Upcycling..... anyone into it? Who buys it?

[ChemicalChaos]

Evening all,

I often see small artisan cafes and other such establishments using old wooden produce crates etc., often gaily painted in pastel colours, either for decoration or as functional shelving. My question is, where do they get hold of these things from? Is it all word of mouth, ebay, or are there "suppliers"?
I ask because I saved a vanload - and I mean a literal entire vanload - of old hardwood vegetable crates from going on a "clearout" bonfire the other day as it seemed a terrible waste. Would anyone know please who I'd best go about approaching to move them on to a new lease of life?

Thanks!

[skinnyman]

Paint them in an eggshell pastel colour, list on eBay @ £50 a pop as "shabby chic" = profit

[StressedDave]

There was a firm in Cambridge that would happily come and collect stuff like that and recycling it into all sorts of useless tat.

[anonymous-user]

We upcycled some cheap furniture, painted it with chalk paint and changed the draw handles. We were moving house and had some furniture to get rid of so I was going to dump the upcycled stuff and sell the rest on Gumtree. My girlfriend wanted to at least try and sell the upcycled stuff so I reluctantly agreed even though I thought nobody would want it. The upcycled stuff was the furniture we sold instantly and the rest took ages to sell.....

[WolfieBot]

Vintage fairs, loads of people that either make things from those or sell them as they are. We buy them occasionally.