EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — While most of Utah dealt with a wild weekend of weather, parts of the state had some leftover "souvenirs" to deal with.
Tumbleweeds made some unwelcome appearances in areas like Eagle Mountain and South Jordan, with high winds blowing them onto city streets before gathering in massive piles in front of homes. While getting rid of them has become a task, what if there was a way for residents to make money off the wayward weeds?
Turns out there is.
"They're pokey, sticky, they're awful, it's very hard to smash them down, you can't shred them. So what do you do with them?" asked Eagle Mountain resident Laura Whitney.
Well, as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Neil Welcher is the owner of the Etsy store Ethereal Wire Wraps and sells tumbleweeds that he finds on his property in northeast Nevada.
"I just saw a niche in the market," he said. "People really like dried flowers and certain things like that, so I thought, why not take a chance on a tumbleweed?"
There's a surprising market for the yard nuisance. On eBay, tumbleweeds can be found listed for upwards of $500, but those that have actually sold were listed more reasonably at around $20.
Welcher lists his tumbleweed products anywhere between $25-$800, with one of his biggest custom tumbleweed designs selling for $2,000.
"We've sold quite a few of the chandeliers as well," he said. "We've done custom designs; people like to do non-traditional Western sort of wedding themes, party themes. We've also had clients building snowmen out of them and putting Christmas lights on them."
Unfortunately, most of the tumbleweeds lining Utah homes and neighborhoods aren't the most valuable, but there is still an opportunity to be creative or try to sell the one or two residents don't throw away.
"Just finding something beautiful in the mundane in that flow, they really are so unique," explained Welcher.
