Based in Houston, ReCoop Designs came about by chance. After a four-year stint in the Marines, Cooper Meaders earned a degree in biology. While getting his master’s, he found a part-time job at New Living, an eco-friendly design studio, where he worked in the low- and zero-VOC paint and finishes department. With access to an assortment of equipment and timber, he started making a few pieces and placing them on the showroom floor just to see what would happen – and they all sold. He soon put his schooling aside to focus on crafting handmade creations of his own design. He took what he learned about sustainable, green living practices at New Living and applied it to his company, ReCoop Designs.
“As part of a mission-based company,” Meaders says, “I strive to use materials that are almost always salvaged, surplus, or reclaimed to create unique work that showcases Mother Nature at her finest.”
Newcomers to Market Hill, Meaders and his wife, Jennifer, have been coming to Round Top for five years to not only present their collection but also to find inspiration.
“Participating in the Round Top Antiques Fair has allowed us to expand our designs creatively,” he says. [Our] creations provide a unique point of view, and the exposure to new styles, designs, and once-lost treasures from the past have impacted our passion and vision.”
They also love the people here.
“Our customers tend to be folks in search of one-of-a-kind pieces that first and foremost are beautiful and also have a rich history and story to correspond.”
As for what we can expect to see at Market Hill, he says, “well-curated antiques, architectural elements, lighting, and other various home and lifestyle items.” Among these items, he says, “a cypress driftwood sculpture mounted to a piece of steel plate armor from Battleship, Texas; custom steel-framed sliding barn doors with reclaimed wood salvaged out of a late 1800s home in Brenham, Texas; three-sided steel and concrete tables; and a custom mounted and painted deer skull.”
Come meet Cooper and Jennifer of ReCoop Designs and welcome them to Market Hill. In the meantime, view more of their work online at recoopdesigns.com.
A custom mounted and painted deer skull
A cypress driftwood sculpture mounted to a piece of steel plate armor
Three-sided steel and concrete tables
Water fall edge coffee table created from a Red Oak tree salvaged and killed in College Station with a steel base