SalvoNews

SalvoNEWS has moved to salvonews.com

2010-07-28T16:19:00.002+01:00

We have moved SalvoNEWS from this blog to its own purpose built site at www.salvonews.com

All 1,200 stories will remain live on this website for the time being while we move them to salvonews.com

Apologies for any inconvenience.

The SalvoNEWS Team
Thornton, Ruby and Colleen

SalvoNEWS.com

Salvo Fair 2010

2010-07-01T11:48:00.012+01:00

Above: Stained glass and garden seat on Neil Phillips stand with the turrets of Knebworth House in the background

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK

Glorious weather, a record number of exhibitors from as far as Hungary, Germany, France, Belgium and Scotland, and plenty of buying visitors from as far as New Zealand, USA and Japan, added up to another successful Salvo Fair at the beautiful location of the deer park at Knebworth House on June 26th and 27th.

The trade morning on Friday 25th started well with a buyer from Portobello Road so keen to be in at 9am that he paid £92 for a small pitch to get an exhibitor pass, and had merrily spent spent several thousand pounds by the official opening time of 11am. After 1pm public were admitted, which meant that many of the smaller mixed stands had recouped their fair costs by Friday evening, when Florian Langenbeck and Thomas Knapp kindly invited exhibitors to a soiree featuring German beer, bread and sausage.

The Saturday was very busy with long queues before opening and a few thousand visitors through the gates during the day. (We will not know the official visitor numbers until Knebworth's accountant has checked everything next week.) That evening the exhibitor get together, sponsored by Salvo, and kindly organised by Peter Watson of Cox's Yard was deemed a great success.

Sunday was, predictably, less busy with the world cup England v Germany match at 3pm, which was shown in a few places live on the fair field. Even so, several stands reported constant sales throughout the match.

Everything was fine until, unfortunately, during the take down, Barry Greenwell broke his leg whilst manoeuvring a marble column. We would like to wish him a speedy recovery.

The next Salvo Fair is scheduled for June 24 - 26 2011.

Next year we plan to beef up the Friday trade day, making it trade only and increasing the ticket price, with no public allowed, but with free invites to international dealers and specifiers in architecture, construction, landscaping, interiors, set creators, hotel and pub trade from around the world. We will also ask exhibitors to bring larger items and more reclaimed building materials samples, and we will once again have an exhibitor cap and reduce the amount of new and repro on the site, which had been noticeably cut down this year.

Above: Florian Langenbeck from Historische Türen in Freiburg, Germany

Above: Sam Coster (left) of Mongers of Hingham, Norfolk, and Peter Watson of Cox's Yard, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire

Above: Guy Trench from Antiques By Design, Maldon, Essex

Above: Damian and Lou Cronin of Woodstone, Cronins Reclamation and The Original Home Store, Little Bookham, Surrey

Above: Ed Pearce (left) of V & V Reclamation, Hertford, Nadine and Jason (right) Davies from The Architrectural Forum, Islington, London, and Matt Davies (hat) of Premier Fires and Floors Restoration, London

Salvo Fair

'No Reserves' success at Great Northern Architectural

2010-07-01T10:16:00.012+01:00

Tattenhall, Cheshire UK

Auctioneers Richard Winterton held a sale on Tuesday 29 June on behalf of Penham Excel Bailiffs. The sale consisted of 800 lots of architectural items from Great Northern Architectural Antiques, who have recently gone into liquidation.

Cataloguer and auctioneer for the sale Neil Grenyer said, "As pretty much everything was in without reserve, from an auctioneers point of view it was very successful with very few lots not finding new homes. Viewing was steady throughout Monday and Tuesday morning and around 150-200 people registered to bid either in person, on the telephone or left commission bids. There was a good mix of private and trade buyers including from the USA and Canada. The highlight of the 220 lots that were outside in the courtyard was a sandstone portico that was chased to £4,600 by a private buyer and a member of the trade, with the private buyer winning. Elsewhere, a series of carved stone keystones made between £350 and £500 a piece, a wrought iron weather vane made £450 and a fairground barrel organ 'The Mermaid' sold for £500 where the retail asking price was less than £350!

"Inside, the best sellers were the stained glass panels and vestibule arches with many pieces selling to buyers over the telephone, although a couple of Arts and Crafts style doors with leaded and coloured glass took £500 a piece from buyers in the room. A large Art Nouveau leaded and stained glass vestibule complete with french doors sold in the room for £1,500.

"The areas where this sale struggled were the cast iron fire inserts, probably due to the shear quantity being offered, and the mixed lots of odds and ends which sometimes struggled to raise a bid. The last section of the sale was the brass door and window furniture which was sold in large quantities. Although much was genuine reclaimed old pieces, many of the knockers and door knobs were brand new, with the owner of the foundry bidding to buy them back - unfortunately for him, the bidding was so strong that they were often selling for more than the retail prices he would normally charge!"

The sale was attended by a number of trade buyers.

Drew Pritchard said, "Hot hot hot . . . boiling conditions and mainly trade buyers. Total bedlam as lots were pulled from the sale at the last minute, mainly the star pieces due to ownership issues. A superb stone entranceway was bought for £4,600 plus commission by the wife of the owner of a major home builder for their Cheshire house.

"Myself, Rupert from Leominster Reclamation, and Beeston Reclamation were the big buyers of the day. Also in attendance were Colin Scull, Laurence Green from Insitu, and numerous other Salvo dealers. I bought the massive cupola that has graced the car park for the last 20 years and a collection of carved friezes from a Manchester hospital. Prices were all over the place, which is typical for this type of auction, and the auctioneers acting for the bailiffs took no prisoners. Lots of items sold for £1 to £5 for complete pallet loads."

Above: A sandstone portico, after a long bidding war between a trade and private buyer it was eventually brought by a private for £4,600.

Above: some of Drew Pritchard's items from the sale being collected from Tattenhall.

Richard Winterton

Drew Pritchard

Spencer house excitement

2010-07-01T09:49:00.005+01:00

South Kensington, London UK

The potential thrill of the unexpected and the serendipitous defines the house contents sale. The Althorp Attic sale is to be held at Christie's on July 7-8 at South Kensington rooms with over 760 lots from the famous Northampton seat of the Spencer family.

Christie's have scored the house, attic, cellar and outhouses, the result is a house contents mix ranging from the typical family silver, brown furniture, curtains, decorative paintings, to more distinct Spencer associations, like the duplicate family portraits and horse drawn carriages.

Estimates for some of the more rarified pieces reach into the five-figure bracket, but there is much more that is affordably guided, including plenty of lots estimated at under £1,000. Christie's have managed to piece together interesting provenance for many individual lots, often aided by the inventory produced by Albert Edward John Spencer, the 7th or 'curator' Earl.

The sale includes a number of grand architectural mouldings. Some fragments which are guided at £1,500 - £2,500 are attributed to James Athenian Stuart.

Lot 1002: A George II mahogany, parcel-gilt and painted door, circa 1758-65, attributed to James Athenian Stuart, estimated at £2,000 - £3,000.

Catalogue

Fireplace saga moves on significantly

2010-06-30T16:31:00.004+01:00

English Heritage is facing scrutiny from Britain’s new coalition government over claims of a conflict of interest which allegedly saw it “abuse” its planning powers in favour of a commercial partner. English Heritage are currently selling self branded fireplaces, It is argued that its organisational structure is designed to protect against conflicts of interest between its commercial activities and its advisory role.

Liberal Democrat MP and secretary for Scotland, Michael Moore, is investigating a complaint that the quango discriminated against specialist fireplace manufacturer Thistle & Rose – a firm based in his constituency – in favour of a rival firm licensed to sell a range of “English Heritage”-branded fireplaces.

In a letter before claim sent to English Heritage’s lawyers, Thistle & Rose’s solicitor warned that it was seeking damages as a result of its losses. “EH enjoys a dominant position by playing a regulatory role as the body selected by the UK government to secure the preservation of historic buildings in England,” the letter stated. “Simultaneously, EH has the ability to compete for commercial gain for the sale of traditional fireplaces for such listed buildings. It is our client’s position that, from 2008 onwards, EH abused that dominant position by seeking to exclude the commercial rivals of its chosen commercial partner, Acquisitions.”

bd

Gaze Architectural Salvage & Statuary sale this Saturday

2010-06-30T13:56:00.010+01:00

Diss Norfolk, UK

Gaze are holding an Architectural Salvage & Statuary sale on Saturday 3 July, starting at 10am with viewing prior. Auctioneer Carl Willows will be running through some 1055 lots which includes garden statuary, york stone paving, turret clocks and other excellent statuary.

Lot: 7225 A wrought metal and wirework gazebo, estimated at £850 - £1275.

Lot: 7386 An early 20th Century sandstone figure of the Madonna and child 67" high from the Convent of St Michael, Clacton. Estimated at £3,000 - £4.500.

Lot: 7394 An early 20th Century sandstone figure of the Angel Michael standing 79" high slaying a dragon from the Convent of St Michael, Clacton, estimated at £5,000 - £8,000.

Lot: 7634 A pair of weathered Chilstone Gothic jardinieres - 27" tall, estimated at £1100 - £1600

Lot: 7667 50 Sq yds of York stone paving from Swan Hunter ship yard, estimated at £4,800 - £6,800

Lot: 7878 A pair of mid 19th Century glazed French doors with bowed over door. Estimated at £750 - £1,125.

Gaze catalogue

Antique textiles on show at Salvo Fair

2010-06-16T13:46:00.005+01:00

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK
Angela Rose has been eagerly sourcing an array of antique textiles leading up to this years Salvo Fair

"I shall be bringing table linen, bed linen, antique lace, art nouveau and art deco atr work in the form of table cloths and fire screens. I will also bring a selection of antique quilts, Durham quilts, trim and fabric for projects, mother of pearl buttons and more."

Salvo Fair

The revival continues in ATG

2010-06-15T10:43:00.004+01:00

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK
Joan Porter of Antique Trade Gazette reports on the final weeks leading up to Salvo Fair 25-27 June, business such as Cox's Architectural Salvage Yard, Arc Reclamation and Antique Church Furnishings comments on Salvo Fair and the reclamation trade in general.

Salvo Fair

Salvo Fair booking deadline

2010-06-15T09:57:00.003+01:00

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK
The deadline for last minute pitch bookings at Salvo Fair is Tuesday 22 June 2010.

These are the vat-inclusive prices for antique, reclaimed, salvaged, and recraft craftspeople pitches;
Jumbo 60ft by 40ft £804
Big 60ft by 20ft £600
Medium 40ft by 20ft £479
Small 20ft by 20ft £285
Table 10ft by 10ft £92
Contact Ruby as soon as possible on 01225 422300 or 07855 010960

Please note that there are no 'new and repro' pitches available.

More exhibitor info and downloadable booking form

Decorative and antique lighting at Salvo Fair

2010-06-14T15:58:00.010+01:00

Above: A Turn of the Century Electrolier in Silver Plate finish, this high quality heavy weight, cast chandelier has 6 arms and matching ceiling rose. £1800. 70cms(H) x 60(W)

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK
Antique Chandeliers of Copthorne specialise in large scale antique lighting fittings suitable for the larger period property to include antique chandeliers in crystal and glass and quality antique Flemish and other metal chandeliers plus English electroliers in brass, silver plate and gilt.

At the Salvo Fair they will be showing part of their stock of quality antique metal chandeliers together with antique lanterns and wall lights plus a small number of crystal items.

With over 15 years in the antique lighting business, Antique Chandeliers has a client list which includes many top interior designers as well as private clients. One of their antique crystal chandeliers was chosen for Ralph Lauren's Bond Street window showcasing its current home collection.

