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On the last Saturday in January, our Portland store hosted Sherry and John Petersik, that loveable blogger/author/married couple/intrepid DIY team better known as Young House Love.
Awww…ain’t Young House Love grand?
We knew the event was going to be big, so we loaded up on books and fought over who would get to help out at the event, because naturally we have lots of DIYers and young lovers of houses here at Rejuvenation. Two Tarts, the sweetest little cookie shop, baked tons of delicious heart cookies, and the F&B cafe, which shares our space, brewed lots of hot coffee in preparation for the hungry, patient line-waiters.
Four hundred people came from all across the Pacific Northwest – and even the Midwest and Canada – to show their own Young House Love. We tried to play the “Who came from farthest away?” game, and talked to folks from Seattle, Vancouver, B.C., Boise, Idaho, and even Wisconsin. Let us repeat that: Wisconsin!
John and Sherry have been on a whirlwind book tour across America, but you wouldn’t have known it to look at them. They were just as fresh and personable in real life as they always are on their blog.
They loved the store, but were a little scared of the stairs:
John and Sherry brave our stairs — just one of the many impressive features of our Portland store
After descending the stairs safely, the Young House Lovers gave a short talk about the five things they didn’t expect about writing a book,
Do you want to know what really surprised John and Sherry about writing a book? How much fun it was. And also, how much work.
and then commenced autographing books and chatting with their 400 new friends.
As Elizabeth, one of their many fans, put it, “They’re great because they really let you into the whole DIY design process. They share all the mistakes they make along the way so you don’t make the same ones. It makes it all seem much more do-able.”
And speaking of do-able: check out our new plug-in pendants. They’re perfect for the DIYer because they don’t require an electrician. All you have to do is hang a hook, swag the cord, and plug it in. Since we couldn’t wish for a more appropriate launch pad, we raffled off our Skidmore plug-in during the Petersiks’ visit.
Lucky Rochelle Zirdum of Hillsboro won it. Maybe, in the Young House Love spirit, she’ll be willing to share with us her Befores and Afters….
Thanks so much to those who attended and, most of all, to John and Sherry for spreading the love in Portland. You can read their version of events (all good, we promise!) here.
As a company that cares about preserving the best of the past and building for the future, we understand that one good way to ensure a better tomorrow is by educating children today. But in this age of routine budget cuts, teachers often find themselves with fewer resources — especially the little extras that enrich the learning experience. For more than 15 years, our Cash for Kids program has helped provide public school teachers in our communities with thousands of dollars. Each November, every Rejuvenation employee with children in public school is given a $100 donation per child. This year 80 classrooms received donations.
A 5th grader at a Portland elementary school delivers the $100 donation to her teacher
The teachers, as always, were extremely appreciative. As a high-school teacher noted, “This year I am teaching U.S. History. I plan to use the money to purchase supplementary textbooks for the talented and gifted students. These books will be used to challenge students beyond the regular curriculum and potentially earn Honors credit.”
Cash for Kids has always been close to the heart of Rejuvenation’s founder, Jim Kelly. “From the beginning, I loved the program because it was about way more than the 100 bucks. It’s good for the schools, good for the teachers, and good for the kids.”
It does us good to know that we’re helping children build for the future (even if right now they’re building it out of Legos).
Translation: Dear Rejuvenation, Thank you for the money. We are going to buy legos.
Last Thursday, The Oregonian published a piece about one of our very own: Justin Grow. Justin, one of our Portland salvage buyers, is making historically accurate concrete blocks for his 1910 home, using turn-of-the century machinery. Not only are we thrilled to see Justin’s painstaking preservation project gain the attention it deserves, we’re also delighted that we broke the story here first.
It’s well-known that Portland is a Do-It-Yourselfer’s paradise, and that the city celebrates people who make and do their own thing. Many of these folks pass through our store on a daily basis, in search of inspiration and beautiful products to complete their projects. Which is why we’re excited to host the hottest DIY couple around, Sherry and John Petersik of Young House Love. The Petersiks will be at our store on Saturday, January 26, 2013 from 12:00 to 3:00 PM to sign copies of their new, bestselling book (aptly titled Young House Love).
The Young House Love blog started out as a hobby. The self-described “DIY dorks” decided to chronicle the transformation of their Richmond, Virginia ranch from a “needs-some-love house into a love-it-to-pieces home.” (Naturally, this is exactly the kind of undertaking we heartily support here at Rejuvenation!) With its cheery style and smart advice, the blog developed a devoted following – and collected some major media kudus along the way (HGTV, The New York Times, and Forbes, to name a few).
Thanks to the blog’s success (and a whole lot of hard work), the Petersiks were able to quit their day jobs, wrote a book, and are now hitting the road to meet and greet friends and fans across the country – hurrah!
So, Portlanders, mark your calendars because your chance to meet the Petersiks is coming soon. You can pick up their book, Young House Love, in advance at our store. We hear their book signings have been incredibly well attended, so you’d be smart to arrive good and early. You’ll also have a chance to win our new Skidmore Plug-In.
If you’ve ever fulfilled a craving for a burger, shake, and fries, you may have done so at the restaurant Johnny Rockets. The chain, which has locations in 30 states and 16 countries, celebrates good food and old-fashioned Americana with its 1940s diner atmosphere.
Three Galaxy chandeliers shine in an updated Johnny Rockets location
(photo credit: restaurant development + design magazine)
Recently, the successful 26-year-old chain decided it was time to spruce up its look. It entrusted the makeover to Morris Nathanson Design, who then appealed to Rejuvenation’s expert and experienced trade team. The designers needed lighting that complemented the restaurant’s new look – a late ’60s/early ’70s style defined by chrome details, warm wood paneling, and accents of Johnny Rockets’ signature red. Given our broad assortment of period-authentic styles, we had just the thing to evoke a mid-century mood: the Galaxy.
As with all our reproduction lighting, the Galaxy is based on a period original: the Stockholm series, manufactured by EJS lighting in 1959. This sleek chandelier features Atomic Age details, including a streamlined hourglass profile and perforated aluminum shades that create a lovely starlight effect. Because we make the Galaxy with two to five arms, the design team could select the largest version to suit the proportions of the restaurant.
But there was more beyond the Galaxy. Plans for the new interior also called for lights over the dining counter to match the chandeliers. Happily, Rejuvenation could supply the perfect fixtures…but first we had to design them.
In our 36 years of helping trade customers, we’ve learned that no two projects are ever the same (nor would we want them to be!). That’s why we offer customization options like finish, shade, length, and arm choices, and we also craft special order pieces–lighting that’s not on our regular menu, if you will. For Johnny Rockets, we knew we needed to come up with a unique solution, so we set to work creating it.
And so the Rokot was launched – a single pendant version of the Galaxy chandelier. We liked the finished piece so much that we later added it to our Mid-Century Modern Collection.
The Rokot – Mid-Century Modern pendant
In the end, it was a match made in burger heaven. Not only did we get to create a fun new fixture, we helped out a brand that shares our love for classic American design.
