VOL 2 | PLACES
DETROIT URBAN ARTIFACTS
Detroit Urban Artifacts, located in The Russell Industrial Center, is home to everything in Detroit. It's a 2400-square architectural indoor salvage yard filled with industrial lighting, workbenches, midcentury furniture, décor, old photos, art, miscellaneous oddities, and many Detroit artifacts.
They have everything from street signs to vintage doctor bags, leather skates, and mannequin heads. Detroit Urban Artifacts was born from the owner and creator Ryan's ability to see beauty in things that others did not.
Between his artistic eye, intriguing imagination, and fascination with classic horror movies growing up, antiques and architectural salvage were bound to become his life. Ryan worked as a house painter and subcontractor for renovation companies in Detroit for 17 years.
In 2008 he bought a home that he describes as "an extreme fixer-upper." His passion for antiques sparked his search for antique stores and salvage yards. That project and Ryan's history in renovation helped him realize that restoring architectural salvage was something he wanted to pursue.
a large majority of artifacts are from the city of Detroit.
Holly
He started a profitable business by selling items he didn't need during his restoration project. From there, he stepped away from his job of 17 years and followed his passion, and created Detroit Urban Artifacts. He works with Holly, and they are a fantastic tandem.
She explained how "a large majority of artifacts are from the city of Detroit." They work hard and accept requests from their clients. "Suppose you have something in mind that you're looking for and don't find it there."
They have a list where you can write down what you're looking for and when it's found, they'll reach back to you. When you arrive, take your time and walk through at least 2 or 3 times. Trust me; you will miss stuff the first go-round.
I was impressed with the customer service being my second time there, and I thoroughly enjoyed the shock on some other customers' faces. I could tell it was their first time. Ryan could not have found a better place than the RIC to call home.
