recycled Archives - Page 4 of 4

Flea Find: TMRnyc Metalwork

November 16, 2010 RH

I actually hauled my tuchus back to the Brooklyn Flea to hawk my wares last Saturday. I did get a chance to wander away from my own booth for a few minutes to check out some other vendors.

My “Wow, that’s impressive!” award this week goes to Scott Behr of TMRnyc. TMR is a metal work company. They do design, welding, machining, laser cutting….everything metal. And yes, much of it is recycled!

The “Swarf” tables above are re-purposed industrial scrap. At $2360 they are out of my price range, but if you have the bucks to spare, consider this: An elephant could sit on those tables and not break them (maybe).

Reclaimed Handmade Parquet

November 9, 2010 RH

Summit Surfaces has introduced a new parquet flooring line. The recycled 200 year old maple comes from a factory in Tribeca. It looks a little different than that thin crap you can buy at big box stores, no?

Although they do use the word “affordable” on their website, I’m not quite sure it’s affordable to everyone as their clients look pretty high end. At any rate, perhaps I can afford one tile to use as a trivet? They ARE beautiful!

Props to Brooklyn

November 8, 2010 RH 5 Comments

Awesome news for County of Kings thrift junkies! Film Biz Recycling is moving to Gowanus! If you want to hit the Long Island City space one last time, they are having a name-your-price clearance sale starting today until the end of the month.

Grand opening at 540 President Street will be on or around December 1st.

If you’ve never been, the massive shop is chock full of used TV and movie props. Everything from vintage dish sets to clean linens to artwork. It. is. awesome. And it will be ours! F.U. Queens where I was never able to find parking.

Also! The new space will stock building materials and paints. So again, Brooklynites won’t have to schlep to Build it Green in Queens for these items.

It’s a win/win for everyone. (Except Queens)

New Stuff (From Old Stuff)

October 15, 2010 RH

Trying to get back to work after the whole moving meshugas. I won’t lie. It’s been tough getting motivated. It took me all week to make a few pieces for Crafts in Chelsea on Saturday. In November, it’s holiday season at the Brooklyn Flea.

Recycled Etsy Pet Beds

July 19, 2010 RH

Computer Monitor by AlpineButterfly. $200

Suitcase by LoveNostalgicWhimsy. $65

Soda Crate by Sleepurrz. $55

Gypsy Junker @ Tiny Yellow House

June 28, 2010 RH

Heard about this on NPR. This guy builds hobbit cabins out of reclaimed material. His first one was called the Hickshaw. Because he’s a hick.

Brooklyn Flea Finds

May 24, 2010 RH 2 Comments

This Saturday I was back selling at the Ft. Greene Brooklyn Flea after an extended absence to work on my house. It was kind of nice to go away and come back because it made me appreciate it even more.

The photo above shows a sampling of upcycled light fixtures by Peg and Jon Van Dyne. It’s one of those things that makes me say “Damn, why didn’t I think of that first?” Because I checking out the market only for a few minutes when I was on a an extended bathroom break, I didn’t get a chance to get much info. The company is called French Vanilla. No website, but the phone number is 765-513-0255. No idea what prices are like, but I did notice that they take credit cards.

That large film reel on the right? Still has film on it.

Fat Dog Fabrication is living in this century. Owner Don Wood has a website. A rather cute one, with a photo of Henry the fat dog on the main page (He doesn’t look so fat). Don also has an Etsy store .

I didn’t get a chance to have a chat (another bathroom break) but I gathered from the internets that Don is a contractor who creates on the side. He uses recycled materials when he can, such as the pallet bench. The prices are surprisingly low for the quality, concept and location. $25 hand made concrete dog bowl/planter in Brooklyn? I think I spent that on a cup of coffee just yesterday.

Reclaimed Wood Straight Outta Bklyn

March 23, 2010 RH 5 Comments

While searching for porch flooring I came across a reclaimed lumber company that gets it’s wood from places such as exotic Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

Well, it IS exotic woods like Ipe and Kumaru. New York City is the largest consumer of tropical woods for boardwalks, benches and other outdoor uses. The city has curbed the use of these woods due to protests from environmental groups, but not completely. The reclaimed Ipe is a way to use these woods sustainably.

So, enter Sawkill Lumber. Partners Alan Solomon and Klaas Armster of Solomon Wood and Armster Lumber have inventory from the Coney Island and Rockaway boardwalks as well as from those water tanks you that enhance the NYC skyline.

I haven’t received a price quote yet, but I’m not too bothered for my current project. I suspect this stuff isn’t cheap. I mean, who doesn’t want to say their floor is made from the Coney Island boardwalk?!

So, I wait until I build a deck on the Brooklyn house. If I can’t afford a whole deck, there will be SOMETHING!, a piece of the Coney Island boardwalk in my house.

No matter what the cost.

There’s a sucker born every minute. And I was minute 947823230492734 of 1965.

Reclaimed Flooring

September 12, 2007 RH 5 Comments

5 years ago, we paid around $6000 for reclaimed wide plank pine for a 600 square foot room (installed and finished). And that was the best price. Maybe we had more money to throw around back then, but we would never dream of paying that much for a single floor now.

Reclaimed wide plank is still pricey, but many companies run internet specials. There are also smaller local mills that may charge less.

The least expensive option, if it exists in your home, is to carefully pull up the existing subfloor/planks and scrape them down, then reinstall. Tons of work, but saving all that dough…..priceless.

$6000 Floor, Marbletown, NY