Above: A Large Gilt French Empire Chandelier with Central Cut Glass Bowl and Six Arms,featuring reeded supports and corona with matching reeded patterning to pans and nozzles. The original glass bowl has an etched pattern. The arms and and central chandelier ring have relief patterning. £3500 100cm (H) x 82cm (W)

Salvo Fair

Antique Chandeliers

Salvo Fair 2010 is quickly approaching

2010-06-14T14:52:00.007+01:00

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK
This years 10th Anniversary Salvo Fair is just around the corner, we are expecting a ten percent rise in exhibitors who will bring their wears to Knebworth House, Hertfordshire from 25-27 June 2010. Visitors will be able to make many beautiful discoveries to transform the home and garden without costing the earth (literally).

Peter Watson of Cox's Yard, a long standing veteran of the fair is taking a large stand, he will be demonstrating one aspect of the recraft side of the business, turning old oak carriage boards from French freight trains into solid timber doors, built to size, and with all the craftsmanship, strength and character of a good old-fashioned reclaimed door. Peter Watson says, "We don't offer perfection. We offer splits, knots, and character." The timber is heavily sanded, filled, and oiled. Any style of hinges, locks and handles can be fitted.

Tina Pasco is new to Salvo Fair but has more than 16 years experience dealing in garden antiques in the UK, France and USA. Over the past few months Tina has been searching out the best garden antiques for the fair. Alongside her reclaimed pieces Tina will be bringing a Victorian-style mobile cloche, handmade by Kentish furniture maker and friend, David Le Versha exclusively for Pasco at Esprit du Jardin.

Other interesting items destined for Salvo Fair 2010 includes antique stone troughs from the new Russell Crowe Robin Hood movie filmed at Shepperton, a wonderful 6ft Victorian ceramic roll top bath by prestigious makers Adams & Co, reclaimed from an old hotel on Walney Island, Cumbria and a cast iron radiator belonging to Orson Welles, voted best film director of all time, and tonnes of Victorian red bricks from an early 1900's officer's quarters at RAF Northolt, Middlesex.

Enjoy an inspirational day out at Salvo Fair and find all you need for your home and garden from an international array of exhibitors - from birdbaths to bricks, fireplaces to flagstones, tiles to toilets . . . you might even find the odd kitchen sink!

Salvo Fair

Exploding balls return to Salvo Fair

2010-06-14T13:45:00.007+01:00

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK
Florian Langenbeck from Historische Turen Schlosser Beschlage is bringing his exploding German balls back to this years Salvo Fair, after they proved such a hit last year. The balls were originally used in an old mill for crushing pigment. Amazingly as last years exhibitors found out during a friendly game of boules when the balls hit each other they explode as if a large percussion cap has gone of. The balls are one for £5 and three for £10, he has 200 pieces all together.

Historische Turen Schlosser Beschlage

Salvo Fair

Commemorative keystones at Salvo Fair

2010-06-14T12:18:00.006+01:00

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK
V & V Reclamation will bring six carved portland stone key stones to Salvo Fair 2010. Four of the stones have coats of arms, and two have profile carvings of the British nurses and humanitarians, Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell. They were removed from the facade of St Thomas's Hospital in 2004 and stand at approximately one metre tall. The commemorative stone is dated 1936 and is priced at £1,200 each.

V & V Reclamation

Salvo Fair

An end to stifling business growth

2010-06-14T10:48:00.003+01:00

London UK

Business Secretary Vince Cable today announced an action plan to “re-open Britain for business” and bring an end to the excessive regulation that is stifling business growth, especially of small businesses. The action plan will establish a new “challenge group” to come up with innovative approaches to achieving social and environmental goals in a non-regulatory way.

Vince Cable said, "The deluge of new regulations has been choking off enterprise for too long. We must move away from the view that the only way to solve problems is to regulate. The Government has wide-ranging social and ecological goals including protecting consumers and protecting the environment. This requires increased social responsibility on the part of businesses and individuals."

Department for Business Innovation & Skills

Organised thieves target England’s stately homes

2010-06-14T10:27:00.003+01:00

London, England
England’s stately homes are being targeted by organised gangs who are stealing important porcelain pieces. With at least 21 major cases in the past three years, and a further 15 attempted robberies according to a leading criminal expert Dick Ellis, former head of Scotland Yard’s art and antiques unit. Targets include Firle Place in Sussex, where porcelain worth £500,000 was seized last summer and Sutton Park, the home of Sir Reginald Sheffield—the father of Samantha Cameron, the prime minister’s wife. In most cases the criminals seem to know exactly what they are looking for and spend only a minutes in the house.

Dick Ellis said, "I have identified three gangs, who appear to be responsible for most of the 36 thefts and attempted break-ins. The first operates at night, removing sections of glass from windows, often with the use of a ladder (it may have been responsible for the Firle Place and Sutton Park losses). The second gang, which forces its way through a door or window, includes a very small person who is able to squeeze into narrow openings. The third targets country houses open to visitors, using very rapid forced entry. All three gangs are highly professional."

The Art Newspaper

Modern Design

2010-06-09T10:40:00.006+01:00

Gaze, Diss Norfolk
Gaze will be holding a modern design sale on Saturday 12 June at 10am.

Lot 6013: A teak and oak framed Danish lounge chair, estimated at £80-£120.

Lot 6018: An early to mid 20th Century laminated two tier trolley with red painted removable trays, estimated at £20-£50.

Lot: 6234: "D & B Lampbase" a Dumler & Breiden early 1970's Pop Art tall spring form lampbase, red with matte black and gold fabric textured panels, marked 560-50 23" high, estimated at £40-£70

Gaze

Extensive clearance auction

2010-06-09T10:16:00.003+01:00

Dublin, Ireland UK
Herman Wilkinson Auctioneers are holding an extensive clearance auction for The Passionate Fathers at their premises Mount Argus Monastry on the 15 June 2010 at 10.30am. Viewing will be held on Sunday 13 June from 3pm - 5pm and Monday 14 June 11am - 7pm

Items include Magnificent carved oak case 9' high lofty long case clock, Irish grandfather clock, maker Schriber Dublin, Victorian wall clock and other clocks, William IV Pembroke table, substantial Victorian sideboard, pair oak hall chairs, approx. 10 smokers elbow chairs, hall stands, Victorian 4 door and 2 door bookcases in mahogany and oak, Pine vestment cupboards, phenomenal 20' Victorian pitch pine vestment cabinet, dressing mirror, Edwardian oak dining table, 2 loose leaves, Capo de Monte group the Last supper, large and small religious statues, set embroidered wool stations, old religious oil paintings, 20' wide oil painting the Last supper, Victorian chaise longues and gents armchair, Georgian scroll end settee, church brasses including sets candlesticks, candelabra, crosses, etc, approx 15 x 8' & 10' pine refectory tables, 8' & 15' pine church benches and pews, priedieus, bentwood, fireside and elbow chairs, counter display cases, filing cabinets, trestle tables, plant stands, pine double side bookshelves, contents of 50 bedrooms including wardrobes, chests, etc, kitchen equipment including 4 burner gas range, stainless steel work tables, crockery, bookshelves, church furnishings, invalid hoist, hospital beds, colour T.V.s

Herman & Wilkinson

Reused house facade

2010-06-08T09:20:00.007+01:00

Pines Garden, near Dover UK
eSalvo reader Will Carleton (CEO of Photo Archive News) sent in this weeks reuse of the week: the facade of a London town house on the upper part of 73 Cheapside, demolished in the 1920s, which has been reused in the Pines Garden, just outside Dover, to be admired and provide supporting flower beds for the plants.

The caption on the commemorative plaque reads:

This handsome facade on an important city mansion which was erected in 1669 following the Great Fire in 1666, stood a few doors east of Queen Street and here it is said that Sir William Turner kept his mayorality 1668-9. It was occupied later by Mr. Thomas Regg, the bookseller. A view of this house drawn by T. H. Shepherd in about 1830 is illustrated in a number of books on the City of London.

The house was demolished in the 1920s. Since then the facade has been housed in various places and efforts to reconstruct it in the City of London and elsewhere have proved unsuccessful.

The elevation which was the upper part of 73 Cheapside was offered to the Trustees in 1975 who decided to lay it out in the Pines Garden rather than see the destruction of this fine facade.

Pines Gardens

Gardenvisit.com

It's an International affair at Salvo 2010

2010-06-07T11:06:00.011+01:00

Knebworth, Herts UK
Salvo Fair 2010 will truly be an international affair, with a selection of exhibitors from across Europe including Hungarian exhibitors Liviel Kft. They intend to bring samples of all their materials so fair visitors can understand the scope of their business.

Liviel was established in 1995, "soon after democracy was introduced to Hungary," said Steve Amyek its founder. Originally the business concentrated on buying and restoring antique furniture, but as demand grew and the world increasingly acknowledged its environmental problems the company adapted and began to make antique style furniture entirely from reclaimed materials.

"In our search for quality reclaimed wood, we realized the potential of dealing in all other types of building materials and as a result Liviel has been supplying and sourcing reclaimed building materials to the building, landscaping and private sectors for more than thirteen years," said Steve.

Above: A large entry door of a country home, painted in lovely blue.

Above: A restored small antique pine kitchen cabinet.

Above: Unusual small size stone trough.

Above: Red hand made brick, from the second part of the 19th century.

Antique Brick

Invite Your World

2010-06-07T10:44:00.007+01:00

Knebworth, Herts UK
Elizabeth Adams from Invite Your World will be exhibiting at this years Salvo Fair, following a successful fair last year. Invite Your World has a variety of material envelopes, cushions and handkerchiefs with personalised messages, and new products are always emerging.

Elizabeth said, "A childhood spent rifling through other peoples junk started a fascination for all things old and neglected. Lots of moving started a passion for packing everything up, paying special attention to things that must not get broken or lost. Creating little hidey-holes and secret messages, safe houses for memories and keepsakes."

Elizabeth is very aware of her green credentials and consequently all of the packaging is biodegradable and the products are made from end of the roll discarded fabric and printed in the UK by herself her Mum, Aunt and Cousin.

Invite Your World

Baron yields castle after 500 years

2010-06-04T12:43:00.004+01:00

Craighall Castle, Scotland UK
After 500 years the Rattray clan have sold Craighall Castle to Sassenach, a London investment banker for an undisclosed sum. He plans to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on the dilapidated pile and turn it into his own family home.

Craighall of Rattray on the outskirts of Blairgowrie, has been home to 20 generations of clan chiefs but the current laird, a descendant of William the Conqueror, has been forced to sell his title and the fortified mansion of Craighall of Rattray Castle, which has been occupied by his family since 1533. Lachlan said, "It needs a lot of work. I hope the new owners will be able to restore it to its former glory and retain some of its atmosphere. I am happy that it has gone to someone who can afford to look after it."

Scotsman

Builder died on demolition site from a blow to the head

2010-06-04T12:22:00.005+01:00

Poole UK
A builder working on a demolition job died after a lump of barn wall 2ft long hit him on the head. He was working with his son, Jamie, at Dunbury Farm House in Winterborne Houghton, when the tragedy happened in November 2008. Giving evidence at the Dorchester inquest, his son said, “I was standing on the rubble facing the wall drilling right to left. Me and my dad were chatting now and then. A big lump came off, I looked to see where it landed and saw my dad laying on the floor face up on the rubble."

Despite CPR carried out by workmen from the neighbouring site, and by paramedics when they arrived 20 minutes later, Mr Ford never regained consciousness and died at the scene. Jamie told the inquest he believed all safety equipment would be on site, but neither man was wearing a hard hat.

Daily Echo

Brian Murphy's presentation 'Specifying Reclaim & Reuse'

2010-06-04T12:07:00.001+01:00

Brian Murphy of National Green Specification has produced a publicly available slideshow of points for architects and others to consider when specifying reclaimed materials. This is the nearest thing we have seen to a reclamation checklist for professionals.

Reclaim & Reuse: Specification Issues (Rev 2)

Scribd

Green Spec

Nick Knowles on Original Features

2010-06-04T11:41:00.005+01:00

Nick Knowles presenter of Original Features on the Home Channel was helped by Kate Jerrold from Robert Mills in Bristol, Source Antiques, Rose Green Tiles & Reclamation and Bens Floors, among others. He explores a different home in each episode, from a Tudor cottage in Warwickshire and a Georgian townhouse in Bath to a 1970s duplex in Surrey, revealing that each has a story to tell.

