New York isn’t the cleanest city in the world (Calgary is, but hey, only 1.1 million people live there). But New Yorkers are known to be resourceful. Justin Gignac of the Big Apple collects scraps of garbage he finds in the streets and “curates” it into clear cubes of Lucite (he is a package designer by trade) which he then sells as art for $50 a pop. No joke. Gignac has sold more than 1,300 units of these artistic, authentic souvenirs.
And it’s not just expired MetroCards, ripped Do Not Cross yellow tape, and frayed pigeon feathers that Gignac hand-picks. The first day same-sex marriage was legal in New York, he did a big sweep around the City Clerk’s office downtown to make $100 limited edition boxes (found flotsam: beaded necklaces and boas). He also combed the Canyon of Heroes during the ticker tape parade celebrating the Giants last Super Bowl victory (collected jetsam: confetti, air horns, crushed cans of 5-Hour Energy), also $100. We’re waiting to see what he found down at the Republican National Convention. The brass ring?