A Piece of Cleveland | Making New Wood Products from Deconstructed Buildings

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Lake Erie Artists Gallery is Proud to Be Selling Work from A Piece of Cleveland

If you are a fan of local history or green living, then you should get to know the work of a local Cleveland, Ohio company called A Piece of Cleveland.

A Piece of Cleveland or APOC, is a both a company and a mission. This group is creating a demand for recycled wood in Cleveland, Ohio by creating beautiful wood furniture, accessories, and custom furnishings all out of wood from deconstructed buildings.

This article is to introduce you to APOC, their work, and their mission. You can buy APOC's retail items from Lake Erie Artists Gallery.

A Piece of Cleveland

Mission

From APOC's website:

APOC designs and makes high quality products out of raw materials with a local history. Our efforts have rescued tons of doors, floors and lumber from houses destined for the landfill.

Our Mission is to provide you with a product that gives you pride. The handcrafted pieces that we create are rich with history, character and clean design.

APOC is part of a deconstruction movement in Cleveland. While we don't deconstruct buildings, we seek out ONLY reclaimed building materials for our creations. Without a market force for the materials, there is little impetus to deconstruct houses. The city of Cleveland will demolish at least 2,000 homes a year for the foreseeable future.

As a part of Growth Ring Enterprises, APOC fills a niche in the market for reclaimed building materials, namely those in abundance. By purchasing APOC creations, you are encouraging the "recycling" of buildings. With a Re-Birth Certificate in hand, the stories of these buildings will persevere.

A Piece of Cleveland

Made here

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Deconstruction

from dictionary.com

Deconstruct

-verb (used with object)

to break down into constituent parts; dissect; dismantle.

Understanding Wood

In this essential reference for woodworkers, R. Bruce Hoadley explains everything from how trees grow to how best to cut, season, machine, join, bend, and finish wood.

Understanding Wood REV/E

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A Piece of Cleveland

Projects

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"Inspiration produces good design and every artist has their own motivation. We can think of no better incentive than knowing that our projects tell a story of Cleveland's heritage. It is this distinctive history that we work to preserve through our custom designs."

Deconstruction Photos

Stanard School Recycling Project by APieceOfCleveland

Stanard School Recycling Project by APieceOfCleveland

Stanard School Recycling Project by APieceOfCleveland

Are you familiar with the idea of deconstructing buildings?

Before I met the guys behind APOC, I didn't know that deconstruction of buildings was even possible. I love the idea and it is a really practical way to recycle.

Do you know of any other firms or organizations who recycle wood?

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Nope.

BevsPaper says:

Not an actual firm that is also doing this. It is a great idea and Kudos to APOC! I am familiar with people who just sort of do this on their own, though. Sometimes we get things in the Antique Business that we refer to as "married" which means parts of different items were married to make something new. Not exactly the same thing but sort of.

kiwisoutback says:

Not that I can think of...

Mickie_G says:

I do not know of any in my area, but I will be on the look-out!

Yes.

sandyspider says:

We have a new Humanities for Habitat store. Part of the material is from deconstruction of buildings.

JaguarJulie says:

Well, actually my brother who is in Cleveland area did do this -- he used to build futons and outdoor patio furniture. I don't think he has the time for this anymore though. Isn't that interesting how dexterious Clevelanders are? This is some remarkable furniture.

 

A Piece of Cleveland

Conference table for Thundertech

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The Men of APOC

from the APOC website

Aaron Gogolin
Aaron is a native Clevelander who began his carpentry career as a rough framer of new construction houses. In this field he gained knowledge about how buildings are put together from the foundation to the roof while also getting an insider view of just how much waste is created in the construction trades.

Aaron's attention to detail drew him into fine carpentry and cabinetmaking. After working for several cabinet shops and remodelers, he began his own cabinet and furniture design and fabrication business, Made in Cleveland, in 2005.

Aaron feels that APOC has brought together his passions for beautiful wood, Cleveland history and environmental responsibility.

Chris Kious
Chris Kious is the material recovery partner to APOC. Working in community development within Cleveland for 5 years, Kious has seen many perfectly good buildings slated for demolition. Since 2006 Chris has worked at making deconstruction a successful industry in Cleveland. Chris's passion is to build sustainable/green businesses out of the recycling of buildings. Kious is excited by thoughts of green-collar low-tech jobs, making profits from "waste" and designing our lives to work with the environment. A proud member of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability, Chris engages in the community on many green initiatives such as urban farming, public greenspaces and green building.

P.J. Doran
P.J. Doran began making "things" early in life starting with backyard forts and gradually moving up to tree houses, usually constructed from garbage picks, leftovers and salvaged building materials. Getting his start in the housing construction industry, P.J. was able to learn the trade while refining his craftsmanship. Frustrated by the immense waste involved in new construction, P.J. began designing and building custom furniture from reclaimed materials. The influences for his designs and creations have come from several architects/furniture makers including Charles and Ray Eames and Alvar Aalto.

With much of their reclaimed materials dating back several decades, P.J.'s favorite part of working with APOC is saving and reusing materials over 100 years old. "I like the challenge of taking something that was discarded or bound for the landfill and giving it a new life." P.J. fits right in as a designer/ fabricator with APOC.
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Other Recycled Wood Products

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About the Author

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Cleveland Clinic Innovations official can't leave Kansas behind
At the end, a commenter (his name is Scott; it's not me) also directs readers to check out the work of a similar organization, A Piece of Cleveland. Crain's 2008 story about A Piece of Cleveland is here. You also can follow me on Twitter for more news ...

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