Recycling the old is part of making way for the new.

Having intent to recycle isn't enough. It has to get done. Sometimes that means sorting and making an extra pile, or going to a recycling center before the dump, or running an ad on craigs list, or calling around to see what thrift stores are accepting. It also means not letting the item sit in the rain until a home is found.

Brad Hankins of dbBrad happily dissassembling this rack of toxic, busy and boring particle-board shelves.

These white, busy, boring and less than healthy particleboard (melamine) shelves were creating a health issue for a chemically sensitive client with a very accute olfactory sense. Joan made a commitment to her new home to remove these shelves and install a heatlhy, cleaner shelves of a more contempporary nature, but not if it meant a trip to the landfill. J. Benedetti, an avid thrifster (dbBrad word meaming to be hip in the art of thrift stores) had already made arrangements for the shelves to be taken at WAIF.

The shelves temporarily stored until WAIF was ready for them.

Like everything, it's always more complicated than it seems. Though the arrangements had been made, it still took two weeks and a barrage of e-mails and phone messages before WAIF and dbBrad would connect and make the exchange. Ultimately I had to store them in a shed until WAIF had room and then load and deliver them. As a result, I got to smell the off gassing for myself. The cedar cabin used for storage had the rich smell of fresh cedar when we moved them in, but as little as two weeks later, the air in the room became stale and smelled of glues, formaldehyde and chemicals.

Brad Hankins gives the Benedetti shelves the usual 'climb it and see how strong it is' test!

It's comforting to know that other people, concerned enough that finding a home for what they don't want, is as important as bringing home what they do want. In this case clean air, timeless design, no toxicity, and a clean contemporary look to display her favorite thrifster finds were motiation for the owner to "exchange" her old shelves for new shelves!

J. Benedetti and Brad next to the steel shelves under construction

The pencil edge detail on both the glass and the steel really make these shelves crisp, and the lack of any visible supports for the adjustable shelves gives it that extra refined look.

Benedetti glass being delivered