Lovehome.co.uk

WRI launches Forest Legality site

2010-06-04T11:32:00.004+01:00

The World Resources Institute have launched a Forest Legality Alliance to support the private sector efforts and policies to reduce trade in illegally harvested wood. The Alliance is a global public-private initiative open to businesses, industry associations, financial institutions and civil society organizations with a stake in legal forest product supply chains.

Illegal logging is acknowledged as a major environmental, social and economic problem by both timber-producing and timber-consuming countries. Countries that are major importers of wood products have begun to address the problem of illegal logging and associated trade with a variety of laws and policies. The Alliance produces innovative practical tools to help forest product supply chains screen out illegal wood.

“Some companies are not aware of the need to ask questions about the wood they are buying or the consequences of letting illegal wood enter their supply chains,” said Craig Hanson, director of WRI’s People and Ecosystems Program. “The Alliance seeks to build confidence that imported wood and paper products are legal. Done right, trade supports environmental protection and the Alliance recognizes the role trade plays in protecting our world’s great forests.”

NEWS RELEASE: Global Alliance Launched to Curb Trade in Illegal Wood

Forest facts

Forest Legality Alliance

nolasalvage

2010-06-02T15:27:00.006+01:00

New Orleans, USA
Nolasalvage make wall art houses from old cypress and salvaged metal parts. The wall sculptures are inspired by New Orleans architecture and are made with salvaged wood, scrap metal and other found objects are used to represent a door and window. Each house is unique and the sizes vary from 5"-10" tall and 4"-6" wide.

The founder of nolasalvage said, "Part of loving New Orleans is loving its architecture and signature shotgun houses. Another part of my lifestyle is the abundance of debris, I keep finding interesting bits of metal and beautiful old wood that I don't want to throw away. These wall sculptures are a result of my love for art and junk!"

Etsy

Arthur Swallow launches two new fairs

2010-06-02T15:15:00.002+01:00

Arthur Swallow Fairs, organisers of the event at the Lincolnshire Showground, will launch two new fairs this year. They plan a monthly event at Donington Park and a specialist fair for restoration and architectural salvage at the Great Yorkshire Showground, near Harrogate.

Antiques Trade Gazette

Beautiful Bronzes

2010-06-02T14:44:00.002+01:00

Wallace Collection, London UK
Beautiful Renaissance and Baroque bronzes once graced every mantlepiece. Brian Sewell from the Evening Standard explains how we have the chance to rediscover a great forgotten art by visiting the Beauty and Power; Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the collection of Peter Marino which is currently at the Wallace Collection until July 25, daily 10am-5pm, admission free.

Evening Standard

Summers Place auction results

2010-06-02T11:34:00.010+01:00

Billingshurst, West Sussex UK
Summers Place held a live auction of garden statuary and fossil decoration on 25 May 2010 and a sealed bid on 28 May 2010. Below is a selection of the results;

Lot 21: A pair of Italian late 19th Century large (43in) carved white marble urns. Estimated price £5,000-8,000, price realised £15,500.

Lot 67: A pair of late 19th/early 20th century impressive wrought iron lamp standards, 10ins high. Reputedly removed from Windsor Great Park. Estimated at £7,000-10,000, price realised £20,900.

Lot 77: An unusual South German/North Italian carved fruit wood wall planter, 83in high, from the second half of the 19th century. Estimated at £5,000-7,000, price realised £23,300.

Lot 86: A Coalbrookdale Lily of the Valley pattern seat stamped CB Dale Co, circa 1870, 62in wide. This design, number 171578 was registered and patented at the Public Records Office on the 8th February 1864 by Coalbrookdale and was seat number 36 in their castings catalogue of 1875. Estimated at £5,000-8,000, price realised ££18500.

Lot 92: A restored early 20th century unusual Art Nouveau wrought iron bridge, 101in long. Estimated at £6,000-10,000, price realised £14300.

Lot 115: A pair of 20th century Cretan large and unusual terracotta storage jars. Estimated at £3,000-5,000, price realised £31,700.

(sealed bid) Lot 359: A modern painted wood and slate tiled “granary“ summerhouse by Peter Hill Jones, 370cms.; 146ins high by 290cm.; 114ins square. Estimated at £3,000-5,000, price realised £13,100.

(sealed bid) Lot 368: A modern painted wood and lead duck house, 142cm.; 56ins high by 82cm.; 32½ins wide. The floating duck house is based on an 18th century building reconstructed at Skansen, in Stockholm.

This floating duck house is identical to the one bought by the Tory M.P. Sir Peter Viggers for his constituency home in Hampshire in 2006. It subsequently achieved a degree of notoriety when it was discovered that the M.P. had tried to claim the purchase cost as part of his parliamentary expenses. Sir Peter‘s garden purchase has been endorsed by television property guru Kirstie Allsopp in a message on Twitter. In response to the revelations in the Daily Telegraph she wrote: “Wow...floating duck islands are a winner, they protect ducks from foxes, does this mean we can all have one now?“

Estimated at £1,800-2,500, price realised £4,070.

Summers Place live auction results

Reuse industry comes of age

2010-06-01T11:34:00.003+01:00

Raleigh, North Carolina USA

Reuse Alliance is holding a conference on October 18-20, 2010. The event is being organized by the Reuse Alliance, a national nonprofit association working to increase public awareness of reuse and strengthen the sector through networking, support and promotion. The first National Reuse Conference and Expo in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The event will feature experts from the reuse industry, including key note speaker Garth Johnson -- author of 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse. It will also offer a trade expo, intensive workshops, reuse tours, a reFashion Show, and film screenings.

ReuseConex

We Make London summer spectacular

2010-05-28T11:11:00.005+01:00

Chelsea, London UK

Viva la Craft Revolution! The ultimate comeback, its official...Craft is cool.

This summer on Saturday 26th June 2010 from 11am – 5pm We Make Summer Spectacular opens at Chelsea Town Hall, Kings Road, London. If your making the trip down South the Salvo Fair at Knebworth why not drop into We Make London with over 80 hand picked exhibitors to choose from and a wide range of eco-friendly hand-crafted gifts ideas including jewellery, fashion, graphic art, fine art, bath and body, toys, children's clothing.

We Make London was formed by a group of like-minded designer makers with a can do attitude, united by the lack of affordable places to sell their products. A year and half and five successful events later, We Make is now the showcase for the talents and crafts of the most exciting UK designers.

Organiser Mary McDermott says, “It’s time to take a refreshing break from high street monotony into the exceptional world of handmade, with beautiful items made with love by some very gifted makers. Individuals are finally being rewarded for having such talent and creativity”.

We Make London

Potty about pots

2010-05-27T13:19:00.012+01:00

Salvo Fair, Hertfordshire UK
Russell Tottman better known as 'Potman' within the trade will be at this years Salvo Fair. He has been busily sourcing interesting items to bring to the fair on one of his many buying trips to Turkey.

Russell frequently travels to Turkey on a voyage of discovery. "During each trip I typically source about 600 pots, wood, marble and metal work" said Russell. Over the past ten years Russell has been travelling to Turkey he has built up a strong nexus of friends and dealers. "I buy the majority of my stock from on guy, he has three sons who are also involved in the business," said Russell.

The close networks he has made proves invaluable especially as they search out items from all over Turkey, from towns to farms and small villages. "The travelling can be quite time consuming and costly as the price of gas is 2euros a litre," said Russell. Also during his stock trips to Turkey he buys rugs and cushion covers from a supplier close to the Grand Bazaar, Istanbul.

Pot prices range from £45 for a 50cm pot to £120 for a 75cm one. He has a pair of large white pots at £495 each, which he intends to bring to this years Salvo Fair if they haven't been snapped up before! He also has a selection of other antiques and salvaged items like marble sinks at £95 and an extremely rare Turkish Ottoman door which is three hundred years old and priced at £1,500.

Salvo Fair

Salvo Fair: Last minute advertising opportunities!

2010-05-27T12:12:00.003+01:00

Knebworth, Herts UK
We have been asked by a few people where they can advertise their businesses through us now that the Fair Guide has gone to print.

Here are a two options:

1. A Button on Salvo Fair homepage www.salvo-fair.com. A three month deal for June, July, August, this period last year saw 20,000 visitors to the Salvo Fair website.
Size: 172px by 143px (see House Directory button)
Cost: £100 + vat for three months.

2. Banner on the scaffold tower at Salvo Fair. Over 5,000 people attend the Salvo Fair, all with an interest in architectural antiques and salvage. There is a 25ft high, 10ft wide scoffold tower in the centre of the fair site, bedecked with flags and banners. We have space for more huge banners here. Please call Thornton on 020 8400 6222 to discuss costs and sizes.

If you have any further questions about the fair or last minute advertising contact Ruby on 01225 422 300.

Salvo Fair

William De Morgan tile exhibition

2010-05-26T13:14:00.004+01:00

Above: A 6in William De Morgan animal subject tile, priced at £1800 in Haslam & Whiteway's exhibition of the Catleugh collection.

Kensington, London UK
Kensington Church Street decorative arts dealer Haslam and Whiteway have landed the bulk of the William De Morgan tile collection of the late Jon Catleugh, expert and author of the seminal book, William De Morgan Tiles.

Haslam and Whiteway have over 300 of his DeMorgan tiles, from single examples to larger panels, and are devoting an exhibition to them at their gallery from June 9 - 30 2010. It will be accompanied by a 98-page catalogue.

Scrapped plasterboard no longer considered waste in Scotland

2010-05-26T12:11:00.003+01:00

[photo. edie]

Scotland UK
Rules that determine the legal definition of surplus building materials in Scotland have been tweaked so that plasterboard that ticks the right environmental boxes need no longer be considered waste.

SEPA, Scotland's environmental watchdog, now says that plasterboard that meets a certain standard, as laid out by the BSI PAS109:2008, it won't count as waste, cutting down on costs and paperwork when it comes to reprocessing it.

edie

Proposed prohibition on illegal timber

2010-05-26T11:55:00.005+01:00

The European Parliament’s environment committee have taken a major step towards stopping illegally sourced timber and wood products from being sold within the EU. The committee voted through new draft legislation, proposals hailed by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency as the toughest and most meaningful yet to combat the trade and help curb the prevalent deforestation.

If endorsed by the European Council in July, the legislation means EU companies would have to prove they are buying and selling only legally harvested timber and wood products, with member states having the right to investigate those suspected of breaking the law and to prosecute and impose strong penalties on the guilty.

The environment committee which is led by UK Green MEP Caroline Lucas said she, "recognises that this issue is also the responsibility of Europe as a major consuming region of illegally sourced timber and wood products. It’s up to the member states now to ensure illegal timber and wood products no longer continue to be sold as legal. They must support a prohibition and ensure strong measures come into force.”

Environment Investigation Agency

Four arrested over trading carbon credits

2010-05-26T11:47:00.003+01:00

London & Leicester UK
Four people were arrested in early morning raids on 20 May 2010 by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers investigating a £38 million suspected VAT fraud. The alleged fraud involved the trading 'carbon credits' which are emission allowances.

The fraudulent companies allegedly purchased carbon credits from overseas VAT free sources and then sold them on to businesses in the UK at a VAT inclusive price. The VAT charged by the fraudulent companies was never paid to HMRC.

News Distribution Service

Large crowds at Antique Garden Furniture Show USA

2010-05-26T11:23:00.006+01:00

Above: Village Braider, Plymouth, Mass.

New York USA
The three day Antique Garden Furniture Show sponsored by the New York Botanical Garden drew record crowds. Event organiser Catherine Sweeney Singer believes it is down to the new floor layout which according to her, "eliminated the stale look of rows of booths by bringing together three booths forming a wall of interesting garden objects, wall decorations and countless accessories."

