Artists to feature trashy creations at home show

Wednesday, May 15, 2002 | 8:32 a.m.

Home show

Forget Martha Stewart -- Leslie Hamilton and Joy Klein are far more interesting.

The Southern California artists rummage thrift stores, attics and junkyards looking for old household items that can be turned into decorative and functional treasures for the home.

Their artistic wizardry has transformed steering wheels into chandeliers, doors into headboards and lampshades into centerpiece bowls.

This weekend the duo from Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, known professionally as The Artists of Wristy Business, will be demonstrating their craft at the Las Vegas Home Improvement & Decorating Show at Cashman Center.

Their nautical-themed exhibit, which the pair will be creating at the show, features their "trash-to-treasure" efforts.

"We've got an old dinghy that we're making into a bar," Hamilton said. "We're going to cut off the stern and the bow then we'll put a top on it and shelves behind it."

Sailing flags will be attached to throw pillows. Old portholes will be turned into a picture frame and a steamer trunk is being painted in a nautical-Americana design.

"I literally found one on the curb," Hamilton said, referring to the trunk that will be propped open for use as a toy chest.

Also, she said, "We're taking a steering wheel and making it into a chandelier. It's going to be charming."

In addition to Hamilton and Klein, more than 400 exhibitors are expected to attend the three-day event being produced by Thorsch Productions of Solana Beach, Calif.

Experts will discuss, demonstrate and promote new products, as well as energy-efficient products, space-saving and aesthetic ideas for the home.

Ongoing seminars on decorating, remodeling and building and how-to demonstrations will be presented on two different stages. Landscaping ideas, innovative backyard decks and patio covers will also be featured.

Randy Thorsch, president of Thorsch Productions, said 70 percent of the exhibitors will be from the Las Vegas Valley.

Additionally, students from the Las Vegas Art Institute will create eight themed room vignettes, which include a lavish master bedroom suite, a children's room, living rooms and an office of the future, Thorsche said.

For the past year Hamilton and Klein have been traveling to home shows throughout the Southwest to demonstrate creative renovation.

The women started their business as decorative interior painters, creating faux finishes in private homes and businesses.

While contracted to paint, clients would ask them to restore or renovate items dragged down from attics.

Before long Hamilton and Klein were searching for potential treasures in junkyards and at flea markets. They are in the process of writing a book about the subject.

At the Las Vegas Home Improvement & Decorating Show the two will sell their "gigantic" paint-by-number mural kits.

"Any surface you can paint, we paint it," Hamilton said. "We've ended up redoing a lot of 'trash to treasure' for our clients."