For the month of December, we continue our “Shop Local” series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

Recycle Me Silly Design

Robot sculptures made with found objects and vintage tins by Bill Tozier in Augusta.

The back story

Tozier, the vice president of a Credit Union, has a couple of side gigs that fulfill his creative side. One is his music.

“I play guitar and sing at this place almost every Saturday night and I just love it,” he said. “It makes people happy and plus, I get a burger and fries out of it.”

The other thing he does is a bit harder to explain, but it all started when he and his wife, Kelly, went antiquing around a year ago. He discovered some vintage tin cans, found materials and odds and ends every day items.

“I started making a dozen or so of these little sculptures for family members and coworkers and I had so much fun making them,” he said. “I started collecting a small inventory of all these antique materials from New England and was having so much fun with it that I decided to sell a few of them on Etsy. I mean, you give some as gifts and you never know if they will be well received. I wasn’t overly confident about them at first; not everyone was going to ‘get’ what I was doing. I didn’t intend to sell hundreds of them, but my wife is always honest with me and will tell me if she likes a piece or it needs more work. I’ve made about 42 sculptures and sold about half of them. I’ve enjoyed making them; it’s a form of art, a form of relaxation and it reuses recycled materials. But, mostly they make people smile.”

Fun Fact

“I’ve found for small crafters like myself the best way to get your work out there is to put it up on Etsy and then do craft shows.”

Where to find it/price range

A variety of one-of-a-kind sculptures and prices can be found on Etsy

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com