For Kelly and Leslie Tiano, the idea that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure is more than an old adage—it’s their mantra as artists and owners of reVetro, located in San Diego, California. Using bottles donated by local bars and restaurants, the Tianos repurpose the glass into stunning pieces of jewelry and other home décor items. Not long ago, Kelly and Leslie began designing rings with glass centerpieces crafted from used Bombay Sapphire containers, among other spirits. After cutting fragments of the bottles into square tiles, the pieces are either pummeled or placed in a kiln to soften their edges. An avid recycler for more than 30 years, Leslie Tiano says she’s always found a way to repurpose materials, from the purses she’d make in high school out of Levi’s jeans to the canvases she still paints over as an artist. “I’ve always tried to find a life for things that were being thrown away,” she says. “There’s an incredible patina of beauty and charm in being able to rework something seen as broken or faded, and it comes naturally to me.” revetroglass.com
—Feifei Sun