Your704

Queen City Crete gets creative with concrete

CHARLOTTE, N.C — When it comes to concrete, most people think of sidewalks or construction but for Charlotte artist Shamila Varner, it’s really the foundation for her business.

Varner was working as an administrative assistant for a construction company when her interest in sustainability led her to leap from her nine to five and turn her hobby into a thriving business.

“The candle industry, they do not recycle,” she said. “People are not recycling the glass. It’s beautiful glass, but they aren’t reusing it, so there’s just a lot of waste.”

In her search to find something different to hold her candles, she discovered that concrete is a renewable material.

“I think when people think of concrete, they just think gray or maybe cement blocks and then I show them, and they touch it and they’re, like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is concrete.’”

Check out the video above to see Varner’s Queen City ‘Crete creations. Watch more of the Your704 show by downloading the WSOC-TV app on your Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV or by clicking here.

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