The Path . . . .
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I first heard 'Waste not; want not." in my Grade 4 class at Chalmers Elementary. Mr. Wheeler found a clean piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper in the garbage can. He blew up and just ripped into the class for what felt like an hour. He had done some volunteer work in an a tiny little town in Mexico. He talked about how the kids there would cherish a single piece of paper, filling both sides with drawings, wearing their pencils to tiny nubs. He wrote 'Waste not; want not." on the piece of paper and put it up on the wall, next to the clock. Every day, I looked at that paper and read that sign. I don't know if I put in the garbage, but it could have been me. I have thought about that saying ever since. It is now one of the biggest drivers of what we do at Hammer & Tidy.
Hammer & Tidy is my current path, but I have been a 'suit' (okay, a green suit), in the NGO, academic and government worlds, focusing on the money side of conservation projects. I have managed large projects and teams with a focus on protecting the species and spaces that make British Columbia / Cascadia such a special place.
The further up the chain, the further away I was from what made me tick. Now, with an emphasis on up-cycling, I couldn't get more hands on. Success is not only in the completion of a project. It's in getting the word and the work out there so that it inspires more folks to bring the salvage aesthetic and purpose into their homes and commercial spaces.
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Hammer & Tidy: What's in a name?
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'Hammer' is the nickname that my hockey team mates have given me. Something about my play being reminiscent of Dave 'The Hammer' Schultz. My go-to tool for salvage is a hammer, too, so 'Hammer' just works. 'Tidy' is Welsh slang for being good with your hands amongst other things. Although I was 'Made in Canada', I have spent a significant amount of time in South Wales, where my mom was from. She grew up as a coal miner's daughter during WW II. Up-cycling was not an aesthetic, it was a way of life. It doesn't either hurt that 'Tidy' reminds me to keep things clean on the worksite.
Our daily practice: salvage, process and build. |
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Malcolm Gladwell talks about how many of the outliers he looked at had spent at least 10,000 hours working on their craft before they made their mark. My family has been there for all 10,000 hours I have spent becoming an up-cycler. Furniture, fences, framing material, art supplies, firewood and now, the focus of my work, is all about salvage and then turning those resources into something that can last.
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Filling the well:
localvore; birding and getting out there. |
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I am a hardcore birder and have been one since spending summers in my mom's hometown in South Wales. That's also where I started thinking about food and its connection to place. That continued while I worked my way through high school and university as a cook. Years cooking in fishing resorts up and down the BC Coast has left a deep need for being on the coast and taking advantage of, appreciating and protecting the incredible diversity at our door. Have a look at my Guiding Page to see what I have been up to lately.
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Family; family; and family.
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My kids ask to build something or go out and source something first before just buying it. Sourcing can mean anything from dumpster diving, hitting the local thrift store or just keeping an eye out for what's on the side of the road. It's also about thinking hard about what else something can be used for rather than just throwing it away. For my family, patience is key, especially when they have to deal with all the stuff I bring home!
Travel
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Travel has been very important for getting some perspective outside of my Cascadia home.