Originate

An industrial looking store on the edge of downtown. Very promising in look and character. The options from a sustainable stand-​point are interesting. The quality of the products and displays were top notch. However, the individual minding the store could not have been any colder or disinterested. She seemed annoyed we were there and only reluctantly would engage in any sort of conversation. Perhaps that is their style. Go if you know what you want, don’t care about being addressed, and don’t need much assistance. Too bad as the options such for sustainable building supplies are limited in Tucson.

This place is definitely cool. but definitely out of my price range. the one thing I would come back to get here is their soy paint stripper that they sell for $ 58. (I had originally bought some on amazon for around $ 50), but I would rather come here to give them whatever business I can instead of amazon.
The reason why I say this place is expensive even though its hard not to fall in love with everything here is that the gallon price I was quoted for the milk paint and for another eco friendly brand that I can’t seem to remember was roughly 2.5x more than the other chemically stuff you can buy at your standard Ace hardware. Unless I have some beautiful old antique table that I need to paint or restore. $ 55.00/gallon is out of my price range if I’m looking to repaint the whole house or even a good section of the kitchen.
The recycled glass countertops that I looked at were also ranged for around $ 45.00-$ 55 ish dollar a square foot… I am unsure if this is this installed price, but I didn’t ask as it was again a little too expensive for me.
Paint brushes were $ 22.00 each. and yes again even though I loved everything this store stands for… on my budget? a girl can only dream.

I had a pretty bad experience with this business. The carpet I ordered showed up ten days later then anticipated which was a pretty big problem for me since I couldn’t move in without it and I had to move from the place I was living in.
I’m still giving them three stars though because I think you really can see how a business runs when things go wrong. The problem was mostly caused by the shipping company and Originate was straightforward about the problem and sincerely apologetic about my inconvenience. It was hard to stay mad at them. I did wind up with really nice (hard to find) wool carpet at an amazing price. So despite the pain, I’m still glad I got it there.
Be prepared though that it takes time to get anything from this place, even paint.
It’s a good resource to have in town as they have a lot of great options you won’t find anywhere else.

We had such a great experience with Originate — Natasha was patient, knowledgeable, and let us borrow samples (and then more samples, and then some other samples, and then a few more after that) to see how the products, colors, and styles of flooring we were considering looked once in our home. It really helped us narrow down the myriad options.
We finally went with marmoleum and worked with an installer Natasha recommended (he did a great job), and we LOVE how the room now looks — bigger, brighter, interesting-​er!
Like a previous reviewer noted, we probably could have found cheaper flooring but (a) we wanted to support a local business, (b) the service was superb at Originate, and Natasha was able to give us personalized attention and lots of answers to our questions, and © marmoleum is awesome. We would definitely recommend this wonderful place!

I love this place! And the staff is well informed and helpful ad friendly. We got marmoleum for our office here. And paint as well. I cannot say enough good about Originate! For folks who want to do their work in a ‘green’ and non-​toxic fashion this is the place to go. Check it out.