unconsumption:

An interesting post over on Deep Glamour considers “the reclaimed glamour of architectural salvage.” Here’s an excerpt:

[Baltimore artist Sean O’Harra  and Meg Fairfax Fielding, the author of the Pigtown Design blog] agree that people are drawn to the inherent glamour of vintage materials, whether they’re raw or have been reworked to create something new. “We’re honoring our past and what came before us,” says Fielding.

But both add warnings. Fielding notes that, like so many other things that are glamorous on the surface, architectural salvage requires a great deal of dirty, gritty work for both sellers and shoppers. …

O’Harra’s concerns relate to the popularity of vintage materials and what that means for quality. “A lot of antique shops and pickers jumped on this bandwagon and make things that people see as interesting. But a lot of times, I think there’s not a good marriage between materials. People eat it up because it’s aged, but it doesn’t always look aesthetically pleasing to me.”

O’Harra also laments the increased popularity of newly made objects with a vintage look, which is at odds with his environmentally-conscious approach to reusing materials. “A lot of what you see is not vintage – it’s recast materials made with new wood. That’s not the right thing. These are one-off objects that shouldn’t be mass-produced.”

The rest is here: The Reclaimed Glamour of Architectural Salvage – Deep Glamour: At the Intersection of Imagination & Desire