BATH

The saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” applies in more ways than one to local artist and Bath business owner Kathy Brill who recently opened shop in July.

The unique space, which was once used for storage, is where Brill operates Kharris B — a store that now houses her artwork, which she describes as “glass, woodwerk and oddities.”

“It took me 24 hours to say, ‘that could work,’” Brill said about the place.

At a glance, no one would have known the space had once been characterized by broken refrigerators and clutter, charred walls and low-hanging electrical wires.

Both Brill and her husband, Ken, worked quickly to transform the place into a quaint gallery before opening day during Bath Heritage Days.

“It’s not just having the space and maintaining it, it’s actually filling it, too,” she said. “But I feel very productive, having everything out of my house now.”

The glass workshop in Brill’s kitchen and the wood workshop in her basement are also stocked with teetering piles of horror movies, which she enjoys viewing as she works.

“So it’s kind of like Halloween all year for me,” she said with a laugh.

In addition to stained glass hangings, furniture and birch tree pieces, Brill also buys old clocks, empties them and fills them with lights and other interesting objects to make unique collages.

“I want it to be not scary, but disturbing enough that people look at and remember that it’s weird,” she said.

She pointed out one particular piece on display, a wooden clock with a pair of clawed feet.

“I love making them. They’re a little bit creepy,” she added.

Brill’s other creations also include a night light fashioned from an old dentist X-ray viewing box she found in her basement. Instead of throwing it away, she decorated the box with glass tiles so it emits a soft, colorful glow.

“It’s enough light to see, but it’s not in your face,” she said.

Brill said the idea for her store came about after she was turned down three times in two days by consignment shop owners she had asked to partner with to sell her art.

“It’s kind of a beating because I feel like I make stuff I think people might find interesting and they didn’t even look at it,” she said. “So I started thinking about why I would give up a percentage of it if I could just be working in a space where people can wander and look at things.”

And despite the excitement of summer traffic, Brill said her focus would be on building relationships with the community. She shared the wise advice she received from the owner of The Old Bean Antiques in Bath.

“She told me it’s great to have the tourist traffic and the summer traffic, but she said the people you really want to connect with are people who live here. You want to be friends with the people who are your neighbors. I think that would have occurred to me, but it’s so cool to have somebody vocalize that to me early on,” she said.

“I want to know the business owners and be a part of making it healthy,” Brill added. “I think Bath is starting to turn into a fun destination for people.”

As far as inspiration goes for her unique creations, Brill said it’s not something she always plans.

“A lot of it’s just taking stuff apart,” she said. “I took this clock apart yesterday and it was not that inspiring … but then I took the face off and all the gears were wood. And so it kind of commands a menu by itself. I don’t really have to come up with stuff, it just happens. I try to keep really creative things around.”

Brill recalls building houses out of gum wrappers as a child and said she “always made stuff.” Even today, Brill said she gathers “stuff” everywhere, whether it’s from off the street, or the flea market and auctions.

“I don’t have a plan, usually,” she said. “I just enjoy making art, and I hope I can make stuff that people will look at and enjoy looking at — just giving people interesting things to see.”

dkim@timesrecord.com

The store

THE NAME OF the store, Kharris B, comes from the combination of Kathy Brill’s first initial and maiden name, which she said she has used to sign her artwork for 25 years.

THE STORE IS located at 229 Water St. near the back parking lot of Renys in Bath.

STORE HOURS are Thursdays and Saturdays noon to 5 p.m., and Fridays noon to 7 p.m. Brill can also be contacted at 210-2875.