Tapestry High School students who participated in the Buffalo ReUse Enrichment Intensive will be seen on the “Cool for School” segment of the Channel 4 WIVB-TV “Wake Up Show” on Tuesday, April 1st @ 6:45 AM.

2 groups of Tapestry students (freshman and sophomores) joined us as volunteers a couple weeks ago–their instructors came too! They brought a Channel 4 crew along with them.

Read the story and watch the video

If you’ve wanted to find out more about Buffalo ReUse, other than coming in to the ReSource on a cold, cold Saturday, now is your chance! We’ll be at two events this Saturday, recruiting, showcasing, spreading the ReUse love.

Volunteer Fair 2008
WNED Studios 140 Lower Terrace, Across from the Adam’s Mark, 10:00am-2:00pm

This event has free admission and free parking and is one-stop shopping for volunteer opportunities in Erie/Niagara Counties. Meet representatives from 35+ human service and cultural organizations, including us.

Looking to restore an architectural gem? Learn how at the House Restoration Fair, presented by the Historical Society’s Members Advisory Committee! Speak with craftsmen, artisans, material suppliers, and contractors and attend hourly programs in the auditorium.

Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society
10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m
$6 Admission (for BECHS members; $8 for non-members)
25 Nottingham Court

See us there!

Although it seems recently that most of my days have been spent dismantling houses, moving materials, and meeting with collaborators to expand our scope and strengthen our mission, my primary intention when I first came to Buffalo in November 2005 was initiation of a leadership development and training program for young adults. When I started playing with the idea of deconstruction as a method for removing vacant and abandoned housing, in the back of my mind, I was thinking this could be an excellent vehicle to train young adults, create jobs in the neighborhood, and expand opportunities for neighborhood development. Even though that was my intention, that’s not how we started. I believed that before we could bring young adults onboard we first had to experiment with the hybrid-deconstruction technique ourselves. We needed to perform some training internally, try some different things, and practice, practice, practice.

Initiating a new effort is not for everyone. It’s difficult being engaged in the creative process of developing something that’s not been done before, where there isn’t a history or a culture, and where each day is filled with numerous unexpected challenges. It requires a lot of patience, because systems and procedures aren’t perfect and everyone is in learning mode. Then, add to the mix challenging weather and harsh working conditions and many people might shake their heads and walk away. It’s been a rocky road at times.

So, for me, what’s most extraordinary is that despite all the challenges, our initial staff members: Amanda Alessandra, Jon Markle, and Anthony Morrow, have risen to every challenge and have been active innovators in creating a solid field team. They’ve exhibited tremendous persistence and commitment to the effort of building reuse; they have demonstrated an amazing ability to juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities, while also driving each project towards completion. Now, six months into this experiment, we’ve worked together to deconstruct over 10 structures, salvage scores of other buildings that were slated for demolition, and began the development of the ReSource, our retail and education location.

Although our learning curve is steep, we discover something new every day that makes our work more efficient and safe. Now we’re focusing on the next chapter in our organizational growth. About a week ago, I returned to the office after a day in the field, with a smile from ear to ear. We had just finished the first day of work with our first three, young adult apprentices, from Catholic Charities. This is our pilot program to train young adults competitive job skills, provide supportive mentoring and complete tangible projects that improve inner-city neighborhoods. For me, this day was the manifestation of our true mission and the realization that we were now steaming forward with a plan to create more connections for young men and women currently out of school and out of work.

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Mr. Mojo risin . . . Mr. Mojo risin . . .

As far as we know Jim Morrison has not been seen skulking around ReSOURCE. Old doors, however, have been seen around the ReSOURCE and are a large part of the inventory. The ReSOURCE has many types of doors, but I thought I’d discuss panel doors since they are the most abundant and common style at the ReSOURCE.

Hello I love you . . .

Panel doors have a long history. The Pantheon in Rome, the world’s oldest building still in use, reportedly has its original panel doors dating to Hadrian’s Rome (~125AD). The design is ingenious, versatile and economical. Panel doors consist of a frame of stiles (vertical pieces) and rails (the cross pieces). The rails and stiles start off the same, the inside profile being cut by one cutter. The ends of the rails (where they join the stiles) are then cut with a complementary cutter so that they fit like a hand in a glove. A square groove inside the stiles and rails allows a panel or a window (light) to be slid in. Mortise and tenon or doweled joints hold it together strongly. This design can be used to make a myriad of styles, 5-panel vertical, 5-panel mixed, 4-panel, 6-panel, etc . . .

Panel doors were not invented just to enable various styles and decoration. They’re a good way to stretch a bit of wood a long way. The panels are thinner than the rails and stiles; this saves wood. Having thick rails and stiles and thinner panels also makes the door lighter and less prone to warping, swelling and shrinking. I expect the esthetic appeal of panels with molded edges, miter joints and raised centers is a happy result of early doorbuilders’ frugality and common sense.

Break on through to the other side . . .

Modern made, solid-wood panel doors are available, but ReSOURCE panel doors are generally made of old growth wood. “So what?” you say? Well, old growth wood is harder, denser, and more resistant to rot – and prettier. Old growth wood came from 200+ year-old trees with a more compacted cellular structure. Additionally the seemingly inexhaustible old growth forests yielded cheap and generous sized pieces of clear (knot-free) wood, so you can now find a 2″ thick door with ¼” panels. Try to find that today! Unfortunately the old growth forests are now confined to tiny parcels of forgotten land and are available by appointment only, such as the Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods in Cheektowaga, so besides superior wood, re-used doors prolong the working life of old growth wood and take pressure off our living forests.

Love me two times, babe . . .

