Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
Huffington Post ran some nice turkey-free recipes on the site. If you don’t eat turkey, have a veggie friend coming over or you want to invite me over at any time, give these a shot. They all sound good!
Shown here is the vegetable pot pie with sweet potato biscuit.
I didn’t read about New York’s next big superhero in the local newspaper or on the blogs. I heard about it at the dog park. In Brooklyn, of course. Yes, Brooklyn has it’s own superhero now. And he’s not a chiseled, heroic Superman type figure. He’s a sanitation worker from Bay Ridge who winds up with powers after falling into the Gowanus Canal.
Garbageman Vinny’s alter ego will be fighting crime in just about every neighborhood. No cape or any of that goofy stuff. He’s just a superhuman guy who can’t escape trouble any better than the rest of us. Creators Frank Tieri, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Palmiotti’s wife, former “Supergirl” artist Amanda Conner are all Brooklyn natives. They came up with a the idea in a bar.
Check out their interview at Comic Book Resources.
FOOD FIGHT!!! TOGA! TOGA! TOGA! Yeah, you know it, baby! The Brooklyn Academy of Music is going animal. Not just that, but manimal too. Eight films by director John Landis include Animal House, American Werewolf in London and The Blues Brothers among others. There are book signings and Q&A on a couple of nights. See the schedule here.
My Bed Stuy is not a new blog, but I’m sometimes slow in catching on to things. Since the demise of Bed Stuy Blog earlier this year, the local blogosphere has been left with a void. Well, it hasn’t really, but I was unaware it’s been filled.
My Bed Stuy is “just a place for you to come and share all things Bed-Stuy”. Exactly. So, we DO have a neighborhood blog other than the Patch!
And it’s a good one! Go check it out.
Well, now it’s GO time here at Reclaimed Home. Vacay is over, there are a bunch of goals to achieve and the holiday season is just around the corner.
We’re still working on writing up the business plan. What a snooze, but it has to be done. Guess that is the priority this week. That and getting the new website set up. That and getting some lumber and salvage online. Yeah, it’s already Wednesday. Did I say “this week”?
As a last hurrah for the handmade craft shows this year, I think-but-it-has-not-been-confirmed-that I’ll be participating in Build it Green’s “Crafted at the Canal” in Gowanus. Yes, for those of you whom don’t know it yet, Build it Green has opened a second location in Brooklyn. If I’m participating in a 5 day handmade show, it means I have to lock my little elf fanny in the workshop to make stuff.
It’s all very exciting and new, but I can’t wait for the new biz to be up and running already. The waiting is the hardest part. Thank you, Tom Petty.
So, we’re driving along minding our own business when I see this dumpster filled with old doors and windows. I immediately made my husband pull a U-turn on the windy, narrow suburban Dublin road. I know I’m not strapping a door to my back to bring home to the U.S. but that doorknob looked like something I could fit into my carry-on.
Upon closer look, everything there was a reproduction, so not worth going back to the mother in law’s to fetch a screwdriver to take the knob. I was rooting around in front of the house when a woman came out to see WTF was going on. Oops. Looked like nobody was there. I explained in my American accent (that makes it ok) that the doorknob looked good, would she mind if I came back later with a screwdriver to claim it? She told me it wasn’t her house and the gentleman was not there.
Yeah, right. She thought I was a nut. Screw you, lady, your doorknob was a hollow 1970’s POS anyway.
A few years ago, we walked around Dublin looking for a bunch of architectural salvage shops we found in the yellow pages. There were about five of them and it seemed that all five were out of business.
Perhaps with the economy in the dumps now, more people will look to the dump to rescue used material. Wouldn’t be the worst thing to come out of this.
Hey kids! All cut and paste here…..
On November 13th, there’s a collaborative pop-up shop curated by Apt No.7 and The Brooklyn Good Guys. In an effort to raise awareness and funds for Freebrook Academy, the two agencies created “Re:Purpose”, a vintage clothing, antique furniture and home goods pop-up shop on the grounds of the school.
Freebrook is a democratic community committed to supporting students’ potential to be successful and their ability to define their own futures. Through a progressive approach, and a community, cultural, and social justice foundation, they enable students to explore their world and challenge themselves, while simultaneously encouraging them to challenge injustices, think independently and critically, develop their talents, love learning, and become innovative adults.
Will be visiting the in-laws in Dublin this week. I’m bringing my laptop because I’m pathetic, but don’t look for regular posts. If I see something that needs reporting and I get bored and feel like working, you’ll hear from me. Otherwise, see you next Wednesday!
The Reclaimed Home team is getting bigger! Yeah, there are two of us now. Woot! Huge company!
Cassidy contacted me via email a couple of months ago. She was interested in working in the architectural salvage industry. I told her that I don’t strictly do salvage, but I’m open to hearing any of her ideas.
Well, she had ideas! The young go getter (22 years) is no stranger to antiques and salvage. She grew up surrounded by old house parts because her father was in the business. If you haven’t guessed yet, her dad is Steve-Great American Salvage-Israel and she wants to follow in his footsteps.
The Reclaimed Home salvage ball is rolling along nicely. We’re planning, planning, planning. We have access to some major pieces and lumber (courtesy of Dad) to get us started.
So, welcome aboard, Cassidy! I for one am happy to have you here.
Steve Israel with his daughter Cassidy
Great American Salvage has been out of business for quite a few years now, but it was one of the original biggies here in New York. Steve Israel started the business from his kitchen in Montpelier, VT in 1979 with Steve Tillotson. Gradually, the company expanded to four locations, including the massive shop at Cooper Square.
I recently met with salvage guru, Mr. Israel. The retired New York native now lives on a boat in Boston, but not for long. He’s moving down to Mexico in a few weeks. It’s clear that Israel’s passion is still salvage after all these years, but that never stopped him from pursuing other dreams. He started a brewery among other interesting projects.
But back to the salvage. What started out in his kitchen became a big business. Great American Salvage had their own demolition crews. They were able to dismantle buildings themselves and resell the historic details. They created special tools such as crowbars for carefully removing the materials. Ginormous objects were no problem. They just hired a crane to deal with it.
The salvage industry can range from small businesses recycling scrap materials to high end reuse of mansions. Steve Israel has done it all.
When I first saw a group of adults installing a garden at Leadership Prep on Macon Street in Bed Stuy, I thought they were building a movie set. Back in the olden days when I was growing up, NYC public school’s didn’t even have a patch of grass. Well, public schools have turned into fancy schmancy charter schools now and the the kids get to learn about stuff like gardening and catching rain water. It’s pretty awesome.
I thought this Bed Stuy school was special until I passed by Frances Perkins Academy in Williamsburg and saw their fabulous garden. They too, had a rainwater system in place. Wonder who gets to bring home the vegetables?
Sample Sale today!! Trove, maker of nature-inspired wallpapers, printed wood veneers, photographic carpets and window films is having a sale today at their Flatiron showroom. Wallpaper regularly $13-16 per square foot is $3! Go for it!
Friday November 4
9:00am- 5:00pm
54 West 21 Street #507
New York, NY 10010
Forgive me if I’m heavy on the Dutchess County listings. It’s the only agent MLS system I can get into with my mac. Anyhoo, I was just sitting here wondering what the most expensive property is up there. Well, here it is: a 145 acres estate in Millbrook.
The 9000 square foot main house was built in 1988 (pooh) and has a 15 room count, including a library and a nanny suite. It’s not clear whether the other interior amenities are within the main building or you have to schlep across the property. Let’s see, what else have we got here? A theater, a basketball court, a spa.
The equestrian facilities are to die for. You have 145 acres, you need some horses! There’s also an inground pool, tennis courts and an ice rink.
The price? $27m. The taxes? $95k. But imagine the parties you could have!
There are only 53 days left until Christmas! And Hannukah starts even before that! Here are some lovely upcycled Etsy pieces for the home.
The garden faucet wine stopper from All Things Reconsidered is less than 15 bucks ($14.99 to be exact).
Howzabout a wall clock for that cyclist in your life? $149.99 from Upcycled Bicycle. Say that 10 times fast.
Swimming Deep created this starburst mirror out of recycled magazines. $25.
Chic Retro makes pillows out of old sweatshirts. You can send her your favorite old shirt and voila…a pillow! $19.99
Ever fall off a ladder? Not me, because I’m so scared of heights that I cling to it for dear life. But here’s an FYI for ya. Always put the ladder on level ground and make sure the support brackets on the side are locked in.
Paint spill. Probably the most common DIY mishap. At least in my world it is. Something I will never learn….to look where I’m going. Don’t kick the bucket over. And check bottom of shoes BEFORE stepping off of the protective paper or tarp.
The old nail through the pipe routine. Yeah, we had a contractor’s assistant put a screw through our copper pipe while installing subflooring. It wasn’t a massive flood. More like a drip, drip, drip of the tell-tale pipe.
Foot through the floor….or rather, ceiling below. Can’t count the number of times we were working on joists and sub floor that someone’s foot said hello to the downstairs neighbors. My scary moment happened when I fell through the floor and was dangling from the bannister that I was lucky to grab unto. My husband was right next to me and after a few moments he looked up and asked “Do you need help?” Um, ye-ah! Would you mind?