Reclaimed Wood, Where Do We Take It From Here?
“It's the same old tune, fiddle and guitar, where do we take it from here…….we've been the same years for years. We need to change" – Waylon Jennings 1975.
Obviously when Waylon penned this verse to his iconic country hit “Are you sure Hank done it this way?" back in the 1970's he was referring to changes brewing in the country music scene and not the reclaimed wood industry. However, the question of “where do we take it from here? aptly applies and resonates within our industry as we find ourselves focusing on the state of the reclaimed/antique wood world and what the future holds for us.
Well, where do we take it from here? The reclaimed wood flooring industry began with humble roots early on, in the building trade. Savvy individual builders, recognizing the beauty of weathered and aged salvaged lumber, started incorporating the use of the reclaimed materials in club basements and novel rustic accents within their own homes. It wasn't long before they (this author included) soon started offering these options to their clientele. With the material relatively available and often for the asking anytime an old barn or old building was being torn down, the idea of the adaptive reuse of this valuable resource steadily caught on over the course of the past few decades.
Widely accepted now as a viable product for use in private home, retail and commercial building projects, reclaimed woods have become part of our cultural mainstream consciousness. Reclaimed woods are not only beautiful and functional but as a recycled product are widely accepted as a very green product as we look towards finding and using building materials that impact our environment minimally. Building upon the acceptance of the use of reclaimed woods, especially for use as hardwood flooring, and following up the surge of interest in and wide acceptance of the use of other products produced from them, is the focus of the next generation of those promoting the use of reclaimed woods.
Waylon, in his hit tune, was only advocating “changing up" the music that he loved and embraced to meet the changes occurring in the culture as country music mainstreamed. One only has to look at the music charts to see where it took him and others from there.
Olde Wood Limited of Malvern, Ohio is among the best of the next generation from within the reclaimed wood industry looking to “change up" and broaden awareness of the potential for the widest range of uses for reclaimed recycled woods and building products. We need to change, not for the sake of change but to move progressively forward from where we have been to where we need to go for the benefit of all - the consumer, the manufacturer, the employee, the salvager. As Tommy Sancic, the owner of Olde Wood Limited said recently, “we have only scratched the surface of where and how reclaimed wood products are going to be utilized", it's going to be a fun ride."