Above: Barbara Israel Garden Antiques, Katonah, N.Y.

Exhibitors included Barbara Israel who's stand represented most parts of the world. Including a wonderful carved stone well head with wrought iron overthrow, English, circa 1930, that measured just over 70 inches high. The well head was 33 inches high, 31 inches wide and 21 inches inside diameter. Germany was represented by a stoneware figure representing the Applied Arts, circa 1900, 65 inches tall, wearing a classical robe with a sculptor's tool in the right hand and a palette in the left. Several benches were shown, including a rare cast iron example with a Moorish-style sunburst in the center flanked by plant motif, American, circa 1880, and measuring 46 inches wide, 39 inches high and 24 inches deep.

Also, this year the New York Botanical Garden is presenting "Emily Dickinson's Garden: The Poetry of Flowers," the annual spring exhibition in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, on view through June 13.

Above: Michael Trapp, West Cornwall, Conn.

Antiques and the arts online

Airline 'reuses plastic cutlery 30 times'

2010-05-26T11:06:00.002+01:00

Qantas, Australia's largest airline reuses plastic cutlery as many as 30 times before they are thrown away. The cutlery is collected at the end of journeys and sent to a cleaning facility before distributing them to a new set of passengers.

news.com.au

London funds building waste reuse centre

2010-05-26T10:41:00.003+01:00

The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) are investing £0.5m into a social enterprise that will collect unwanted construction materials from building sites and sell them on to the public and trade. The project is to be led by BioRegional who are based in Croydon.

The centre will not be based on selling high value items instead it will focus on saving building materials that would otherwise find their way to landfill sites or, at best, be crushed and re-used as aggregates. The centre will also include surplus materials which have come from building sites but never used.

James Cleverly, chair of the London Waste and Recycling Board said: "Last year London created a massive 9.7million tonnes of construction and demolition waste. Around half of this was recycled but there is still much more we need to do to tackle the rest which largely ends up dumped in landfill sites. This innovative project ticks all our boxes - reusing waste, cutting emissions and bringing jobs and real social benefits to the capital."

Construction companies wanting to donate their waste a worthy cause can contact the centre at jonathan.essex@bioregional.com

edie

Top honours for green hotel room

2010-05-25T12:44:00.003+01:00

Above: Hospitality Design Expo, visitors look around the winning green hotel room, which was praised for its eco-friendly features.

Las Vegas, USA
The winning green hotel room was displayed at the Hospitality Design Expo. Among its many green features is a giant tank which contains water that is heated by the sun's heat and released when the shower is turned on and salvaged wooden doors are used as tables.

Las Vegas News

Fireplaces stolen to order

2010-05-25T12:12:00.004+01:00

Above: One of the stolen Georgian fireplaces [photo. BBC NEWS]

Edinburgh UK
According to Police two city fireplaces have been stolen to order. The incident happened between 7pm on Thursday 13 May and 7.30pm on Friday 14 May in Edinburgh, the fireplaces where stolen from a property which is currently under renovation.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said, "Given the value and style of these items, they were most likely stolen to order and we are eager to speak to anyone who can assist with our inquiries. The size and weight of the fireplaces would require a large car or van to transport them. If anyone has seen any such vehicles in the area or witnessed anything else suspicious, they should contact police immediately."

BBC NEWS

3 lions for Salvo Fair

2010-05-25T10:30:00.004+01:00

Hertfordshire, UK
We are asking everyone coming to Salvo Fair 2010 to join in with World Cup spirit. We would like three statues of lions to sit at the entrance, so if you have a lion laying about your yard let us know! Call Ruby on 01225 422300.

Salvo Fair 2010

Chelsea Flower Show 2010: Prisoners and homeless people create biggest garden ever

2010-05-25T10:07:00.003+01:00

Chelsea, London UK
Prisoners and homeless people have designed and constructed the largest garden ever built at Chelsea Flower Show. The 6,000 square foot garden is constructed from recycled bottles, old washing machines and donated trees. Up to 50 homelessness charities have taken part, with more than 75 people working on the site at a time. All have received vocational training in woodwork, planting and other horticultural skills that they can use to get employment in the future.

Telegraph

How to spend it

2010-05-24T10:21:00.005+01:00

The Financial Times magazine, How To Spend It listed Salvo Fair as one of the places where you should 'spend it'. It said, 'Rich pickings for salvage lovers. Tracking down that ideal Victorian fireplace or period feature for the home often means flogging halfway across Britain to a country backwater. Even then there is no guarantee that you will find what you're looking for. But over the weekend of June 26-27, the Salvo Fair, an outdoor exhibition of architectural salvage, garden antiques and reclaimed building materials, takes place in the deer park of Knebworth House in Hertfordshire. . .'

Full article at How To Spend It

Architectural Heritage at TATE Britain & The Chelsea Flower Show

2010-05-24T09:50:00.004+01:00

The past few months have been extremely busy for Architectural Heritage. The successful Christies sale was quickly followed by the installation at Tate Britain of pieces as commissioned by the artist Pablo Bronstein for the Clore Garden. Architectural Heritage will also be exhibiting at Chelsea Flower Show 25-29 May 2010.

Over the past year Architectural Heritage have carried out a number of fireplace installations in both America and England.

Architectural Heritage

Gaze Vintage Interiors & Textiles

2010-05-19T16:15:00.003+01:00

Above: A 19th Century four fold screen, the panels painted in oils depicting galleons at war, estimated at £450-£675.

Diss, Norfolk UK
Gaze auctioneers are holding an auction of vintage interiors and textiles on Saturday 22 May 2010, starting at 10am.

Gaze

Reuse from Redhills Community Primary School

2010-05-19T10:58:00.002+01:00

Exeter, Devon UK
Children of Redhills Community Primary School have just put the finishing touches to their reuse plastic bottle greenhouse. The last bottles were wired into place ready for the plants to arrive.

Redhills School

2010-05-19T10:32:00.001+01:00

Deconstruction vs Demolition

2010-05-19T10:09:00.003+01:00

My Green Home Project explains that deconstruction is the way to go and shows you how to take your house apart gently. You may say that deconstruction is 'green demolition' but the actual definition stated by My Green House Project is 'a process by which a house is taken apart - either wholly or partially - with the intention of salvaging all or part of the building materials.'

According to 3R Demolition, deconstruction specialists, 'The evolution of both recycling and the environment regulations have created a new vogue word, "deconstruction". Deconstruction has revolutionized the demolition industry. This new trend is making conventional demolition a thing of the past - it's no longer just a traditional material removal and disposal industry. Rather, it has progressed to a highly sophisticated, environmentally friendly deconstruction, recycle and salvage opportunity.'

My Green Home Project continues to discuss why we should deconstruct, the tools and techniques to use for deconstruction, giving actual examples of projects.

Don't Demolish - Deconstruct!

My Green Home Project

Reuse of reclaimed steel beams

2010-05-19T09:54:00.005+01:00

Modern Steel Construction magazine containing all the latest news in the steel construction world, including features on reusing salvaged steel and the 2010 Ideas Awards which celebrates innovative design in structural steel.

MSC

New downtown reuse district

2010-05-18T09:17:00.003+01:00

New Orleans, USA
ReFest Saturday launches new reuse district downtown in New Orleans. The district is made up of a collective of more than 20 existing businesses and nonprofit organisations in the Bywater/Marigny and St. Claude/St. Roch neighbourhoods. The ReUse District includes salvage depots such as The Green Project, the Habitat For Humanity ReStore and the Preservation Resource Center’s salvage store. Retail and service shops trading in used items, such as Bywater’s Bargain Center, Beth’s Books and Tete’s Tire Repair Shop, and art galleries that feature works made of reused items, such as New Orleans icon Dr. Bob’s Chartres Street studio.

To encourage people to the new district there will be a free one-day festival promoting creative reuse on Saturday 22 May from 10am to 2am, with workshops, music, a film screening and a pub crawl.

Louisiana Festivals

iida 2010 green heart awards

2010-05-17T10:34:00.003+01:00

iida 2010 design awards are looking for green hearted designers who are aware of the environment. The goal of the project is to 'open up possibilities for sustainable life through design'.

The three categories are; green design for humans - life style design which helps to realise ways to consider the environment in daily life such as home appliances, furniture and stationary. Green design for the city - innovative and effective public design which suggests the possibility of an eco-friendly city through architecture, interior design and public areas. Green design for communication - design taking lead in social communication for the diffusion of green design and green life stsyle such as posters, advertisement and networking. Winners will get to display their designs at the Incheon International Design Fair, an opportunity to present their work to companies based in incheon and $10,000.

designboom

The construction industry and the new coalition according to Building website

2010-05-14T14:41:00.008+01:00

The Building website has published its views on how the new coalition government will effect the construction industry. It highlights the eight key policy areas of housing, education, health, greening existing housing, nuclear, renewable energy, private sector development and transport and what the likely consequences of a Lib-Con (some might say Con-Dem) coalition will be.

Graham Kean, head of public at EC Harris, says whichever deal was struck between the parties, one thing was certain: “There is going to be a time of policy review that will result in many capital projects being delayed for a few months until priorities are reset.”

Building

Thomas Woodham-Smith on Masterpiece London

2010-05-14T11:30:00.004+01:00

Above: Thomas Woodham-Smith -- from the delivery van to the boardroom [pict. The Art Newspaper]

London, UK
The Art Newspaper interviews Thomas Woodham-Smith about Masterpiece London, which will take place opposite the Royal Hospital Chelsea at the prestigious location of the former Chelsea Barracks, Chelsea Bridge Road.

Thomas Woodham-Smith is the managing director of the London and New York-based antique furniture dealer Mallett and chairman of Masterpiece London, a new fair which aims to re-establish London as a centre for antiques, design and decorative arts. The interdisciplinary fair, which will bring together design, cars, modern and antique jewellery, modern sculpture and antiquities launches this summer 24-29 June, so when you have finished browsing at Masterpiece you can head to Salvo Fair from 25-27 June, only 25miles north of central London.

The Art Newspaper

Masterpiece London

Paul Saunders selling a dismantled chapel on ebay

2010-05-14T10:42:00.006+01:00

Devizes, United Kingdom
Paul Saunders has dismantled a 1868 church into 10,000 piece and is now selling the flat-pack on eBay for £15,000. The chapel of rest which was 6.5m tall by 4.6m wide and 6.6m long, has stood in the cemetery since it was built. The new owner will have to rebuild the church from scratch but all the pieces are there including pews, 8,000 bricks, lectern, floor tiles, nine bath stone archways and 2,000 roof tiles.

eBay

Football World Cup at Salvo Fair 2010

2010-05-12T16:12:00.003+01:00

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK - FOLLOWERS of the World Cup may be interested to know which matches will be played during the forthcoming Salvo Fair. In 2006 a number of matches could be seen during the fair on the stands of various exhibitors.

Wed 23 June (set-up day)
USA v Algeria 1500hrs
Slovenia v England 1500hrs
Australia v Serbia 1930hrs
Ghana v Germany 1930hrs

Thurs 24 June (set-up day)
Paraguay v New Zealand 1500hrs
Slovakia v Italy 1500hrs
Cameroon v Holland 1930hrs
Denmark v Japan 1930hrs

Fri 25 June (Trade Day)
Korea v Cote d'Ivoire 1500hrs
Portugal v Brazil 1500 hrs
Chile v Spain 1930hrs
Switzerland v Honduras 1930hrs

Sat 26 June (Public Day)
S Africa, Uruguay, France or Mexico v Argentina, Korea, Greece or Nigeria 1500hrs
England, Algeria, Slovenia or USA v Germany, Serbia, Ghana or Australia 1930hrs

Sun 27 June (Public Day)
S Africa, Uruguay, France or Mexico v Argentina, Korea, Greece or Nigeria 1500hrs
England, Algeria, Slovenia or USA v Germany, Serbia, Ghana or Australia 1930hrs

For the stats enthusiasts there is a one in sixteen chance that England may be playing Germany on the Saturday evening, and a one in four chance England may play another country. There is a one in two chance that England will play on Saturday or Sunday evening. Come on ENGLAND, reclaim the World Cup!!!

FIFA World Cup calendar

The Hawkins Zoomorphic Collection at Harris Lindsay

2010-05-12T15:18:00.005+01:00

Above: Rare diorama of a squirrel boxing match. English circa 1870

London, UK
Harris Lindsay of 67 Jermyn Street, London will be hosting the Hawkins Zoomorphic Collection, an 'Exhibition of the Rare and Exotic'. The collection as formed over a period of more than forty years by two generations of one family. John Hawkins began to collect zoomorphic objects on his arrival in Australia in 1968 and his daughter, Emma continued with the opening of her iconic shop in Westbourne Grove in 1990. Nearly every zoomorphic object of importance that has appeared on the market over this period has been purchased by the family and is now to be displayed for sale from 2 June - 26 June 2010, 10am - 6pm.

Above: Rare pair of hippopotamus teeth. Silver mounted in the form of candelsticks, Sheffield, 1911.

Harris Linsay

Positive attitude at Ronsons

2010-05-12T14:46:00.008+01:00

Above: A large timber framed Pagoda, arched gothic style windows and doorway, zinc and copper roof, sold for £6,800 to a local private (est £5k-£8k)

Above: A pair of iron gates from Twickenham rugby ground by T W Palmer sold for £1,100 (est £1k-£2k), one of two pairs which sold at the sale.

Sandhurst, Gloucestershire UK - THE auction sale at Ronson Reclaim by Brightwells on 6th May 2010 resulted in around half the lots being sold. There was a good turnout of bidders on the day and the top lot was a reclaimed garden pagoda which sold locally for £6,800, followed by a Portland stone fountain basin which sold for £2,000 to the USA. Ron Jones, owner and founder of Ronsons, said that the sale was a success and he definitely wanted do another next year.

"It went well," he said, "we pitched the reserves on our own lots quite low which resulted in some good sales. But some lots put in by the trade had too high a reserve, and so did not sell. Ronsons was keen to move stock. It is about time to start knocking the prices down. This is about moving money basically. My catchphrase for 2011 is that you lose on the swings and gain on the roundabout. You have to move, not stagnate."

"Regarding the future, Ronsons will be going back to its roots by moving away from the high end architectural and garden ornament and back to concentrating on basic reclaimed building materials at our Sandhurst site. Darren (Ron Jones son and business partner) will continue trading at the top end with Lichen Garden Antiques at his Tetbury showroom."

Asked whether the sale date coinciding with polling day had an impact on the auction, Mr. Jones was cryptic. "I specifically chose the date of the election," he said, "which meant that we had a lot of tourists at our sale."

Ronson Auction Catalogue & Results
Ronson Reclaim
Lichen Garden Antiques

Deconstruction courses in USA

2010-05-12T14:27:00.003+01:00

USA
The second round of NSP funding is being distributed in the US, cities have an opportunity to capitalise on both the long and short-term benefits of the program. In addition to the rehabilitation of low-income housing, the funds can be used for demolition or, preferably, deconstruction. The Reuse People explain that deconstruction can be beneficial as abandoned and dilapidated houses can be removed and salvaged materials can be used in the renovation of existing housing.

Most city officials understand that NSP funding will run out in two more years and are searching for ways to leverage the remaining monies to achieve long-term benefits. TRP’s deconstruction training program, “An Introduction to Deconstruction,” offers cities an way to train unemployed and underemployed workers in skills applicable to many of the construction trades. TPR also offers a shorter deconstruction training course for local contractors which includes skills such as de-nailing lumber, how to remove building components while protecting and preserving their reuse value.

The Reuse People

Italy adopts USA's LEED scheme

2010-05-12T14:07:00.002+01:00

Italy
The GBC Italia and the US Green Building Council have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a partnership between the two organisations. Italy are the first European country to adopt the USA's LEED green building standards rating scheme.

President of GBC Italia, Mario Zoccatelli said, "LEED has been very successful in the US in transforming the approach to building design, construction and operation. After reviewing all of the existing green building tools out there, we ultimately chose LEED because of USGBC's history of innovation and its flexible approach."

edie

Human hair to tackle oil spill

2010-05-12T13:34:00.002+01:00

Human hair and fur stuffed in tights is the new contraption to tackle the oil spewing from BP's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico. Hair possesses a unique characteristic which means that oil clings to the many tiny scales on each strand.

"Each follicle [strand] of hair has an enormous amount of surface area. It's not soaking up the oil, it's not blowing up like a sponge - the oil is coating the outside," says Lisa Gautier, founder of the ecological charity Matter of Trust, which runs an international Hair for Oil Spills programme to collect off-cuts from hair salons and pet groomers, sheep farmers and individuals.

The technique has been tested and approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It was used in past disasters, such as 2007's Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay and in the Philippines in 2006.

BBC NEWS

Landmark Liverpool church is flattened

2010-05-12T12:31:00.003+01:00

Liverpool UK
The St John and St James Edwardian church in Liverpool was demolished at the end of April. Allegedly a victim of a deal struck between the Diocese of Liverpool and a property developer. Prior to demolition the the furnishings and fittings of the church were stripped out and sold at auction. The site is to be developed in to 16 dwellings. The leader of the local council said that the recent clearance of Liverpool's landmarks for the Pathfinder scheme had 'ripped the heart out of local communities'.

Save Britain's Heritage

Save Bootle's Heritage

Bidder non grata

2010-05-12T11:10:00.002+01:00

Internet entrepreneur Halsey Minor plans to auction off his art collection at Phillips de Pury & Co. in New York next week for at least $21 million, but he does not plan to head to any of the larger auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's to make new purchases as he is 'bidder non grata' at these two auction houses.

The term 'no bid' is is used to describe collectors or dealers who, for financial or legal reasons aren't allowed to register to bid at auction. Mr. Minor is bidder non grata at Sotheby's and Christie's because, auction executives at those houses say, he refused to pay his art-buying bills at Sotheby's and backed out of a deal to sell other pieces at Christie's.

The Wall Street Journal

Masco sponsors 'Lions of Bath'

2010-05-12T10:51:00.005+01:00

Above: Artist Jacqui Harrison with lion “Frank”, set to be part of this summer’s “Lions of Bath” project. [pict. Devon 24]

Bath UK
Jacqui Harrison is one of 100 artists who have been commissioned to decorate a life-size lion sculpture for the 'Lions of Bath' project. The fiberglass lions are each sponsored by a local business, Ms Harrison's lion affectionately named 'Frank' is sponsored by Masco. The lions will go on display around the city from the end of May until mid-September, when they will be auctioned off for charity.

Devon

Letter about eBay from an ATG reader

2010-05-11T12:42:00.004+01:00

Antique Trades Gazette, 15 May 2010

The Antique Trade Gazette has recently printed an interesting letter from one of its readers;

'SIR- I'd like to add a further tale of caution to the recent 'buying on eBay' letters.

Some time ago I spotted a piece listed on eBay which was of potential interest to me. I readied myself for a last-minute bidding frenzy but then I noticed the self-same piece coming up at a provincial English auction room. The eBay listing photograph was the same one as presented on the auction house site and the piece was unique enough to make this more than a coincidence.

I contacted the eBay seller and he was quite open about the face that he didn't actually own the object he was trying to sell. He had downloaded the auction house image and put it on eBay. If he got a good eBay price he would bid at the auction up to a level giving him profit. If he couldn't achieve a profit the eBay listing would be cancelled because the piece had been 'damaged' or 'stolen'. . . Is this legal? - if not it's certainly immoral.

Bob Mills'

ATG

Looking for the birds

2010-05-11T12:29:00.005+01:00

Salvo Fair, Hertfordshire UK
At this years Salvo Fair look out for Guy Trench's latest reuse design. He has been making lamps from interesting old objects found at markets for many years, mainly using sports and hunting memorabilia. Taking reuse to another level, a granite base incorporating old binoculars has been teamed with a parchment paper lampshade covered in the feathers of guinea fowl, partridge, and pheasant. The feathers are salvaged by a business in Norfolk and handmade into lampshades. There are six different sizes ranging from wall sconce at £35 to large 20 inch shade at £195, although shades can be made to order in any size.

Salvo Fair

Antiques by Design

Chair belonging to assassinated Prime Minister

2010-05-06T15:45:00.003+01:00

London, UK
A chair in which Britain's only assassinated Prime Minister lay dying is to be sold at a London antiques fair next month. Spenser Perceval collapsed into the carved mahogany Winsor armchair situated in the House of Commons after being shot on 11 May 1812 by John Bellingham, a failed merchant. It followed a dreadful 221 days in power amidst severe economic depression.

The George II chair, made in the 1740s, is being sold for £95,000 by 18th century English furniture specialists Apter-Fredericks. It will be shown at the Masterpiece Fair at the former Chelsea Barracks site in London from 24 to 29 June.

Telegraph

Decon '11 Radio Interview

2010-05-05T12:33:00.001+01:00

Decon '11 Radio Interview

Listen to this radio interview (follow link below) about Decon '11 on Connecticut's Cox Radio. Bob Falk (BMRA president), Sherrill Baldwin (CT DEP), and Lil Snyder (City of New Haven) all came together to discuss the next May's Decon '11 conference.

Building Materials Reuse Association

How can I recycle this looks at the environmental policies across the parties

2010-05-05T11:56:00.002+01:00

The website 'How can I recycle this' outlines the environmental policies across the parties;

Conservatives
* We will reduce carbon emissions in line with our international commitments.
* We will promote small- and large-scale low carbon energy production, including nuclear, wind, clean coal and biogas.
* We will safeguard our energy security by ensuring there is sufficient spare capacity in the energy system.
* We will safeguard our energy security by ensuring there is sufficient spare capacity in the energy system.
* We will protect and improve the UK’s natural environment, and pioneer new schemes to improve conservation.
* We will push for reform of the Common Agricultural and Fisheries Policies to promote sustainable farming and fishing. We will promote high animal welfare standards and ensure that government procures locally-produced food wherever possible.
* We will work towards a zero-waste society via a Responsibility Deal on waste – a voluntary arrangement among producers to cut back on the production of waste and improve its disposal.

Green Party
* Use the £45 billion investment plan to kick-start a green industrial revolution so that low and zero-carbon sectors of the economy are the new platform for prosperity.
* Transform the energy production landscape by supporting renewable sources, including wind and micro-solar generation.
* A massive investment in renewable sources to support development of both large-scale wind and tidal generation and domestic micro-generation – together these measures would create 80,000 jobs in the first year.
* Reduce emissions from aviation by ending the £10 billion subsidy of the aviation industry.
* Retrofit homes, schools and hospitals with energy efficiency measures.
* Reduce waste by making waste reduction, re-use and recycling easier.
* Improve public transport and rail to cut emissions from vehicles.

Labour
* Achieve around 40 per cent low-carbon electricity by 2020 and create 400,000 new green jobs by 2015.
* Make greener living easier and fairer through ‘pay as you save’ home energy insulation, energy-bill discounts for pensioners and requiring landlords to properly insulate rented homes.
* Move towards a ‘zero waste’ Britain, banning recyclable and biodegradable materials from landfill.
* Link together new protected areas of habitat; maintain the Green Belt; increase forest and woodland areas.
* Ensure fairness for food producers through EU reform and a Supermarkets Ombudsman; and support post offices, shops and pubs in rural communities.

Liberal Democrats
* We will require energy companies to simplify the complicated tangle of different tariffs, requiring them to charge families less for a basic amount of energy used, to encourage responsible use.
* We will prioritise achieving a global agreement providing leadership for an international framework that will enable each country to manage a transition to a low-carbon economy.
* We will also introduce a fair social tariff system for disadvantaged families.
* We will immediately raise the requirements of Building Regulations to ensure that all new homes are energy efficient and use ‘Green Loans’ to encourage people to invest in home energy efficiency and micro-renewables.
* We will help developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
* We oppose construction of further nuclear power stations.
* We will invest now in the green technologies of the future delivering hundreds of thousands of new and better jobs in the years to come.
* We will drive a massive programme of investment in renewable energy sources such as wind, wave and solar. We will also transform the National Grid into a smart decentralised grid which will respond dynamically to the changing patterns of energy demand.

How can I recycle this?

Henry VIII's 12ft-tall wine fountain is re-created

2010-05-05T11:41:00.003+01:00

Hampton Court Palace was used by King Henry VIII as his pleasure palace [photo. BBC]

The working replica was created after the remains of a 16th Century fountain used by King Henry VIII were found during an archaeological dig at Hampton Court Palace. The 13ft (4m) fountain, made of timber, lead, bronze and gold leaf, stands on the site of the excavated fountain. The replica's design was based on the Field of the Cloth of Gold painting displayed at the palace. It shows Henry's meeting with Francis I at Guines near Calais in June 1520, when Henry also erected a a temporary 'palace' made from canvas.

According to historical documents, one French guest observed that the fountains 'continually spouted white wine and claret. The replica can be found in the palace's large courtyard and will run with red and white wine at weekends and on bank holidays, costing £3.50 a glass, carrying on the tradition started by Henry VIII.

The fully working recreation of Henry VIII's Tudor Wine Fountain was carefully constructed from authentic materials including timber, bronze and gold leaf. [photo. Daily Mail]

Times Online

Garden Sculpture & Architectural Ornaments

2010-05-05T10:35:00.004+01:00

Amsterdam
Sotheby's are holding a garden sculpture and architectural ornament sale, made up of the collection of Piet Jonker. Piet Jonker gained international acclaim specialising in historic building materials such as mantelpieces, fountains, wall tiles and other decorations like sundials, garden vases, benches and tables and sculptures.

The auction will have 350 high quality lots, selected personally by Piet Jonker and Sotheby's specialists. Highlights consist of tw Rococo marble mantelpieces, designed in the 18th century by the famous architect Johan Peter van Baurscheidt do Jonge (1699-1768). The masterpieces come from the Antwerp royal palace, where they functioned as welcoming sculptural works for guests of the royal family.

Lot 204: A carved Arrabescato marble fireplace, by Johan Peter Van Baurscheit the younger (1699 - 1768) for the city palace in Antwerp, Belgium Rococo, Mid 18th century, estimated at 30,000 - 50,000 euros.

Lot 315: A pair of carved marble Venetian lions submounting Rosso Verona columns 19th century, Estimated at 10,000 - 15,000 euros.

Sotheby's

Unica Fine Art Expo

2010-05-05T09:53:00.004+01:00

Modena, Italy
Unica Fine Art Expo held the 24th Modenantiquaria, a fine art fair which includes garden statuary and many architectural features. The next fair is 19-27 February 2011.

Unica Fine Art Expo

Chinese farmer makes home made robots

2010-05-04T12:59:00.004+01:00

China
Chinese farmer Wu Yulu has been creating robots to help humans for a number of years. Today, his collection has grown to 47 with far more advanced capabilities than his pioneer days. The robots are made from scrap materials such as wires and screws, and are able to pour tea, offer smokers a light and paint pictures. Wu Yulu and his robots will be appearing at the forthcoming Shanghai World Expo, which will begin in May and run until October 2010.

Above: A selection of Wu Yulu robots.

Design Boom

UK 2010 upcoming elections

2010-05-03T19:16:00.010+01:00

For the forthcoming election Salvo requested people to ask their parliamentary candidates about their policies on reuse. We also asked dealers for their opinions on who to vote for.

Two people asked the following question of Lib Dem, Labour, Green and Conservative parliamentary candidates in the Westminster North and Canterbury constituencies:

Please tell me your views or your party's policies on encouraging the reuse of building materials. There has been much emphasis on recycling but reuse would both reduce the increasing amounts sent to landfill and help reduce global warming. Reuse of an old brick for example would mean saving the energy needed to make a new one in its place. The cost saving in monetary terms and to the environment should make it a policy priority for any future government. Every year we continue to throw away huge amounts of reusable building materials - just look in any skip! Looking forward to hearing your comments.

No Green party candidate replied.

The following replies were received from Westminster's Lib Dem, Tory and Labour parliamentary candidates, and from Canterbury's Labour and Tory candidate, which includes an interesting link to a speech about reuse given by the Tories in January 2010.

Reply from Lib Dem candidate (Westminster)
It was extremely informative to learn some of the realities of the brick trade and as someone who loves the idea of re-use and reclamation (we did our house up when we moved into Westminster a few years ago and used as many reclaimed materials as possible) I was fairly horrifed. If elected I promise to look into the situation further and do what I can do address the senseless waste.

Reply from Tory candidate (Westminster)
As you rightly point out, Britain is struggling to cope with mountains of waste. We will introduce a new approach, one which minimises waste and promotes recycling. A Conservative government will introduce a Responsibility Deal on waste which is a voluntary arrangement among producers to cut back on the production of waste and improve its disposal. We will also put a floor under landfill tax until 2020 to give businesses long term certainty to invest in new forms of waste disposal and we will encourage councils to adopt a scheme which gives incentives to families that recycle. It is hoped these two measures will mean it will make economic sense for businesses to reuse building waste. The environment is central to the modern Conservative Party's agenda and Joanne also recognises its importance.

Reply from Tory candidate (Canterbury)
Thank you for your email which was forwarded by the Conservative Association office asking about my views on recycling. As a keen recycler, and once the Parliamentary advisor to the BSMA (British Secondary Metals Association, now BMRA) I share your concern about the amount of building materials sent to landfill. Small businesses who find it difficult to pay for a waste licence tend to be better at conserving materials – or selling them on through specialist recyclers/reclamation companies. You will not find much copper, re-sellable metals or reclaimable bricks, for example, on waste sites, as the builders concerned appreciate their second hand value. Old bricks, like Kent Reds or traditional London stocks, are currently double the price of new ones, which encourages recycling. I do believe that we could do more, however, to reuse materials such as timber and modern bricks. Part of the problem with reclaiming bricks is that modern mortar clings to them so they tend to break up when removed, as the bricks are softer than the mortar. The bricks are therefore only really suitable for hardcore. My colleague, Nick Herbert, has spoken about this issue, and his speech is on the Conservative website: Nick Herbert's speech

Reply from Labour candidate (Westminster)
Re-use and recycling is a very important issue, and there is no reason, subject to basic safety considerations, why this should not include building materials. Britain is subject to a Landfill reduction tax liability if targets for cutting the use of landfill, so there are powerful incentives to cut these methods of disposal already. There is a growing network of both advice and information about recycling (The Association for Environmentally Conscious Building is one) and reclamation centres being set up. Much of the responsibility for driving this agenda lies at the level of local government, which in turn has incentives built in through something called 'Local area agreements', in which local councils agree improvements with central government in exchange for financial support. There should, for example, be a way of recycling materials left as a result of home improvements and small building projects, without this having to place too much responsibility on the individual. I hope that this is helpful.

Reply from Labour candidate (Canterbury)
This is an excellent point. When I was talking to some building companies recently they made me aware that the new standards for heat retention etc made reuse of some materials not possible but argued like you that for some carbon neutral materials it was more a matter of recycling so that the materials were available in the right places. They must also be acceptable to home buyers. This last point is in regard to new owners wanting the brick in their houses to match etc. so i guess the emphasis must be on repairs rather than new builds.

The comments below were from people in the architectural salvage trade.

Comment from a dealer (The Cotswold constituency)
I fear writing anything without considerable editing for fear of slander, libel, blairphemy (denigration of TB and his wife, Jaws - I wouldn't mind a butchers at their expenses, don't suppose they're available under the f.o.i. act?). As for another dose of Brown. No way. He got us into this mess as chancellor with the expansion of credit and lack of bank regulation. Go ahead lads, lend as much as you like to whoever you like. Can only be good for the country 'cos the more they spend the more they pay in taxes and while we're at it, sell 'em more insurance, I'll tax 'em 5% on that as well. Then with all this extra tax revenue I'll spend more on employing civl servants and quangos and keep unemployment low 'cos everyone I employ will have to pay tax and so I'll get even more tax to waste er sorry spend until one day we all disappear up our own a********. Oh damn, too late, it looks as though we have done. If the worst happens and Gordon gets back in (no, no it's not possible, surely?) then you can bet that brown noser, twice disgraced Mandelson will be the unelected PM of this country within the year. At that point I leave. Not that I'm a great Thatcher lover either. Her vision of everyone enjoying more leisure and full employment being in the financial and
service sector was idiotic.OK she walloped the unions but that was about it. A country has to have manufacturing. You have to add real value. Take a bit of metal for 1p, bash it into a widget and flog it for 5p. That's the way forward. Thatcher did for manufacturing and look at us now. All those small businesses gone. Everything made in China. Financial services are based on fresh air well actually foul air. Banks talk about their products. Their products!!! A product is a widget not an effing insurance policy you don't need. Ted Heath was a traitor. Nuff said. And how did Callaghan get all those farms and Neil Kinnock and family all those unelected jobs in the EU. Jobs for the boys. Behind every failed politician is a nagging greedy spouse/partner what have you. And ploliticians look after their own. There's some recent story about a former civil servant chief responsible
for helicopter procurement now being ceo of an overseas helicopter mfr who has just got the contract for our new machines. Funny? Is that a bad smell in the State of Denmark (read Westminster). They're all at it - pigs with snouts in troughs. Looking after their own. And as for local councils paying their chief execs, thousands a week. What do they know about anything. It's easy spending the dosh, it's making it that's difficult. A council doesn't have to work hard to make any money.It is given it and still the tossers make a balls of spending it, always asking for more. Live within your means, I say. Wish I could, I also say! When they talk of cuts, they always slash the sharp end - the road diggers, the nurses, the firemen it's never the chiefs or the office wallahs. Oh no. One glimmer of hope is that they've taxed evryone so much know that any further attempts will result in declining revenues. A couple of garage mates are already reporting lower sales of fuel. But that won't put 'em off. They are so thick and stupid they won't notice that all the tax payers have left until it's too late. We pay more and we get less.
P.S. I actually think we need people like the The Taxpayer's Alliance to open our eyes to the theft that is going on.

Comment from a dealer (Stratford-on-Avon constituency)
I do not have time to think about all this, but I agree with much of what the dealer above (The Cotswolds) wrote. Grocer Heath was guilty of High Treason and should have been hanged but chose burial at sea when he died naturally; am sure this was to frustrate people like me who wished to dance on the wretch's grave. So much control and sovereignty has been given to the anti-democratic E.U. that the U.K. Independence Party offers the only hope: get out of it before their police state takes over completely! If UKIP continues to make progress, the other parties will have to offer a genuine referendum at some point. God speed that day!

Comment from a dealer (Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency)
Nick Griffin reuses reclaimed bricks. Vote BNP

How should I vote? - a decision tree to help you decide. Surprisingly this worked for two people I know!
Daily Telegraph : How Should I Vote?

Salvo Fair in Period Living magazine

2010-04-29T09:45:00.009+01:00

Period Living's June issue includes a three page round up of last year's Salvo Fair by Caroline Wheater, with comments from Peter Watson of Cox's Yard and Angela Rose, who sells vintage lace, quilts and blankets. This year's fair is on Friday 25 June to Sunday 27 June.

Salvo Fair website

Concept demolition robots

2010-04-28T14:49:00.004+01:00

This conceptual Cynomy remote controlled demolition robot is not available yet but could be soon. We are looking forward to seeing the Dismantling Cyborg some day. Electric motors run its wheels, with the ability to move in opposite directions for easy maneuvering in tight spaces.

Treehunter Magazine

Kamelot salvage auction results

2010-04-28T13:34:00.005+01:00

Philadelphia, USA
Kamelot Auctions in the US held their annual architectural salvage auction last Saturday (24 April 2010) consisting of 757 lots.

Lot 10: A lifesize marble garden statue of a young woman watering flowers circa 1860 estimated at $ 6,000/$ 8,000, sold for $ 8,750.

Lot 145: A pair of antique Continental Neoclassical cast lead garden urns with rams heads and vitruvian scroll circa 1850, raised on socle and stepped base. The high bidder must take both, therefore the final purchase price will be two times the hammer price. Estimated at $ 2,000/$ 3,000, sold for $ 5,750 each.

Lot 263: A very fine antique bronze clad cast iron garden urn attributed to Colebrookdale circa 1870. With winged dragon form handles and an ornate fluted top over an acanthus leaf garland. Estimated at $ 3,000/$ 5,000 and sold for $ 5,750.00.

Kamelot Auctions

RIBA believe press are to blame over low pay row

2010-04-28T12:35:00.002+01:00

Although no formal complaint has been made by the institute over BD’s coverage of the issue in recent weeks, letters from two senior staff have emerged claiming the paper’s coverage was “misrepresentative” and “skewed the facts”.

It comes as a Facebook group set up three weeks ago to highlight the issue reached 1,000 members this week. Keith Tomlinson, the architect who resigned his membership in protest and set up the Facebook page, revealed he had received letters from Janine Chasmer, the RIBA’s head of membership services, and executive director Richard Brindley blaming BD’s coverage for the row.

He said, "The idea that the storm was cooked up by the paper was laughable and patronising. If they think that this furore has been entirely manufactured by BD then they are living on a different planet from me. That’s very far from the truth." He argued that BD's story was 'just the straw that broke the camels back' following reports weeks ago that London practice Parritt Leng were advertising jobs below the minimum wage.

bd

Spring greening contest!

2010-04-28T12:20:00.002+01:00

Inhabitat are calling all designers, crafters and creative-types who create things out of old junk. Would you like to get your products seen by millions of Inhabitat readers , including the most influential people in the design world? Inhabitat are challenging you to pick an obsolete object that’s been collecting dust and morph it into something shiny, new and useful using your ingenuity and imagination.

The finalists of our Spring Greening Competition will have the opportunity to get their work displayed front and center of the Inhabitat site, plus some other prizes.

Inhabitat competition

Habitat for Humanity Silent Auction

2010-04-28T11:55:00.002+01:00

Stuart Florida, USA
Habitat for Humanity are hosting a silent auction of rare finds and architectural salvage items form the residence of singer and actress Frances Langford. Items are on display and available for bidding at the Habitat for Humanity of Martin County ReStore, 255 S.E. Bonita Street in Stuart which is open to the public Tuesday through to Friday 9am to 4pm and Saturday 9am to 3pm. Bidding begins April 16 and ends may 5.

All proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity's mission to eliminate substandard housing in Martin County.

Habitat for Humanity

Manchester Confidential browses at InSitu

2010-04-28T11:05:00.005+01:00

Hulme Manchester, UK
Reporter Melanie Mingas of Manchester Confidential has a browse around InSitu. 'InSitu has been trading in the South Manchester and Trafford area for over 25 years. Run by Salvo Code dealer Laurence Green, it's an “architectural salvage” enterprise, aiming to pair customers with the period, unique and antique items their restoration project or simple home furnishing idea requires. “It's a bit of a schizophrenic business of sorts. People come here looking for certain things from the past but then other people are looking to re-imagine the future," said Lawrence.

Recently it's undergone a bit of a transformation and is now part of an antique cooperative of sorts, based in an old warehouse on Chester Road. Laurence said, "InSitu is part department store, part gallery and part market.” In total, four business trade from the premises: Planet Vintage Girl- interior design with an environmental conscience where post war influences are applied to practical objects. Silverleaf- antique mirrors and lighting. FE26 – sculpture and design from scrap materials.
Kyran Hall- stained glass creation and restoration.

Manchester Confidential

Chandelier from recycled bottles

2010-04-26T15:33:00.005+01:00

South Africa
South African designer Heath Nash unveiled a colorful, eclectic chandelier made almost entirely from recycled PET bottles at this year’s Milan Design Week. Dubbed Bottleformball, it is crafted from multicolored pieces of salvaged bottles attached to a hand-made wire structure. The artfully arranged bottle pieces look almost like colored ceramics when illuminated from within.

Inhabit

Zero carbon house

2010-04-23T14:38:00.005+01:00

Birmingham, UK
Architect John Christophers has completed a project to make his early Victorian two-bedroom semi-detached house more energy efficient as well as extending it to more than double its size. Retrofitting existing housing stock is becoming an increasingly important way of helping the UK meet its carbon emission targets. The development features more than 14 reclaimed materials such as treads made from reclaimed 200-year-old Canadian honeydew maple, once a floor to a silk factory. 100% recycled waste newspaper Warmcell 500 insulation has been used to line the inside of the existing front elevation of the house. Other sustainable aspects include: 36sq m of photovoltaics to generate electricity; the presence of vacuum tube solar panels to provide about 70% of the hot water used; a mechanical ventilation heat recovery system; a wood burning stove; and a rainwater harvesting tank.

The Building Research Establishment has awarded the house level 6 or zero carbon of the Code for Sustainable Homes. “The code rating is based on the whole house without differentiating between the new and the old,” explains Mr Christophers, “The old house has reached the same very demanding standard as the new.”

Since its construction, Christophers and his family have held nine open days aimed at raising awareness and an understanding of sustainability and “to evangelise and inspire enthusiasm”, he says.

Above: Treads made from reclaimed timber.

Above:

bd online

Sworders Spring Country House Sale

2010-04-23T13:37:00.008+01:00

Essex, UK
Sworders Spring Country House sale will take place on Tuesday 27 April at 10am, viewing is from Friday 23 April until the morning of the sale. A fully illustrated catalogue is available at www.sworders.co.uk.

Above: A Victorian Coalbrookdale cast iron garden bench, with fern leaf back, 51cm wide. Estimate d at £700 to £900.

Above: A mediaeval stone bracket, in the form of a mythical dog, 57cm long, estimated at £1000 to £1500.

Above: A Johnson's improved perambulator, with original fittings and coachwork, labelled to the rear. Estimated at £400 to £600.

Above: A 19th Century Barouche by Wyburn & Co. A quality London builder, coaches and carriages were manufactured in the name of T Wyburn up to 1870 and subsequently Wyburn & Co, Long Acre after that date. Royalty were not unfamiliar with the coachbuilder. King Edward VII rode in a state coach by Wyburn & Co. which survives in the coach house at Powis Castle. The top of a barouche is really what sets it apart from other carriages, since it is collapsible, making the barouche into a hooded carriage that can be used in a variety of weathers and the seats face each other. This fine original example is reputed to have belonged to Louisa Ruth Lowe (d.1939) of Gosfield Hall and appears to bear the coat of arms of the Duke of Buckingham who owned the hall from 1784. Subsequent owners of the hall appear to have adopted the crest in matters relating to the hall and its contents. Within living memory, Mrs. Lowe loaned this coach for the weddings of brides who were married in the church at Gosfield and the splendid scene can be imagined. Sale at Gosfield Hall 1950. Sold to Marks Tey. Stood behind a garage for some months. The vendor's father saw it from his cattle lorry and bought it for £25. Length Width 5' 6" Height 7' 4" Wheel 4' 3" BUYER'S PREMIUM CHARGED AT 15% + VAT ON THIS LOT. Estimated at £15000 to £25000.

Above: An Ordinary Bicycle Colloquially known as a 'Penny-farthing', This is an 'Ariel' model, by Haynes and Jeffries of Coventry. 4' front wheel. Central bar tightening of spokes. Rare - only 10 in the country BUYER'S PREMIUM CHARGED AT 15% + VAT ON THIS LOT. Estimated at £1200 to £1800.

Sworders

£5,000 bottles saved from the bin!

2010-04-23T12:01:00.002+01:00

Andover, Hampshire UK
A set of wine bottles dating back over 200 years, have sold at auction for nearly £5,000. Veronica Smith discovered the 11 bottles on top of a wardrobe when she was clearing her relatives bungalow after his death. Mrs Smith had assumed they were worth nothing and put them on a windowsill ready for recycling. Luckily an auctioneer who had come to carry out a probate valuation of Mr Cowlard's possessions realised they were valuable.

They were split into two lots and sold last week by auctioneers Woolley and Wallis in Salisbury, Wiltshire, for £3,000 and £1,600. Clare Durham, of Woolley and Wallis, said, "One of the bottles is dated 1788 and the others are from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The bottle market is strong at the moment and there is always interest in sealed bottles with monograms or initials on them. Many of the bottles were Cornish, which is also popular."

Secret Garden Spring Sale

2010-04-21T22:39:00.003+01:00

Wisbech, Cambs, UK - The Secret Garden is having its first sale of the year on Saturday 24th April 7.30am to 3.30pm and Sunday 25th of April 10.00am to 3.30pm. Antique, vintage and unusual garden ornaments, architectural salvage and garden features. Well worth a visit, lots to see. We are located next to Asda and FT Nixon Ltd, North End, Wisbech, Cambs. PE13 1TH.

All items are priced and are available on a first come, first served basis. Please quote salvo to obtain a discount.

Tel: 0794 769 8989 for details

Spring is in the air at Diss

2010-04-21T22:20:00.002+01:00

Diss, UK - Super sale, great atmosphere, sunny skies. New faces, some friends missing due to natures way of lowering carbon foot print – including stuck in Las Vegas. York stone, need I say more, £128 per sq yd (incl. premium) for 50 yds and that wasn’t the top price. Reconstituted stone figures and urns going well. Top wheel barrow £710 (incl. premium), galvanised tanks galvanised trade. Stone troughs back in vogue. Floor bricks £2+. Fireplaces and surrounds subdued. Terracotta pots, garden furniture and conservatory items really hot.

Gaze

Bioregional's Jonathan Essex standing for Green MP in Reigate

2010-04-21T14:39:00.005+01:00

JONATHAN Essex, who has campaigned tirelessly for the government to encourage greater reuse of reclaimed, is to stand as MP for Reigate for the Green Party.

His daytime job is reclaimed building materials manager for BioRegional Reclaimed in Surrey, but he has also been a staunch member of the Greens for a while, helping them with policy especially on reuse. In 2008 he called for Surrey district councils to act on climate change and commit to the 10:10 initiative. In 2009 he supported a campaigns to revitalise town centres and reduce new out of town superstores, to tax plastic carrier bags at 10p, to reduce speed limits to 20mph outside schools and in residential areas, and to stop a third runway at Gatwick airport. On the airport he is quoted as saying, "A government report argues that aviation is important to the UK economy but that Gatwick will always be a low-cost carrier-dominated leisure airport. How can exporting our tourism overseas be good for the economy? Research by Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign shows that airport expansion actually destroys at least four times as many UK jobs through exporting tourism than are created."

Jonathan has campaigned for increased recognition of the value of the salvage sector in terms of the economy, jobs and embodied carbon. It is tragic that in the last ten years around a quarter of a million less tonnes of timber have been reclaimed and reused in the UK, losing irreplaceable products like rosewood mahogany and elm floorboards. The amount of energy generated when these are burnt in 'energy from waste' plants is far less than the embodied carbon wasted by failing to reuse.

The Green Party is calling for zero waste without incineration. This requires a shift from investment in downcycling to value-added reuse, creating around 60,000 jobs in reuse, recycling and remanufacturing in the UK.

Jonathan was beaten by 20 votes when he stove as Green candidate in local elections in 2008 in Redhill East, and was beaten by 170 votes in 2009 in the county elections. He has also stood as a candidate in European elections in 2009.