Ask someone to quickly doodle a door and they will almost always draw a four-paneled door. They are timeless and homey. Modern metal, plastic, and engineered wood doors are often stamped or molded to look like they have panels. Some are given a phony wood grain to increase their hominess. In my high school this sort of artificiality was called “posing”; the person being a “poser”. Real doors are a like a friendly doorman welcoming guests, and they just beg to be decorated with Christmas wreaths and such. If you are interested in old panel doors here are some bits of advice.
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In mid-February Michael drove down to Virginia to cheer on his sister, Heather, as she gave birth to Michael’s first niece (and Barb&Larry Gainer’s first grandbaby). Naturally, Michael is very proud of Hadley and couldn’t wait to get her involved in Buffalo ReUse. What task might be suitable for an activist that’s so young and whose main priority in life is attaining nourishment and affection??
Outreach?
Marketing?
Publicity? Of Course!  Little baby bellies are a perfect spot for a graphic–babies are irresistable and highly portable. So, Hadley just does what babies do best–be a magnet for attention! We sent Hadley a prototype for a tee/decal design we’re working on. How does it look?
We’re excited to watch Hadley and BRI grow!
p.s. Our own Anthony Morrow has a new addition in his family too; we’ll bring you some pics soon!

This past week I finally met the Buffalo everyone warned me about. Three years ago when I told everyone I was moving to Buffalo, they all said, “Why do you want to live there?! There’s nothing but snow!” But I was enthusiastic about Buffalo and still am. According to my landlord, I got off real easy my first winter here–and last year was pretty mild too. I still couldn’t understand why everyone was trying to terrify me about the snow; I wasn’t really all that impressed–UNTIL this past week. What an awful lot of snow we’ve had–for March?! I got stuck 3 times in one night!

Thankfully, there are a lot of brave souls in Buffalo who don’t let things like a 16″ of snow hinder their Saturday night. It was very warm in Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum where a selection of the peace murals were being exhibited. Several of the students and instructors showed up to see all of the other group’s murals and meet kids from all over the city. It was really exciting to see their faces light up as they stood in front of their murals. As always, it was also a great time to just hang out and catch up with our volunteers and supporters. You certainly missed out on some warm homemade treats; Kathleen Moriarty was a baking fiend and made a luscious (LUSHus) apple cider cake–my mouth and my eyeballs were watering! A special thanks to Sharon Cavanaugh of the WAY Program for bringing some other baked goodies. I want to express a tremendous thanks to everyone who stayed to clean up–our own Jess, Peter, Kevin, Bryan Lohr, Nic Garelick and others.

If you weren’t able to see the 30 murals first hand, there may be other opportunities soon. We are looking for more locations so that the murals might tour throughout the summer.

That’s Buffalo ReUse in the New York Times . . .

Our Executive Director Michael Gainer is featured in a story on social entrepreneurship.

Click here to read the story.

. . . replace a vacant lot with anything you wanted–what would you choose?

We’re asking, seriously.

Be practical or be creative–but be specific–”a garden” or “a park” is good, but if you want a garden full of only 50 types of tomatoes or a park just for “little dogs” we want to know. If you want a labyrinth or a 3 story gazebo (I’ve seen them), tell us. Imagine it and tell us–you can submit a comment below or you can transcribe your napkin sketch to info {at} buffaloreuse(.)org
We have the opportunity to implement green space development this spring and summer. We have to plan ahead so that each project can be successful . . . so daydream faster!

Recently Buffalo ReUse uncovered logs and hand-hewn beams in the joists and framing of an old rear-house on Lafayette Ave. These have become the . . . uhm . . . some say . . . ah . . . unnatural . . . objects of Michael’s attention. So they are the ReSource’s first Fire Bell special as it begins its new hours; Thursdays and Fridays 7:30-5 pm, and even a couple more hours on Saturdays 9-5pm.

Michael is mad about these beams and we need Michael’s attention back, so I am channeling all I have absorbed from my dad, who sold cars for 30 years. Here goes. WHAT CAN I DO TO GET YOU INTO THESE HAND HEWN BEAMS AND LOGS?!?!?!

Climb on in, they’re real creampuffs

Hewn in the 1830s these are the real deal. The hemlocks that were felled to make them were already 200 years old when they were made. No chipboard or plantation trees here.

Kick the tenons and run your hands over those adze marks

Workmanship like that hasn’t been seen in 100 years. Master carpenters and their crews hewed away the tree trunk using adzes or broad axes. Each little mark from the stroke of the adze is the craftsman’s signature and mark of quality.

It was like they were made for you!

Each beam or log is an individual. Its size dictated by the size of the tree trunk it came from. As a carpentry project, home addition, or simply on display to show them off, these beauties will set you apart from the pack. They may even make you irresistible to women or men – your choose.

Full warranty guranteed

If you are not fully satisfied the ReUse offers a full money-back guarantee. This is employee pricing and is the best (and only) warranty ever offered by the ReSource.

What a deal!

It’s a buyer’s market and you better hurry because at $25 a linear foot they are going fast. Once Kevin rings the fire bell, it’s over.

So let’s find a new home for these beams. And although Michael usually says “Get it outta here!” he doesn’t for these beams, so we’re saying it for him: Get em outta here!
Ding Ding.

Did you know our expanded hours begin today at 7:30am?

Kevin will greet you with a smile–he may not have actually brushed his teeth yet, but he’ll smile at you!! The ReSOURCE’s new hours have extended–we’ll be open Thursday & Friday from 7:30-5pm and on Saturdays from 9-5pm. Please note, our office is not located in the store (yet). So, when you call 716-885-4131 you’re not talking to anyone who is standing directly in front of the inventory.