Reusing, refurbishing, restoring old things has always been fun to me for some reason, I think it must have to do with extending the story of objects or giving them a new life. I always enjoy sitting back and imagining the life the items must have had before I found them. The history, or the story that it could tell if only the piece could talk.
To me one of the coolest times in American history is the industrial revolution or “machine age” I like to call it. The time when great mechanical engineering had to be done to mechanize a process. It advanced our civilization forward. Just looking at all the gears, moving parts, levers and gauges as the world’s first automation devices were being created.
I like to reflect on the contrast of those machines with the equivalent of today’s devices that do the same thing, but now with electronic circuits and software instead of any gears, bearings or the puffing smoke of a steam engine.
Building rustic lamps or furniture let me feel like I am surrounding myself a little with the way people must have felt living during those times. Using pallet or barn wood to create a warmer weathered feel to my projects and then toughen it up a bit using steel or iron to remind me of a time when giants like Carnegie or Rockefeller ruled the day.