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.
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.
“ 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.
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.
“The best thing about today was the teamwork.”
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.
