A Piece of Cleveland

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. 115^th 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.