Adaptive Reuse (thisoldhouse.com article)

I came across this article on This Old House.com and thought it had some really creative and ingenius ideas and designs for renovating and reusing material and buildings for new living spaces. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20052183,00.html

WhirlyBall

With all the happenings going on with the storm and the power outage, I completely forgot to make the post about our outing to play whirlyball. I had heard of it but never played before. For those of you not familiar, it is a strange combination of lacrosse, basketball and bumper cars. The object is to scoop up a wiffle ball and shoot it into your teams net while riding around in bumber cars smashing into one another. It was a riot, soooooooo much fun. Our backs were a little sore and you tend to bump you knees on the on steering handle but totally worth it. No skill necessary.

Storm Pictures

As of 7:30 this morning the power is still out at the shop but I grabbed the usb cable, here are the pics. I don't think the sky was quite that dark in the last pic but I thought it looked really cool.

Storm Stories

If you are not in the Chicago area, we had some crazy storms the other day. Horror movie lightning, jump out of your skin thunder. Tornado sirens going off. It came up so quickly, one minute it started to rain and the next the trees were bending almost to the ground the rain was horizontal, then out went the lights. Never seen aything like that before. I will admit I was shakin', all of us moving far away from the windows as possible. I am clicking off things in my head, like get under a table, stand in a door way, no no that's an earthquake. Possible tornado go the basement, we don't have a basement, we have bathtubs. Repeat new mantra, "please let the roof stay on, please let the roof stay on."

So the worst passed. There were branches from trees that we have no idea where they came from. I just hope the sunglasses that we found in the driveway weren't on someone's face when they flew away. We had some branches and debris in our area but considering the damage in other parts of the area were were very lucky. Still without power though. I am writing this post from home. We took pictures, I remembered the camera, I remembered the extra batteries and charger for it, but oh yeah, where is my USB cable, AT THE STORE argghhh. So pics will have to wait.

Starting Your Own Salvage Company

People ask us all of the time “how did you get started in salvage?” or “I’ve had this dream for years, how do I start a salvage business?”
We are truly flattered by all of the wonderful comments sent to us about our business but I also giggle to myself because if you had been filming us in the early days it would have made a top rated comedic “You Tube” video today.
It has definitely been an upward battle with great losses and enormous gains monetarily. Many character building moments, ah ha moments, complete break down moments, and rebuilding both relationships and spirit moments.
I don’t know who said it but we live by the saying that “if it were easy to start a business, everyone would do it”. And it’s true. There are fabulous and not so fabulous things that come with owning your own business such as your time is truly yours. We work much longer hours than we ever did while working for someone else but when it’s yours and it’s your passion, time doesn’t seem to matter. We’re able to leave and do the everyday things most people have to wait until the weekend to do. What’s funny is that there is always an urgency to get back to the showroom and see what going on, whose emailed, is there a new opportunity waiting for us in voicemail? The downside is that you are completely tied to your business. And you have to be to make it into your fifth and crucial year of business. Ask my husband, I live and breath Island Girl Salvage. It’s like a child that I’m raising to be an upstanding citizen.
I digress, how to get started you ask? The first and probably most important thing we did was to reach out to the Woman’s Business Development Center in Chicago. We signed up for a seminar series called “Jump Start Your Business”. The seminars were taught by successful entrepreneurs that held nothing back. It was hard work and they kicked our butts weekly but we learned more there than anywhere else. The series taught how to create a business plan, how to get financing, what type of business do you have, Retail, wholesale, service? What kind of capital do YOU have to start? Ah yes, consider those pedicures and manicures luxury items when you get started. What does your business model look like? How will you make money? We learned that we still had to hone our selling technique. How do you get people to come into your store? Heck, what kind of store do you have? Is it brick and mortar, online, consignment, word of mouth out of your garage? And then, how do you get them to buy something from you? This is where the type of merchandise that you sell comes into play. Salvage is tough and there are many levels of what is considered salvage. Are you selling museum quality pieces? Are you selling house parts, commercial parts, and industrial items? Are you going to rewire your light fixtures? Think overhead, think about services. Are you able to deliver, ship, can you handle a claw foot tub? Are you able to hire a crew for demolition or are you going to rely on extracted inventory? And let me tell you, salvage is not a valued commodity as far as the banks are concerned. If you’re planning on getting a loan to start you may want to reconsider. Banks can’t value your salvage inventory. There’s no basis for tracking what the value of a claw foot tub is. Salvage is an industry where it’s whatever the market will bear.
Now what about the integral people you’ll need to maintain your business. How are you going to track inventory and sales? Are you familiar with QickBooks? Take a class. Hire an accountant to help set up your books and your taxing. You’ll need an attorney to file your business and help you figure out all of the liabilities of owning a business. Are you going to trademark?

Have I scared you yet? Here are several questions to ask yourself, and then seek out an organization that helps entrepreneurs get started. Then let us know your experience!

