Moose Patrol

In the winter of 2006 I worked to set up a ReStore. We collected donated building supplies and resold them to the public. But before we could make sales (which filled the coffers of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate) we had to rehabilitate our building.

The ReStore occupied one half of a warehouse on the edge of town. The City of Williamston used the other half for some municipal trucks and auxilliary office space. According to the fire inspector, our space was not up to code. In a strange twist of fate, we had to restore our building before we could help others restore theirs.

The interior of the ReStore.

The dream of the ReStore was to provide access to second-hand building suppiles, appliances, and furniture for families who might not otherwise be able to afford them. Restoration, however implies something insidious about ownership: it implies that all durable goods are rented. Desks, chairs, refrigerators, lamps, lumber, windows. If they outlast their owner, then somebody else will use them. The ReStore made this salvage economy only more accessable.

Over the course of September this weblog will investigate the topic of restoration. Although the restoration of physical structures is familiar to me, other aspects will be considered.