Coffee Upcycle turns military materials into fashionable totes

Local woman shows her pride for military members by turning their old items into cool bags.

Amy Coffee’s life changed one day after a visit to Devries & Co. shop at Eastern Market. She found a burlap bag that had her last name on it and decided to create a tote bag out of it. From there, she started her business, Coffee Upcycle. Now, she uses her two favorite things for inspiration, the military and rock music,.

Amy takes old military materials, such as uniforms, mailbags and medical bags, and turns them into new fashionable totes. She then uses colorful guitar straps as a finishing touch.

Amy says her love and respect for those who protect and serve our country, like her dad and husband, runs deep. She wanted to show her appreciation by making something beautiful out of the materials that these everyday heroes also used. She loves putting a rock and roll spin on the bags because that is something that has also been a big part of her life. Amy says the bags represent Detroit: They‘re tough, resilient, and have a rough-around-the edges beauty that is undeniable.

Watch the video above to see how Amy makes her bags.