May 17, 2012

APOC will be in NYC for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair! In collabo with 44 STEEL!

We are showing the APOC 44 line of tables and benches.

Here is the text from one of the Rebirth Certificates coming with us:


Material Source & Story:
2620 E. 115th St. Cleveland

The Place: Prior to the 1920s, most Italian immigrants lived in the Big Italy neighborhood, but conflict between other ethnic groups in that area prompted some families to move to communities in nearby areas of Cleveland. The neighborhood from which the wood for your table originated was one such enclave, the seventh of these offshoot communities.

Maintaining cultural and familial ties was of the utmost importance to Italians; many of the immigrants to Cleveland came from the same villages. Hometown societies, as well as strong church communities, allowed them to keep their heritage alive. Though many choose to concentrate on linking Italian immigrants with organized crime, that lifestyle was much more anomalous than usual.

The People: John Ciarlillo was born in 1884 in what was recorded as Sangonni, Italy. Though reference to a village named Sangonni cannot be found, it possibly refers to the Val Sangone, a valley in Piedmont, Italy. He immigrated to the United States as a boy, in 1895.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Ciarlillo lived in the house at 2620 E. 115th Street with his wife, Philomena, and his children, John Jr., Joe, Vincent, Gusty, Peter, and Marie. He was a janitor at Hawken School, which was then a small private school that educated boys from kindergarten through ninth grade. He and his wife died on the same day in 1960. The cause of death is not clear. They are buried at Lake View Cemetery.

The Wood and Metal: Antique Southern Yellow Pine was shipped to Cleveland and other industrial cities from the late 1800's through to the 1930's. This wood is old-growth, solid pine not found in the market today.

44 Steel, and APOC have developed a line of fully customizable furniture for the modern home.

May 14, 2012

Deconstruction VS Demolition


I’m sure many of the Apoc Blog readers are familiar with demolition, which literally is just knocking down a building when it is beyond repair. Demolishing houses is relatively simple, since they are usually only 2-3 stories high. The process involves a safety plan so that the debris doesn’t affect surrounding areas and people by planning where it falls. Even though it is planned, it’s rather chaotic: the building is collapsed with smashing and rubble. After a building is knocked down, the waste materials are loaded into trucks and transported to the local landfill.

The process of demolition does not take into account the preservation of recyclable materials. Everything is just toppled and piled together, dumped into a truck and taken away to waste and decay in a landfill. Some demolition waste that breaks down in landfills give off hazardous elements and gases, and may contain other hazardous materials. Since most landfills are already over capacity, this only contributes to MORE landfills being created – which is a waste of space and materials, and, as you all well know, is terrible for the environment.

Deconstruction is a great solution to demolition. From the start, deconstruction is considering the possibility of saving materials. The approach is truly green, taking the time to sort out things that can be recycled or reused. If properly organized and carried out, deconstruction can divert up to 90% of materials away from landfills,

Apoc has a successful deconstruction program that utilizes an important source of materials. Reclaiming wood from local, expired homes around Cleveland not only gives back to the planet, but gives back to the community by respecting the history of the buildings and neighborhoods from which the reclaimed wood is sourced.

Be sure to catch the Details Magazine article covering Apoc’s contribution to the Rust Belt Revival.


-TB