A Promise Is a Promise: Where's My Update?!

Top two reasons it has taken so long to deliver: a yard sale and a stolen bike. But I don't want to talk about that.

So there it is, the corner bookshelf, nestled in the chaos of Hip thrift. I do believe it will be more comfortable once it has been claimed by a new owner. Keep in mind, it won't look like this anywhere else; the concept is a blank slate.

The open design makes it ideal for the creative display of toys, books, objects and art.

Meanwhile, I have been doing a bit of painting.

Dry brushwork on the side of a bookcase.

Here are new chairs to go with the tree table. Three are pictured from the set of four.

On a warm March morning, I went to a secret location with the artist Penish Wrinkle and we snagged some wonderful graffitied* tool cabinet doors.

*Graffitied is not a word yet! But I believe that one day it will be.

This is the backside of the door, which is being repurposed as the backing for a crooked, wobbly bookcase that I picked up at an estate sale.

And now it is solid as a rock and no longer crooked. I wire brushed the loose paint and heavily glazed the entire door, front and back, so it is a safe piece despite its delinquent origins.


The bookcase for vinyl sold yesterday and two different parties are now very interested in the tree table. It feels great to be productive! Thanks to everyone for your support.
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A Tale of Two Woodpiles {and the Hip Horse}

I will start the tale with the Horse. Now that my role at Hip Thrift is becoming more tangible, I have been granted occasional use of a new used van for the hoarding of the woodpiles.

Last week, someone finally brought down the axe on an old rotting tree in their front yard. And I swept in to pick up the pieces. Pun intended; it's one of those days.

This is a weird crystallized dead grub.

And this grub was quite alive. Which brings me to a burning question: how can I be sure that this beautifully eroded wood is ready to work once it has been seasoned? I thought of cutting it into small enough pieces and cooking out the critters in my home oven. I also thought of bartering with a local reclaim outfit to use their kiln in exchange for the lion's share of the wood. Has anyone tried to do this on their own? Please leave comments!

The larger pieces have decayed to just the right state to produce interesting burls, so I am very eager to start seasoning it. I even wonder if some aggressive chainsaw slicing might be good enough for removing all of the little buggers . . .

Now the coolest part of this story is how I met the creator of the Bottitudes. It's her tree in her yard. I always get permission before scrapping, so when we got to talking Susan shared her creations. Look for these funky little raku-glazed bots soon at Hip Thrift.

My son is with me on Spring Break and the next story got him all excited. I have been scoping out construction jobs and scrap piles and finally corralled the boss on this one down on Waynesville Ave.

The foreman is more than happy to let me raid the scrap pile for the duration of construction.

And my son is more than happy to get down to it and load some scrap! Call it shameless child labor if you'd like, but does get paid . . . in root beer floats . . .

Whether it be dead trees or seemingly useless piles of scrap, we are on the lookout for wood. I will be sure to put it to good use!
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Back to Familiar Territory

Well a week on St. Thomas was just what the doctor ordered - thanks Mom!  We had some epic long-snorkels and adventures every day on land as well.  If there is enough interest I could post a detailed log of our days and hopefully get the pictures uploaded from Mom's camera . . .

Great New Development: I have linked up with Amy of Hip Thrift in West Asheville to create reclaimed furniture on sale for consignment!  My first piece, a simple bookshelf, is on the floor now.  If it doesn't sell soon, Amy will apply her trademark painting flair.  More furniture is on the way . . .

Amy and I went down by the river to collect discarded wood. We had to pass up plenty of boards that were just too old to use.  By far the biggest catch was a ravaged fence that clearly was not getting back up before becoming music for earthworms.  It's perfect as a backing material, which stabilizes shelving and keeps things from falling down between a bookshelf and the wall.

I found this old shelf stock in the basement. I never asked from whence it came but I suspect it was installed somewhere in the shop before Amy launched her amazing Hip Thrift.  Odd detail: 1-1/2" x 1/4" flats nailed as nosing on 1x12 dimensional lumber.  I decided to flip that nosing onto the back of each shelf.

Now this is where it's at!  A 6-1/2 foot tall bi-fold closet door with slats will be used as stiles to support the shelves.  First I stripped all of the hardware, saving it for future projects of course.

I cut down the shelves to a uniform length, 30".

Out of the thick bottom rails of the closet doors I used a jigsaw to create legs.

(The fencing required no cuts, always a good feeling)

The final piece measures approximately 32"w x 79"h x 12"d.

Come to Hip Thrift to check out more by me and some very talented local artists and artisans.

201 Haywood Rd

Asheville, NC 28806

828.423.0853

(see more simple handmade wood projects here)