Funks Way Takes Recycled Art to Another Level

If you haven’t stepped foot in Funks Way Art Market on Main Street, don’t feel bad; it can be difficult to find the shop open, thanks to owner Jerry Baich’s unusual hours. 

But don’t blame Baich because he can’t always be there to mind the store. 

When he’s not at his workshop creating original pieces of inspired art, he’s out looking for pieces of discarded material to use in his work. 

“I go ‘picking’ and then I go and make stuff out of it in my workshop in Largo,” the Oldsmar resident explains. “I don’t set out to go picking. Usually I’m heading to my house and I see something, hit the brakes and pull over.” 

“Everything I make is from wood I find.”

And the things he makes will make your jaw drop.

Benches cobbled together from headboards, pallet parts and table legs; old mattress coils serving as backdrops for eclectic wall hangings; crosses constructed from wood, corks and bottle caps; and various items made from most anything anyone throws away.

And much like his artwork, Baich came upon his talent organically. 

“I had a flooring business for 12 years, and things got really slow, so I started collecting driftwood and making crosses,” he explains. “People really started liking them so I started making more, and then my business partner suggested we open a shop.” 

Thanks to his successful stints at 3rd Friday and a favorable arrangement with his landlord, Baiche thinks he’s found the perfect home for his unique creations in downtown Safety Harbor. 

After all, where else could you put a place with that name? 

“It’s a play off of ‘feng shui’,” Baich explains. “We named it that because we make funky stuff.” 

Indeed.

Funks Way Art Market

Address: 228 Main Street

Phone: 813-404-1494