Personal Reflections
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Re-framing the Future: A Call to Action for a Just Transition for the Reupholstery Industry
‘Unite and rebuild’ proclaimed an article, in 2019, about how an industry once left to perish could be on the verge of a comeback. The idea that the National Upholstery Association, a brand new trade association started solely by women and dedicated to a trade full of tradition, honor and importance, had launched with such little media fanfare, infuriated me. Determined to imagine a narrative beyond the tired, formulaic piece about DIY upholstery or an upholsterer’s retirement, I wrote one myself. I typed that proclamation as one of the NUA’s newest volunteers, hungry to join others in collective action at the industry level. I knew already that reliance upon upstream…
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What I Learned From Studying Furniture Waste for One Year
Yesterday I presented “What I Learned From Studying Street Furniture for One Year” at the California Resource Recovery Association’s 45th annual conference. I’ve attended this conference once, as a volunteer in 2016, when I helped host a topic lunch around reuse and repair. In 2018, I proposed and won a pre-conference tour slot for the upholstery shop I worked for at the time. We had dozens of conference attendees come to east Oakland to tour our nearly 100 year old, locally owned, 10,000 square foot upholstery workshop. The opportunity to shift the narrative of and image around waste prevention—to include furniture refurbishment, replete with a team of skilled labor earning…
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The Conscious Builder Podcast
Thanks Casey for this opportunity to talk about furniture waste from the bottom up, normalizing reuse, the types of systems change we need, place-based solutions, and why it’s time not for a new sofa, but a new narrative. Listen below.
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Garage Sales in the Era of Free Piles
When I saw this sign last weekend, I did a double take. A garage sale, I remember thinking, people still do those? Upon reflection, I can see that’s a crazy first reaction, but not necessarily where I live. As Lucy and I walked on, I thought about how my neighborhood is really a big, dispersed, unattended garage sale. I often feel like I’m roaming the aisles of a thrift store when I’m out walking my dog. Our streets are covered in free stuff: whether in boxes or splayed on the sidewalk, there are piles of books, clothes, shoes, homewares, car seats, sports equipment, picture frames, art, vases, high chairs, dishes,…
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Panel on Sustainable Textiles: Moving Towards a Circular Economy
It was an honor last night to be part of a panel discussion about what a circular economy of textiles can and should be: transformational for individuals, artists, skilled labor, creatives, sheep farmers, the community, and ecosystems. That is my kind of future visioning. Here are some takeaway notes as captured by the moderator, Sy Baker: 👉 There is immense potential for decentralization and democratization👉A Sharing Economy exists–but needs to be expanded upon👉We must get more comfortable with imperfection👉Transparency is key👉Repair is essential–and can be modernized👉People are trying to do the right thing.Thanks @stopwaste for hosting us and thanks to @fibershed_ , @calpsc and Connie Ulasewicz for your efforts that…
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Furniture Spotting on the Urban Savanna Draws Awe
I caught a glimpse of this from the corner of my eye as I was driving home from the grocery store last weekend. Like love at first sight, my heart started racing. I made an erratic u-turn, took my first right and bam, we were face to face. Up close, she’s even more magnificent: such majestic curves, and beautiful wooden grain. She sat alone under a tree with her leaf on proud display, almost triumphant. I took loads of pictures, like a spellbound tourist watching a lion lazying on the African Savanna, indifferent to my presence. That bright blue sky is nowhere to be found now. It’s been smoky and…
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Furniturecycle Featured on Sew Much More Podcast
I want to offer my deepest thanks to Ceil DiGuglielmo, host of the “Sew Much More Podcast,” for having me on her show last week. She was so gracious to include me as a guest among her cadre of home furnishings industry peeps. I appreciated her genuine interest in exploring furnishings from the bottom-up, which, she admitted, is a pretty different approach than she’s used to. We totally go for it and cover old lady furniture, IKEA, imperfect produce, Pinterest, big box stores and more. Take a listen here:
