Creative reuse

Dutch designer Jo Meesters has a sustainable and handmade approach to his work. His new collection is made entirely out of 34 discarded wooden beams and 16 left over blankets. Entitled Odds and Ends, Bits and Pieces, the collection uses basic upholstering and weaving techniques.






apartment therapy

Most successful summer yet for IBS Reclaim

Above: IBS Reclaim Ltd in Oakley, Bucks

Oakley, Buckinghamshire UK - IBS Reclaim Ltd has announced that summer 2009 was the most successful yet; there was a 400 percent increase in sales in July compared to 2008. Contracts ranged from the supply of reclaimed York stone flagstones to Sykes & Son Ltd for a prestige refurb of John Keats House*, London, to the the purchase of nearly 600sqm of reclaimed flagstones and 200 tonnes of rare Denner Hill setts from the most expensive UK house outside London. The reclaimed flags sold in record time due to advertising on SalvoWEB, to building contractors and private individuals. Some flags even went to Austria. There was a major interest in reclaimed doors, again due to adverts on Salvo, with a stock clearance of some forty doors at £40 each, and a resulting increase in reclaim sales as well as enquiries for IBS made-to-measure service. This year IBS use of the SalvoWEB enhanced listing and build-a-button system is first out of 37,770 registered users.

David Marlow, manager of IBS Reclaim Ltd, said, "The development work at IBS continues this year with an antique and reproduction fireplace and radiator centre opening on the first floor of our new warehouse, a new section of both made to measure recraft doors and reclaimed doors is underway, and on the ground floor an area of Mike Corbett's cast stone products is displayed along with more reclaimed items. We also have a new paving section. During the 2008 video interview with Drummond Shaw**, he said that the future was towards new products. IBS agrees and tries to mix reclaimed and new products to complement each other."

Apart from its sales and redevelopment, IBS has also donated old stone samples from its reclaimed stocks to Dr Nick Cutler of Oxford University's Centre for the Environment who was making a study of biodeterioration which includes the effects of algae and lichen on stonework. He was fascinated by David Marlow's knowledge of Sarsen stone and Denner Hill stone history especially the story of the snipers***.

David, who is by trade a street mason, has fond memories of using Denner Hill at Pinewood Studios in 1985 aged 22 and his father - who trained him and has just retired after laying York stone for 46 years - built the Little Shop of Horrors film set which filled the 007 studio, at the time the largest sound stage in Europe. The stone used included Denner Hill kerb reclaimed from near Aylesbury. "I laid two eight-wheeler lorryloads of Denner Hill setts and kerb. Working from 400 photographs I recreated a genuine street scene of Skid Row in downtown America within the studio, working for construction manager Michael Redding of James Bond fame, alongside David Geffen, producer for Warner Brothers. We constructed everything at foot level in stone instead of the usual hardboard and cardboard imprinted and painted, due to the rain scenes and high level drop takes for rain, the full scale set was three stories high with a $30m budget. I was there for about four months," he said.

IBS are currently looking to buy reclaimed items especially stone surrounds.

Telephone 01844 239400
IBS Reclaim Ltd

* John Keats, the poet, wrote Ode On A Grecian Urn at the Grade I listed Keats House, a regency villa on Hampstead Heath, and it was from there that he set out for Rome, where he died prematurely aged 25.

** Video interview of Drummond Shaw in 2008


Above: Denner Hill setts
*** David Marlow writes: Denner Hill stone was once the source of a flourishing local industry, dating back to at least the mid nineteenth century and earlier. The best deposits were to the north of High Wycombe - Bryant's Bottom, Denner Hill, North Dean, Naphill and Walter's Ash. The blocks or boulders of hard sandstone were found at depths varying from six to sixty feet and were located by workers probing the ground with long instruments known as snipers. The boulders varied in size, one at Walter's Ash was reported to be around twelve feet in height and weighed over three hundred and fifty tons. These blocks were split to produce cobbles, kerbstone, setts, building blocks, river stepping stones, cottage door steps and gateposts. Building blocks were used in the repair of Windsor Castle. Some streets in both Windsor and Aylesbury are paved with this stone. Denner Hill Stone quoins were also used with local brick and flint within the High Wycombe area known as Chepping Parish.

BigREc Survey shows predicted decline in reuse between 1998 and 2007

London UK - THE report on the BigREc 2 Survey was launched in St Pancras, London last Thursday 4th December 2008 with presentations and talks by Gilli Hobbs and Katherine Adams of BRE, Thornton Kay of Salvo and Steve Tomlin of Masco.

The report had been commissioned by BRE in 2006 and was carried out in 2006 – 2007. The results showed that, overall, the reclaimed part of the reclamation trade had declined since 1998, although some sectors of the trade, reclaimed bricks and architectural woodwork for example, had increased.

Anecdotal evidence that the government push for recycling, spearheaded by WRAP, had diverted materials away from reuse and towards crushing and chipping, seemed to be confirmed by the survey, with total volumes down from 2.96m tonnes in 1998 to 2.23m in 2007. Employment was also down from 39,000 in 1998 to 25,800 in 2007.

The BigREc survey was in two parts: Yellow Postcards and the main BigREc survey questionnaires comprising 19 material sectors ranging from salvaged concrete to antique bathrooms

2,043 Yellow Postcards were sent out of which 1,900 were valid, and 180 were returned (compared to 1200 sent out of which 288 were returned in 1998). These gave an indication of the total size of the market, the type of business and sales turnover of each respondent.

323 BigREc main survey questionnaires were sent out of which 36 were completed (88 completed in 1998) comprising of a 28 page booklet with 235 questions in total. The survey gave detailed info on volumes, stocks, suppliers, customers, distances goods travel, employment and standards of supply.

The Yellow Postcards and BigREc Survey were two separate surveys which corroborated each other to an extent.

It is a long job answering 235 questions and after the failure of the BigREc survey of 1998 to make any impact on policy (in fact government policy moved against reuse after the survey was published in 2000) unsurprisingly there was less enthusiasm for completing the survey this time.

The Yellow Postcards went into a draw for a free Salvo mag subscription worth £50 (won by Anglia Building Supplies in Essex) and the BigREc main survey went into a draw for a free stand at Salvo Fair worth up to £750 (won by David Nightingale of 3A Roofing in Suffolk).

Nine businesses completed both surveys in 1998 and 2007 – it would have been eleven but two have since gone completely out of salvage and into new manufacture. Accuracy is an issue with this survey, comparative shifts are more reliable than absolute figures.

The Yellow Postcard and BigREc 2 survey was undertaken by Thornton Kay of Salvo Llp.

Construction Resources Waste Platform BigREc Survey Report 2008

Drummond Shaw interviewed in 2008

Hindhead, Surrey UK - DRUMMOND Shaw of Drummonds Architectural is interviewed by Thornton Kay of Salvo in the back yard of his Hindhead, Surrey UK premises in May 2008.

The business is having a big trade clear-out and the video shows some of the deeply discounted items available including 300 Victorian ropetwist edgers for £500. These will be among many items Drummonds is bringing to Salvo Fair in June where they will be having a very large stand.

The interview includes Drummond's thoughts about where the salvage trade is now, how the new business is going, including the flooring made from reclaimed oak and stone, and a move away from less profitable architectural antique fittings such as doors and Belfast sinks.

Finally we get to hear a surprise new announcement about the future of Hindhead.

Drummonds Architectural

Not Just words, but action

Chris Harrop, Group Marketing Director of Marshalls

The natural stone market is changing fast. Awareness of environmental issues has soared in the past 12 months. Consumers are more aware than ever of our carbon footprints and our persona; impact upon the planet. Ethical issues are now getting much more media attention, too. Child labour and poor working conditions in international supply chains have been exposed - though far from eradicated.

But in response to heightened awareness of environmental and social issues, some companies prefer to greenwash over the issue rather than take the decisive action required to achieve real impact. Unfortunately, companies' desire to market products as 'sustainable' races ahead of their capacity to ensure that supply chain integrity and environmental performance are rigorously sustained.

In the meantime, greenwash is a real danger to sustainability. Companies are profiting from people who wish to purchase sustainably. So, despite having the power to change businesses, purchasing decisions continue to support unsustainable business. One of the most pervasive myths about sandstone from India is that it is entering the country as ships' ballast- which is often used as an excuse for inaction on social issues. The implication is that it is entering the country anyway and it would therefore be pointless to waste the resource.

Actually, the total volume of Indian sandstone imports into the UK reached 171,853 tonnes in 2007, more than 100 times the 1,475 tonnes it was in 1997.

It's a booming industry and much of the stone arriving in the country from unverified sources is being quarried at huge human cost. In 2007, Marshalls led a high profile campaign to raise awareness in the industry of the many social issues associated with sandstone quarrying in India. The harsh reality of the dangerous and often inhumane working conditions in many quarries was exposed - with evidence of child labour sending shock waves throughout the industry.

Many importers are similarly reluctant to look too far into social issues endemic in sandstone quarries of Rhajasthan - such as child labour and debt enforcement labour. But it's harsh reality that child labour is still widespread, even though it has long been against the law. The Child Labour Act, 1986 of India prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 in factories, mines and other forms of hazardous employment.

Industry associates were reluctant to do more than issue vague statements of support for improved ethical and environmental standards, besides urging caution that insistence on better standards could threaten the incomes of quarries and labourers. Although much was said, little was done.

The perceived barrier to action for many natural stone suppliers is that delivering on ethical criteria in business is a continual and demanding process of benchmarking, analysis and improvements. Meeting independent standards demands rigorous, regular auditing. It requires a long-term, holistic approach, not ad-hoc tactics.

That's why Marshalls became the first member of the landscaping industry to join the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) in 2005. The ETI focuses on ethical trade that deliver concrete benefits for workers. Members sign up to the ETI base code, which includes the principles that child labour shall not be used, employment is freely chosen, no harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed, working conditions are safe and hygienic, working conditions are safe and hygienic, working hours are not excessive living wages are paid and workers' rights are respected.

Gone are the days of the Good the Bad and the Ugly

Billinghurst, Sussex, UK -



Above1: A terracotta Triton blowing a horn, Austrian circa 1870, the highest of the architectural garden lots fetching £19,700, Above2: A terracotta Triton holding a trident, Austrian circa 1870's, the providence by repute is that they were removed from the Vienna Stock Exchange


James Ryland stood at the podium minus a tie for the first time in twenty years, to mark the last ever Sotheby's sale at Billinghurst Summers Place on the 25th September 2007.

Rupert Van Der Werff and James Rylands are 'delighted to announce that from 1st January 2008, Sotheby's sales of garden statuary will be under the auspices of Summers Place Auctions in association with Sothebys.' Under this new banner the regular sales of garden statuary, architectural and fossil decoration will continue but they welcome an additional two and a half acres of landscape viewing ground to form their enhanced sculpture garden. The expansion and take-over potentially suggests that there maybe more sales at Summers place throughout the year, news of which we will eagerly await.

The top antique lot in the garden and architectural section was an attractive terracotta Triton blowing a horn, circa 1870's and reputed to be from the Vienna stock exchange, fetching £19,700. The top fossil was a rare gigantic plate of paradoxides trilobite from Morocco which reached £23,300. The top lot of the sale was a modern set of four carved limestone Seasons, selling for £25,700. The best performer in the contemporary field was 'Fighting Hares' crafted by Paul Jenkins and selling for £14,900,

Their infectious appreciation of fossils is a credit to their fine tuning and knowledge to make them market makers in this sector. Mr Rylands said, 'that fossils are very important to the sale as they are timeless and exceptionally decorative, fitting in just as well in a country cottage as they would in a New York loft apartment.' Their collective passion coupled with the market shift to high end antiques suggests that future sales will include an increasing number of fossil decorations. Additionally both are keen to promote new designers by including a selection of contemporary sculptures sourced from around the world. Perhaps this is a way in which the market and economic climate is moving as taste moves and expands and the buyer increasingly knows what it is they want. However one has to question if these buyers are still in a Sotheby's mindset as much of the contemporary works are figurative with naturalistic or animal references rather than outlandish conceptual pieces, but this again may develop over time. Although a passer-by was heard to refer to the top field of contemporary sculpture as a sculpture park and describe the collection of female and male enameled steel pieces by Danu as handy for target practice. Therefore it seems that they still have a little way to go to infiltrate the mindset of the Sotheby's eighteenth century classic sculpture buyers. However it is commendable that they have taken on this challenge as it is a natural progression and obviously a direction in which they have to go.

The afternoon timing of the sale seemed particularly apt, pandering to US buyers, as the telephones were full whilst the room remained relatively empty. Although it was not quiet, the charismatic character of Mr Rylands filled the room along with the sounds from the latest building work undertaken on Summers Place, which has recently been sold by Sotheby's for development.

The money spiders which hung from the newly erected marquee did not prove a good omen for the sale as 51 per cent sold by lot went unsold. Perhaps even more interestingly the top three lots did not include contemporary sculpture or any older garden or sculptural lots, highlighting the fact which both partners pointed out that the current market is hard to predict .



