SCORE Mentors Help Upcycling Artist Take ‘Trashy Markets’ Next Level

Katy Osborn is a trash talker.

Beginning in February, her conversations with fellow trash enthusiasts will be part of a new interview program, “Currentsy” that she’s launching as part of her upcycled art community assembled through her business, the Nowhere Collective.

The YouTube show will feature art makers talking about upcycling and how they turn trash to treasure.

“They’re conversations that I have all the time anyway,” said Osborn, of Chicago. “We’ll be learning more about the creative process and how artists see a material and reimagine what that could be.”

She chose the name as homage to currency, or the flow of money; the upstream and downstream effects of upcycling and environmental impacts; and a culture component of the here and now.

The goal through it all is to support sustainability efforts through art. That was the impetus for launching Nowhere Collective, a collection of 160 artisans from primarily Chicago, as well as New York, Colorado and Seattle, whose upcycled art is featured and available for purchase during pop-up events that Osborn dubs Trashy Markets.

“We’re not purists. You don’t have to be doing 100 percent upcycled,” Osborn said, adding that she’s looking for artisans who are “replacing raw virgin material with reclaimed material.”

Osborn reached out to SCORE, a nationwide nonprofit supporting small businesses in March 2022 for guidance on launching her business, devising a business model for the Trashy Markets and securing capital to build the marketplace.

More recently, Osborn collaborated with SCORE mentor Bert Carstens to prepare an entry for SCORE’s 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition. Osborn was one of 45 finalists. More than 2,200 small businesses applied to compete in five pitch events. Contestants were pared down to 60 contenders who presented their pitch live before panels of judges.

Carstens, a former banker, helped tweak Osborn’s pitch to focus more on Nowhere Collective’s “growth potential.”

Osborn, who has a penchant for talking about “fluffy stuff” more readily than finances, said she appreciated Carstens’ insight.

“There’s a little bit of fear,” Osborn said. “Being able to talk about the money side of things is not a natural thing for me.”

Carstens said Osborn’s enthusiasm and ambition will take her far.

“She’s representing small artists who are overlooked by Etsy,” Carstens said. “If it’s good, quality art that people like, she has a great potential to grow that business.”

Growth is part of the immediate plan, according to Osborn. In addition to reaching new audiences through her YouTube program, Osborn intends to scale her business by adding an e-commerce component, which she anticipates being live by May or June.

“We’ve naturally attracted people who have a curiosity of how to do this better and use their craft,” Osborn said. “Being in a crowd of people who care about this as much as we do is awesome.”

She credits SCORE with helping to prepare her for future growth.

“There’s no downside to tapping into their resources,” Osborn said of the no-cost mentoring services. “There’s so many opportunities with them and they are extremely invested in helping small businesses grow.”

To learn more about SCORE, request a mentor or volunteer to be one, visit score.org.

About SCORE

Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs start, grow, or successfully exit a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories. Visit SCORE at score.org.