Origines sale makes €3m but not without controversy

2010-04-21T14:31:00.002+01:00

Sotheby's 600 lot sale of the stock of Samuel Roger's Origines on 31 March and 1 April totalled a creditable €3m but not without controversy over three of the lots which attracted some sniping by the French press who are still smarting over the disarray of their own auction houses (some of which were arrested in a scandal last year) and the takeover by Sotheby's and Christie's. Le Journal Des Arts, Le Monde and Liberation all carried stories about the sale, saying that one figure of a bather by Buxan was withdrawn after the sculptor's relatives denounced it as fake, the top lot of an Austrian chimneypiece estimated at €400,000 (allegedly bought for €10,000) was withdrawn after an Austrian newspaper said it was made for Vienna City Hall and should not have been exported, and a statue by Emilio Zocchi of the young Michelangelo was apparently said by some to be a Chinese copy.

Liberation: Smoke screen at Sotheby's

Journal des Arts: The sale 'Architecture & Heritage gives trouble to Sotheby's France

Le Monde: Sotheby's sells items from monumental castles or abbeys

5 important ancient bricks discovered in China

2010-04-21T14:19:00.003+01:00

Shaanxi Province, China - Bricks discovered by an archeologist in China have proved that the Chinese were making bricks more between 1,000 and 2,000 years earlier than previously thought.

2,300 square metres of ground were excavated before a new highway was to be built. The five bricks were discovered in an ash-pit, and are believed to be 5,000 - 7,000 years old. The oldest bricks are from the Middle East and date back 10,000 years.

Stonepages

A taste of the orient in garden statuary sale

2010-04-21T13:43:00.011+01:00

Above: Part of rare collection of Japanese garden ornament on offer at Summers Place forthcoming auction

Above: An 1877 John Adams-Acton marble statue est: £50k - £80k

Above: Sale also includes a ‘Duck House’ so you can live like an M.P

Tues 26 May 2010, Billinghurst, Sussex - A rare collection of antique Japanese garden ornament will be offered for sale in the auction of Garden Statuary and Fossil Decoration at Summers Place Auctions (in association with Sotheby’s), which will take place in the landscaped grounds and walled garden of Summers Place, Billingshurst, West Sussex on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. This will be complemented by a ‘sealed bid’ auction that finishes on Friday, May 28.

Japanese Gardens became popular in England at the end of the 19^th century. The opening of the Japanese ports in 1854 gave rich, curious and intrepid Europeans and Americans the chance to travel. They returned home with stories, photographs and souvenirs of art styles and culture that was startlingly different from what they had seen before. The Universal Exhibition in London in 1862 followed by the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867 saw an explosion of interest in all things Japanese.

Among a selection of granite lanterns which are always popular, are two large Meiji period (1868-1912) examples, over ten foot tall which are being offered for £3,000-5,000 each, together with a selection of bronze cranes estimated from £500 upwards.

The sale comprises nearly 600 lots and is the largest ever staged by Summers Place Auctions. James Rylands, one of the experts in charge said. “We are lucky to be able to offer a really good selection of statuary. From 17^th century classical Dutch gritstone figures to over 60 lots of contemporary sculpture, there really is something in this sale for everyone!”

For buyers interested in ambitious architectural schemes, the sale also boasts a large selection of 18^th and 19^th century stone columns and architectural fittings together with a marble balustrade which originally stood at Easton Neston, Northamptonshire. The formal gardens were originally laid out in the late 17^th century when the house was built by Nicholas Hawksmoor with some collaboration from Sir Christopher Wren. The gardens were restored that the end of the 19^th Century by Sir Thomas Fermor Hesketh, when it is likely that the balustrade was installed. It is estimated at £6,000-10,000.

Also on a grand scale is a massive Portland stone seat removed from Park Place, Henley-on-Thames, which was the most expensive house outside London when it was sold for £42 million in 2007. It carries an estimate of £5,000-8,000.

For those who were fascinated by the recent M.P’s expenses scandal; the sale will include a painted wood and lead duck house - identical to the one bought by the Tory M.P. Sir Peter Viggers for his constituency home in Hampshire in 2006. It subsequently achieved a degree of notoriety when it was discovered that the M.P. had tried to claim the purchase cost as part of his parliamentary expenses. Sir Peter's garden purchase has been endorsed by television property guru Kirstie Allsopp in a message on Twitter. In response to the revelations in the Daily Telegraph she wrote: "Wow...floating duck islands are a winner, they protect ducks from foxes, does this mean we can all have one now?" The floating duck house is based on an 18^th century building reconstructed at Skansen, in Stockholm and is estimated at £1,800-2,500.

Elsewhere in the sale, two interesting sculptures will be offered. An important carved white marble group of Miss Holden and a deer by John Adams-Acton, dating from 1877 and exhibited at that year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is estimated at £50,000-80,000, while a late 18th/early 19th century carved white marble figure of Asclepius - the Roman God of healing, is estimated at £8,000-12,000.

An unusually large terracotta bowl on stand designed by Archibald Knox for the famous Regent Street retailer Liberty & Co will also be offered. Dating from the early 20th century, it was made by the Potters Art Guild (Compton Pottery), based just outside Guildford (Est: £2,500-4,000).

The items can be viewed in the Walled Garden, Stane Street, Billingshurst, West Sussex, RH14 9AB

VIEWING TIMES:

Live Auction

Friday, May 21 through to Monday, May 24: 10am – 4pm (plus the morning of the sale)

Sealed Bid Auction

Friday, May 21 – Tuesday, May 25: 10am-4pm

NEXT SALE: Tuesday, October 26, 2010

For further information on the auction,

Please visit www.summersplaceauctions.com or Call 01403 331331

Election letter from eSalvo reader

2010-04-21T13:36:00.003+01:00

A reader has asked each of their prospective parliamentary candidates to reply to this email:

In considering my vote in the forthcoming election I would be grateful if you could tell me your views on encouraging the reuse of building materials. there has been much emphasis on recycling but reuse would help to reduce global warming and reduce the amounts sent to landfill. For example reusing old bricks saves both the direct cost of making a new one and the energy needed to make it. So I feel reuse should be a policy priority of any future government. Yet every year we continue to just throw away huge amounts of building materials - just look in any skip!

Looking forward to hearing your comments

We will keep you posted with their replies.

Miniature architectural surfaces

2010-04-19T16:15:00.005+01:00

Berlin, Germany

EVOL is a berlin based street artist that transforms banal urban surfaces, into miniature architectural surfaces through pasting. using pasted paper, EVOL transforms electric boxes, small planters and other geometric city forms, into miniature apartment buildings and other structures. each piece of paper is printed with a repetitive pattern of flat gray walls dotted with plain window frames. once applied to a surface, the paper transforms the form into small building that EVOL often adorns with small characters. EVOL performs this process within different cities and has even been commissioned to do installations in galleries, where he was created entire blocks of miniature buildings.

Evol

'Missing' Moses statue is found

2010-04-19T16:00:00.004+01:00

Burnley, UK
Onlookers had questioned the disappearance of a 10-foot tall statue of Moses, which stood outside a former Burnley Baptist chapel. The site is currently under construction to be turned into a dental super-center. Lancashire Telegraph managed to track down the 'missing' statue of Moses to Ribble Reclamation.

The question of its disappearance was Unbeknown to anyone at Ribble Reclamation who received a call from the developers of the Baptist chapel site asking if they wanted to have a look at it. Under planning conditions, the health trust was not required to keep the statue in situ. Ribble Reclamation are now offering the Moses statue for sale.

Ribble Reclamation

A-Z to election 2010 for architects

2010-04-19T12:42:00.002+01:00

Building Design (bd) discuss an A-Z of the forthcoming elections in relation to architects and how each candidate would effect architectural practices. 'Which party opposes Heathrow’s third runway and which would scrap Arb?,' follow the link below to find the answers to these questions and get help in distinguishing policies for the build environment.

bd The Architects Website

Kelvingrove Museum to kitchen worktops

2010-04-15T16:32:00.009+01:00

Falkirk, Scotland UK
Hargreaves, based in Central Scotland, are reclaiming specialists. Since January 2009 they have expanded the business to include bespoke (reuse) kitchens, worktops and furniture made from reclaimed timber and flooring.

Proprietor Neale Hargreaves' discusses one reuse project - "We removed the solid Teak flooring from Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow, installed 115 years ago, during its refurb 5 years ago. I'd kept the flooring and intended to use it as decking, it couldn't go back down as a floor as 90% of the tongue and groove was damaged, I was too busy and never got round to it.

A client from Edinburgh came to our showroom in Airth, after he'd noted we built kitchens from reclaimed materials on our website www.hargreavesltd.co.uk Once we had discussed the kind of thing he and his wife were looking for, namely Teak, I reluctantly suggested we could use the Teak flooring from the museum to make the kitchen. In the end we used reclaimed Douglas Fir flooring for the carcase and the reclaimed Teak for the doors and worktops, splashback and kickboards. The kitchen was successfully installed after only 3 weeks from date of order at Inverleith Row in Edinburgh. The client told me it was "exactly as they had envisaged it" and although I was sad not to have used the Teak myself, I was delighted they were so happy with the end result and to see the flooring being re-used: from Burma, to Glasgow, to Edinburgh, its life so far!!"

Above: The flooring as lifted from Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow.

Above: The kitchen in the process of being made.

Above: The finished product

Hargreaves

Passionate about antiques/salvage, want to be on TV?

2010-04-14T10:55:00.003+01:00

We recently received an email from Ife Okwudili the Co Executive Producer at Cineflix Productions (see below), if you are interested in participating please respond directly to Ife Okwudili, whose details are given below;

My name is Ife, and I work for a TV production company called Cineflix Productions. We make a huge range of shows for major networks across the world. You can see more about our company and shows by visiting www.cineflixproductions.com_shows

Why am I emailing you?
One of our most recent successes has been American Pickers for the History Channel. Because of that, we've been asked to look further into the world of antiques, estate clearance and architectural salvage etc here in the UK. If you want to have a peek at that show, you can do so here: http://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers.

What do we want?
I am looking to find people spend their lives immersed in the world of antiques and collectibles. Maybe you have a shop; perhaps you're a runner for lots of different traders; ideally you'll have more than one string to your bow, perhaps you'll do valuations, architectural salvage or estate sales as well. We are interested in people who come across and trade in a wide range of items rather than solely specialist markets. We're looking for interesting and outgoing characters, who are passionate about the subject and can communicate that to others. Ideally you'll work with a colleague or a spouse - or have a regular cast of characters you interact with as part of your business.

What do you need to do next?
Just drop me an email to iokwudili@cineflix.com with a few lines about yourself. It would also be great if you could send a photo or any video footage you may have (just a short clip - no more than 2 mins). NB attaching these files can cause the email to fail - so if you're able, the best thing to do is upload it to a Facebook page or free You Tube account and send me a link.

Alternatively, you can call 07947 042626 / 0207 193 8669 and we can have a quick chat.

Reclaimed wood is this years trend, says Linda Barker

2010-04-13T10:39:00.004+01:00

In an interview featured in the May edition of Period House magazine, interior designer Linda Barker was asked what the new trend were for the coming season. She replied, "I've seen lots and lots of reclaimed wood, it looks set to be a big trend. Think reclaimed timber finishes on tables and cupboards and wood that has printing on it still and is half sanded. It's a very strong and beautiful look and goes wonderfully with the other key trend, the eclectic look and in the last year it has evolved to look not so polished."

Blaze destroys 50 per cent of a Cradley Heath Business

2010-04-13T09:14:00.006+01:00

Cradley Heath, West Midlands UK
A severe blaze has caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage and destroyed 50 per cent of a wood-working operation at Oldfields Reclamations Ltd. The blaze was believed to have been started deliberately by vandals who broke into the premises and torched he building at around 11.30pm on Monday 5 April. Joint owners Brian Smith and Keith Shaw said the fire-revaged building would have to be demolished and two wood working machines that were destroyed alone came to £50,000.

Mr Smith said, "The single storey building and its contents, including antique fireplaces, were not insured and the fire signalled the death-knell for the wood-working side of their enterprise."

Halesowen News