Above: Sotheby's garden, architectural field view



Above: Kouros, Coquine, Lascive, Miss, Sirena by Danu (or 'Target Practice')



Above: Fossil decoration marquee



Above: Top field of contemporary sculpture - front 'Swan' by Marjan Wouda, horse in background 'Refusal One' by Martin Lowe



Above: The higest modern lot a beautifully balanced sculpture of 'Fighting Hares' by Paul Jenkins reaching £14,900



Above: A gigantic paradoxides trilobite place from Morrocco measuring 168cm; 66ins high by 140cm; 55incs wide, and selling for £23,300



Above: A rare double headed Crinoid plaque Holtzmagen, German, from the Jurrassic period, £20,900



Above: A set of four carved limestone seasons, modern on pedastals 246cm; 97ins high, the record of the sale selling for £25,700



Sotheby's sale catalogue

Flagstone record at Gaze's

Above: Carved sandstone grave relief of a skull, 17th/18thC, £277

Above: 20sqyds of coursed York flags sold for a record £2,905

Above: 70ins Victorian marble bath, top lot at £5,040

Above: Lenin sells for £1065

Diss, Norfolk UK - 'THERE was light drizzle all day,' Carl Willows said, referring to the architectural salvage sale of T W Gaze on 18 August 2007, 'but stock market jitters seemed to be having a discernible impact, even though garden benches which had been struggling at other Gaze sales this year went very well, one lot of York stone flagstones sold for £145 which broke our auction flagstone record, and a Victorian marble bath used by young Japanese ladies doubled its estimate to become the sale's top lot at £5,400 inc premiums and vat selling to the UK trade with a US underbidder.'

At a time when Christie's has shunted its buyer's premium to 25 per cent, and many provincial UK auction houses have pushed theirs up to 15 per cent, Gaze has this year held its buyer's premium at 10 per cent. It's seller's premium is 10 per cent on lots up to £500, and 5 per cent above that.

The next Gaze sale is the Rural and Domestic Bygones on Saturday 8th September at which Mr Willows says, 'There will be the usual old mix . . . and this time some nice handcarts consigned by Mr. Peter Watson of Cox's Yard in Gloucestershire.'


Full results

Reclaimed water garden at Salvo Fair

Above: A quick tour around V & V Reclamation, Hertford, showing some of the elements they will be bringing for their reclaimed water garden at Salvo Fair, Knebworth, this year.

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK - WHAT do Harrod's Dispensary, Lord Snowdon's London Zoo Aviary, and Paternoster Square next to St Paul's Cathedral have in common? The answer is that pieces of them will appear on V & V Reclamation's spectacular reclaimed water garden at this year's Salvo Fair at Knebworth.

The garden will be set out in the formal neobeauxarts style, paved with grass and bordered by reclaimed flagstones. The front of the stand will be flanked by ten circular exposed aggregate planters from Stevenage town centre, turned into pools with small pink Aberdeen granite obelisks alternating with riven Liscannor stone left over from last year's Chelsea Flower Show.

A sentry box from Whitechapel, a communal washing trough from Cheshire, a post office pillar box from Mortlake (finish of the annual Oxford and Cambridge boat race), carved stonework from St Thomas Hospital and a sixteen foot high decorative cast iron column topped by a statue will set off the enclosing walls, seating and plants. It should be a delight.

Everything will be for sale, with 50 businesses and 500 tonnes of stock covering 5 acres of Knebworth's beautiful deer park, so come along for a day of browsing and buying, with some inspiring too.

Salvo Fair, Sat 30 Jun and Sun 1 Jul 2007, Knebworth House, Hertfordshire. By car to J7 A1(M). By train to Stevenage, then a 10 min taxi ride. TRADE DAY: Fri 29 Jun. Web www.salvo-fair.com

Salvo Fair

Twelve inch pamments £10 at Gaze

At Gaze's October sale five pallets (lot 5820) of two-block blue stable pavers totalling 1340 sold for a mid-estimate £550, or 41p each. [Photo Gaze

Four York stone flagstones sold for £154, estimate £50, roughly £77 square yard.

Diss, Norfolk UK - The sale of architectural salvage and statuary at Gaze's 21 October 2006 included several lots of reclaimed floor tiles and pavers. Five pallets (lot 5820) of two-block blue stable pavers totalling 1340 sold for a mid-estimate £550, or 41p each. A lot (5854) of 65 12ins square pamments sold for £638, or £9.82 each, while 9ins square red pamments sold for £1.39 each, and 9ins square buff pamments sold for £2.01 each. T W Gaze