DUNEDIN, Fla. — The owners of a small business in Dunedin are doing their part to help make a big impact on protecting the environment.

Stacey and John Schmidt opened Butterfly Footprint during the pandemic in 2020 and put an eco-friendly emphasis on the art of giving.

While Stacey crochets custom, handmade pieces in the front of the store, John can be found in the back, turning someone’s trash into somebody else’s treasure.

“I wanted to find ways to reuse garbage and make it into something useful," said John.

“We need to take care of what we have,” Stacey said.

“For me it’s sort of a pet peeve to see all of the garbage that gets collected over the years,” John said. “We changed our lifestyle to accommodate not producing enough waste,” he added as he showed how he transforms a liquor bottle into a wall sconce.

Stacey said she has been an artist as long as she can remember.

“My Nana taught me gosh, like when I was three years old,” Stacey said when asked how long she has been crocheting.

Custom, up-cycled, re-purposed pieces are important to the Schmidts. They opened up shop to combine the love of art and conservation with community.

Cards created by Stacey and artisans she partners with in the store honor the environment and loved ones impacted by cancer.

“This is very important to me as my mother has passed ten years ago from ovarian and my brother was diagnosed with a form of LLS, he’s OK but still very grateful for the research, so we want to give back,”  said Stacey.

The artist giving back, looking back.

“She’s right here,” Stacey said of her grandmother. “And so is my mom, they would have both loved being here.”

This couple hopes that sharing their small changes to protect the environment helps make a big difference.