Oct 27, 2015
When the City of Arnold, MO had to remove an 1890 farmhouse to
build a new municipal facility, they called the intrepid non-profit
Refab to safely, responsibly take the old home apart
and make its fine vintage materials available to appreciative
new users, through resale.
Eric Schwarz - a young guy with good tools, Green vision and
business sense - launched Refab just three years ago. He is
building on experience gained while earning a Fine Arts degree,
teaching about sustainability around STL, and managing sales and
deconstruction for the Habitat For Humanity St. Louis ReStore. He's
providing steady, well-paying jobs for veterans who
need a hand, in a partnership with St. Patrick Center. And he's
leading efforts to keep over 1,000 tons of useful stuff a year in
use, instead of going to landfills.
Refab sells what
they deconstruct: flooring, beadboard, and
de-nailed lumber of all kinds; vintage plumbing and lighting
fixtures, cabinets (carefully removed) - and more. Resale store
prices make these items a great bargain for designers and builders
of restaurants, new homes, and businesses with sustainable
tastes.
This month Refab
celebrates a big move to a new 30,000 ft2 warehouse at 3130
Gravois in St. Louis, recycling the former Union Brewery
into working and sales space. Join the celebration on October 30 -
and shop Refab's material treasures every Friday-Sunday, 9 am-5 pm.
Your business supports this intrepid non-profit, giving new life to
amazing stuff and jobs to guys who've served our country. And you
get the goods and deals!
Music this podcast: Measure Once, recorded at KDHX 2011 by Matthew Van Doren. This is a woodworking musical pun for you, Eric - JP