By Marissa Allweiss, Salvage Store PR/Information Officer

On Saturday, February 12th, Rebuilding Together New Orleans Deconstruction and Salvage Program partnered with Traci Claussen, founder of REpurposingNOLA Piece by Peace, to co-host the first of four community workshops. This successful, hands on workshop led ten participants step-by-step in the production of their own gourmet serving trays designed by Claussen. At the end of the day the participants were not only able to take home their handcrafted trays, but, by utilizing salvaged materials from the Preservation Salvage Store, they also got the opportunity to take home a piece of New Orleans’ history.

“By conducting these workshops, where individuals discover how to recreate with salvaged materials, it is our hope that we can further educate the New Orleans community on the many ways of working with reclaimed materials while increasing the appreciation for historic preservation and the deconstruction,” said Sean Vissar, Deconstruction and Salvage Program manager for RTNO.

The pine flooring that was used for the tray making workshop was salvaged from a New Orleans home by RTNO’s Deconstruction Program. The deconstruction crew prepped, sanded, and cut the wood to size for the course so that even participants with little knowledge of power tools and woodworking could transform the materials into unique gourmet serving trays.

As one workshop participant, Sharon Husman, states, “I love my tray! Yet, knowing where these materials came from and learning the process it takes for us to be able to use the materials, makes me love my tray that much more!”

Traci Claussen, a familiar name to Rebuilding Together New Orleans, reflects on this: “My philosophy is to Be Cool; Do Good, and it carries into everything we do at REpurposingNOLA. It is why we decided to donate our popular salvage tray design to Rebuilding Together New Orleans as a way of giving back to the community with an educational purpose that may inspire others to consider re-purposing instead of
disposing of perfectly good materials.”

Having such a strong supporter of Rebuilding Together New Orleans in Claussen – who donated $300 of proceeds from her 4th tray series to the non-profit organization – is truly remarkable. With RTNO being a mutual enthusiast for REpurposingNOLA, co-hosting a series of workshops with Claussen seemed inevitable. And, as it turns out, a wonderful and educational experience, as stated by one workshop participant, “My dad and I attended and had the best time. It was such a great, fun, and interesting group and everyone was so enthusiastic. We both enjoyed it so much that I signed us up (and paid!) for the next workshop before we left.”

The second in the workshop series will give participants the opportunity to make their own picture frames. While this second course is already filled to capacity there are still two more workshops with spaces left scheduled for Saturday, April 16th and May 21st. If you are interested in learning how to create a beautiful item with reclaimed materials, this is your opportunity! Experience one of these workshops, held in the newly renovated Materials Reuse Workshop at 1239 St. Ferdinand, and discover your creative side.

To sign up for one of these workshops or for more information, email Marissa at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).