The Burnside Blog
Re-find the ReFind
Last week, I got a preview of the brand new space for ReFind Furniture—the reclaimed and recycled wood boutique inside the amazing ReBuilding Center.
Run by furniture design wiz Kirby Jones and craftswoman Emily Krafft, ReFind has created numerous high design furnishings with raw odds and ends culled from the massive piles of recycled building materials inside the ReBuilding Center warehouse. Many of these newly repurposed finished pieces can be found in buildings such as a modern LEED-certified cabin retreat by Neil Kelly, several New Season’s markets, and dozens of private homes and corporate offices.
Both a showcase for excellent design and innovative materials and a kind of idea center for DIY’s to see the potential in found materials, ReFind had for many years lived an itinerant life moving around from corner to corner inside the massive ReBuilding Center warehouse. With the growing stature of their designs, it was time to find a more permanent home with a sidewalk accessible storefront to better illuminate the ReFind alchemy. Armed with a Portland Development Commission storefront improvement grant, ReFind approached Emerick Architects and newly minted Portland Spaces Root Design Winner Orange Design Industries to design and contract build a new showroom inside the existing ReBuilding Center.
The challenge was to create something that was a separate store space but echoed the design of the larger warehouse space. Emerick and Orange tackled this by pairing clean, modern fixtures—such as three large, donated glass and metal doors—with warm, industrial salvaged wood. White panel doors from the 1920s contrast with dark barn wood; raw reclaimed 2×4s lie next to planed clear vertical growth fir. A 13-foot wide display wall is filled with horizontal, re-milled trim, salvaged by ReFind Furniture from old floor and wall joists. Galvanized railings by Suri Iron and accents of purpleheart wood, left over from a deck remodel, add to the industrial yet warm feel of the new showroom.
With some extra donated time from Emerick on the permitting and plans, and some assistance from Columbia Wire & Iron and Sherman Engineering, the whole project was done on a shoestring. The materials, of course, were all recycled from other buildings.
As for the feel of the space, the rollup door frontage is so seamless that it is tempting to think that they were always part of the original building. As you progress through the new storefront, you feel a part of the larger warehouse due to the open ceiling, but also know that you are in your own little world surrounded by spectacular pieces of modern handmade furniture, repurposed shelves, quirky picture frames, and alltogether unclassifiable new clever items that you know you just want. The space welcomes you. The rollup doors will be wonderful in the summertime as it will feel like a kind of modern alfresco furniture cafe. There is a mixture of oldness in the grain of the Pacific Northwest wood and the industrialness of the walls with the very new modern repurposing of the space with clean lines and unique design.
An excellent “addition” to an excellent organization.
The Grand Opening is this Saturday, November 22 with Kirby Jones and Emily Krafft on hand, models from the Junk to Funk Fashion Show walking the room, and a drawing for a ReFind table at 4pm. Check it out and get a jump on your holiday shopping!
