On March 10, we held a launch reception and tour of the pop-up makerspace program. The following day, Butcher Shop Rehab’s L. Ward and Kenya Abdul-Hadi shared the secrets behind making beautiful furniture using reclaimed wood through a Reclaim. Rebuild. Repurpose workshop in which they guided teams of community members through the process of creating designer-inspired tables.

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Workshop participants contemplated the three R’s of Chester Made, Reclaim, Repurpose, Rebuild, while analyzing materials, designing and working together to build beautiful pieces of furniture.

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“ I learned to make tables, use different materials, how to sell my art to make extra income—skills to take back to my community,” says one workshop participant. L and Kenya of BSR ensure to include lessons on entrepreneurship as a main component in all of their workshops.

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L Ward emphasizes the technical skills needed to create a quality coffee table, and he demonstrates the difference between using repurposed materials vs. generic wood, nails, screws, etc.

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“The best thing about today was the teamwork.”

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James Thompson, Jason Aviles, Jared Blair Wiley, Kim Carroll, and Connie Irvin pose around their completed table which will one day be housed in a public space in Chester to hold Chester Made materials and engage even more residents.