees, or simply grow food in your backyard—we’d love to hear from you.

Tell us what you grow or raise.

And if you know someone locally who grows food, please tag them!

Let’s see who’s out there. We have to discover our food growers so we can support them and help strengthen our local food system.💚

One thing we continue to discover through Upcycle CHQ is just how many useful skills already exist within our community....
09/06/2026

One thing we continue to discover through Upcycle CHQ is just how many useful skills already exist within our community.

Sewing, mending, woodworking, welding, gardening, canning, baking, upholstery, furniture repair, knitting, crocheting, carpentry, tool repair, crafting, fixing things—and probably many skills we haven’t discovered yet.

What if we brought all of that together in one place—where people could teach what they know, learn something new, make, repair, reuse and share?

We’re exploring the idea of an Upcycling & Skill Sharing Festival, and we’d love for the community to help shape what it could become.

- What would you TEACH?
- What would you like to LEARN?
- What else would you love to SEE or DO at a festival like this?

A repair area? Hands-on workshops? Maker demonstrations? Material swaps? Upcycling challenges? Local products? Activities for kids? Something completely different?
Comment below.

09/05/2026

This Upcycled Proudly American (UPA) tote Bag is the first product being auctioned from the Upcycle CHQ Maker Pilot Program and part of the beginning of our MADE IN CHQ story.

It is Made in CHQ Collection No. 001 — Piece #001

Created by one of our local makers, the Upcycled Proudly American (UPA) Bag was handcrafted using reclaimed materials:
- Men’s jeans
- A patriotic cloth napkin
- Lined with a reclaimed men’s shirt.

Want to support a local maker and own this one-of-a-kind piece?

Check out our pinned post for the ongoing auction and place your bid there.💚

📣Auction‼️Auction‼️Auction‼️📣This is the First Product Ever Auctioned from the Upcycle CHQ Maker Pilot Program-🇺🇸 Made i...
09/04/2026

📣Auction‼️Auction‼️Auction‼️📣
This is the First Product Ever Auctioned from the Upcycle CHQ Maker Pilot Program-

🇺🇸 Made in CHQ Collection No. 001 – Piece #001

Introducing the “Upcycled Proudly American (UPA) Bag”

Today marks a very special milestone for us.
Just a few months ago, the UpcycleCHQ Maker Pilot Program was only an idea. We wondered what would happen if reusable materials were placed in the hands of talented local makers.

Today, we’re excited to present the first product ever to be auctioned from that program.

Created by one of our local makers, the Upcycled Proudly American (UPA) Bag was Upcycled using reclaimed materials:

- Men’s jeans
- 🇺🇸 A patriotic cloth napkin
- Lined with a reclaimed men’s shirt

Created to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary, this one-of-a-kind tote reminds us that materials often thought to have reached the end of their usefulness can begin a completely new story.

This isn’t just a bag.

It represents the beginning of something much bigger—a growing network of local makers, creativity, and opportunities through Made in CHQ.

Every bid helps support the maker who created this piece and helps us continue building opportunities for more makers through the UpcycleCHQ Maker Program.

📢 AUCTION RULES

🟢 Opening Bid: $50

🟢 Minimum Bid Increase: $5

🟢 Auction Opens: Now!

🟢 Auction Closes: Tuesday at 8:30 PM (ET)

🟢 Place your bids ONLY in the comments on this original post. Bids placed through Messenger, shared posts, or other comments will not be counted.

🟢 The highest valid bid when the auction closes wins.

🟢 Payment is due within 48 hours after the winner is contacted.

🟢 Local pickup is available. If shipping is required, the winning bidder is responsible for shipping costs.

🟢 By placing a bid, you are committing to purchase the item if you are the winning bidder.

Every collection has a beginning. This is ours.

Good luck, and thank you for supporting local makers and the future of Made in CHQ.

And you tell us: What catches your eye first about this bag—the design, the reclaimed materials, or the story behind it?

A few weeks ago, we asked our community about reusing building materials, and one opportunity came up again and again:De...
09/03/2026

A few weeks ago, we asked our community about reusing building materials, and one opportunity came up again and again:

Deconstruction and material salvage.

When an older house, barn or building is renovated or demolished, there can still be tremendous value inside it—old lumber, doors, windows, flooring, bricks, cabinets, fixtures, hardware and more.

Too often, useful materials leave as debris.

But what if more of them could be carefully recovered before demolition and put back into use?

That could mean affordable materials for repairs and renovations, supplies for makers and builders, preservation of unique architectural pieces, less material going to waste—and potentially new local economic opportunities.

But before we talk about what could be built around this idea, we want to find the people.

Have you ever taken apart an old house, barn or building to save materials?

- Have you salvaged old lumber, doors, windows, flooring, bricks, fixtures or architectural pieces?

- Are you a contractor, carpenter, tradesperson, preservationist or someone who has learned how to do this through experience?

- Or are you someone who would genuinely like to learn?

Tell us about your experience or interest in the comments.

We know the buildings and materials are here.

Now we want to discover the people, skills and knowledge that could help us save more of them.

We moved from just an Idea to the First Made in CHQ Collection-A few months ago, we launched the UpcycleCHQ Maker Pilot ...
09/02/2026

We moved from just an Idea to the First Made in CHQ Collection-

A few months ago, we launched the UpcycleCHQ Maker Pilot Program with a simple question:

What can happen when reusable materials are placed in the hands of local makers?

We invited people from across our community to take part, share their skills, work with materials that might otherwise be overlooked, and explore what those materials could become.

Along the way, something important happened.

This program has helped us discover and connect with talented makers in our community — people with creativity, craftsmanship, experience, and skills that deserve to be seen and supported.

The goal was never just to make things.

We wanted to learn whether local skills, reusable materials, creativity, and community support could come together to create products of real value — and potentially open new opportunities for makers.

Now, we are beginning to see the first results.

Reclaimed denim, men’s shirts, tablecloths, placemats, blankets, skirts, upholstery fabric, and other secondhand materials have been transformed into durable bags, artwork, and other one-of-a-kind creations.

These pieces are more than products.

They represent the first chapter of the UpcycleCHQ Maker Pilot Program and the beginning of what we hope will become a much larger Made in CHQ network.

In the coming days, some of these first creations will be auctioned and offered to our community, giving you an opportunity to own something locally made while supporting both the makers and the broader UpcycleCHQ vision.

As we move through September, we’ll also continue sharing the stories behind the products.

Our next question is just as important as the first:

Can we build a market that truly values what our local makers create?

We’re excited to find out — together.

And years from now, we hope we’ll look back at these first pieces and remember: this is where it started.

They pictures show some of the very first creations from the UpcycleCHQ Maker Pilot Program. If you could take one home, which would you choose—and what makes it your favorite?

Address

GreenClusta Technologies LLC, 322 Washington Street
Jamestown, NY
14701

Telephone

+17163978771

Website

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