LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — When you see a simple broom, you might connect it with cleaning, chores, or even witches and wizards playing their magical sport.
At Bluegrass Brooms, Shannon Lewis puts his own unique spin on the otherwise traditional broom.
“What I do a lot of now are one-of-a-kind brooms,” Lewis said. “Brooms that have different types of handles, repurposed items that are used in broom making.”
Lewis first became swept up in this broom making process after discovering old broom making equipment that belonged to his grandfather. Rather than getting rid of the tools, Lewis decided to restore it.
Once the broom press was restored, Lewis began visiting other broom makers and eventually learned how to make more traditional brooms. When enough had collected at his home, Lewis began taking them to local craft shows to sell.
Lewis first had the idea to use a different sort of handle when he came across a broken hockey stick at his house.
“I thought, ‘you know it's really a shame to have something like that that has really nice wood in it,’ and it was in great condition other than a broken blade,” Lewis explained. “I thought, ‘it'd be nice to be able to use,’ it and so I actually used it. I just cut the blade off, use the handle section for a broom.”
“Somebody commented that they really appreciated that one more and so they just got me thinking that there must be a lot of items that that could be used as a broom handle, especially items that are not ever going to be used for their intended purpose anymore. They could actually have a second life doing something else.”
That started the process of using all sorts of items as broom handles. At his booth, Lewis’ brooms had things like golf clubs, a fire hose, tools, instruments, and more converted into handles for his brooms. His favorite, though, are the wall phones.
“I've actually had customers that came in and purchased one and they told me, said ‘you can keep the base. We don't really need it. We still have it; it's on the wall,’” Lewis said with a laugh. “The telephone receivers actually makes a really nice handle to be able to sweep with and it's very comfortable to use.”
Yes, the brooms are definitely art. But Lewis emphasized that they certainly can be used practically.
“I really encourage customers to use them,” he said. “There's certain brooms that I make that I think actually look better after a couple of years of use.”
Bluegrass Brooms is based out of Ashland, but Lewis travels to arts and crafts fairs to display his creations. He will be at the Woodland Art Fair in Lexington this summer.