Is salvage your passion?
Have you written a business plan?
How much can you afford upfront and down the road?
How much do you plan on spending on marketing, overhead, inventory, employees?
What is your niche?
How will you reach people?
Do people want to buy what you have to sell?
What kind of store do you envision? Is it possible?
Do you have the time to commit to a business?
How can you do it better than what’s already available?
Do you have the support around you to take on starting a business?
Where will you get your inventory?
Do you know how to soft salvage?
Do you have insurance?
Do you have a network in mind for buying your inventory?
Do you have enough inventory to fill your imagined store space? What do you need to make to cover your expenses?
Do you have a marketing plan in writing?

I'm sure I've missed quite a bit of information. Please feel free to add to it.
Thanks,
Tab

"If only I'd thought about it" Clawfoot Tub

Yesterday was a funny kind of day. Check out the last post and you will see that we got a lot of terra cotta. We worked all afternoon bringing it in. We weren't expecting it so you will also notice that Tab is not wearing proper footwear for this kind of thing. Anyway I remembered recently seeing a sneaker in the back of cab of the truck and went to go them for her. Well what I found was one sneaker and one sock. To which Tab said "That seems about right for you". All that got me thinking about some of the less than stellar moments and I guess it is time to face up and share some of the 'well that wasn't too bright" I have been reluctant to do so since most of them belong to me.

Anyway here goes. We had gotten this fantastic 4 1/2 foot clawfoot tub in great condition. We went to pick it up with my pick-up truck, promptly put in the bed and drove away, happy with our lovely new find. I got a 30 feet and stopped for a stop sign, the next thing I know I am covered in glass and the tub is practically in the passenger seat. Nothing was hurt but the window and my forehead from smacking it "stupid, stupid, stupid" The window has since been replaced and we learned our lesson. Always put the flat side of the tub in first.

Liz

End of the Day

My brain can't think of anything to say right now for the time being I will let the photo speak for itself.

Architectural Salvage News Article July/August Issue

Lately I’ve been hearing from peers in the industry that business is slowing down and at times this seems like an understatement. The housing market instability has slowed remodeling projects and the gas prices are making shipping and delivery costly for all of us.

I think it’s safe to say that most of us can’t afford to ride out the storm rather we must use our ingenuity to create new revenue streams. One area that we at Island Girl Salvage are exploring is cross promotional merchandising. Most communities have an area of high end boutiques geared towards those not affected by the everyday fluctuations in the markets. We’ve partnered up with just such a boutique in Chicago.

C’est Moi on Damen Ave in Chicago offers French inspired home décor items to its extensive and loyal clientele. Owner Anne Chalesle carries the best in Pine Cone Hill Linens, Company C Rugs, dinnerware, Sabre Silverware, new baby décor gifts such as David Fussenegger Throws, and personal care items. Her inventory is constantly changing with the latest trends in home décor but her display units weren’t.

Anne and I had been casually talking about partnering on some level to increase sales for both of our businesses. Island Girl Salvage is off the beaten track so bringing customers into the physical store is a constant battle for us. C’est Moi has a great location in Chicago within a high traffic area surrounded by several boutiques for a unique shopping experience. Anne wanted to try some vintage items to be used as display units but also be for sale. We handpicked some French inspired items such as a café table and chair set, a brass bed, and a red leather trunk. We’ve also brought in columns and some stained glass.

“My customers are pleased with the new accents in the store and excited about what will show up next. Architectural salvage and vintage items have punched up my existing merchandise and filled in with new colors and textures that I didn’t have before” says Anne Chalesle owner of C’est Moi in Chicago. It’s a win; win for both of us. Anne receives the benefit of new merchandise and we receive a new outlet for our inventory. There are no secrets here; we are telling our customers about each other because we have such different businesses we are able to compliment each other and provide a broader service and introduction to our customers. Customers buying Pine Cone Hill linens from Anne may also need a fabulous vintage light fixture to hang over a table or bed. An Island Girl Salvage customer comes in for a door to use as a headboard and we’ll turn them onto C’est Moi for linens. That’s where a successful cross promotion program will take you. We’ve taken the opportunity in introducing a new option in home décor to Anne’s customers that isn’t being done today.

We are creating a stronger awareness of both our businesses and along the way have created a strong personal bond between us. Anne has been a pleasure to work with. It’s been a wonderful team effort and I’m excited about the future of both of our businesses.

C’est Moi is located at 2129 North Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647. Phone number is 773-269-2116, Website is http://www.cestmoi.us/

Island Girl Salvage is located at 160 Kelly Street, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007.
Phone number is 847-593-2433, Website is http://www.islandgirlsalvage.com/

This Old House Website & Tile.

Things have been just looney around here - there is always something that needs doing and never enough hours in the day to do it. Add the heat and humidity to that and it is hard to keep moving. But enough of my complaining, I wanted to quickly post that we are the Salvage Resource of the month on http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/salvage and that we have gotten tile, lot's and lot's of tile. Trent, Cambridge, Majolica, US Encaustic. We are steadily adding it to the website (new page just for tile) so please visit. http://www.islandgirlsalvage.com/

Sustainable Building

Good Morning, and I am a morning person but even I cannot fathom why my internal clock has decided that 5am is way to go. So here I sit sipping coffee. But that is not the real reason I am writing this post. I was introduced to Heather via email a couple of weeks ago. This is her house and it is remarkable, Green, Near Zero Energy, & Affordable.

http://www.heathershome.info/