Magnificent Home Improvements: recycled timber furniture

<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We like Christchurch's Rekindle, a fascinating firm making furniture out of demolition timber. We also like Shop Eight, the great cafe in New Regent Street it shares its headquarters with. HOME's Jeremy Hansen spoke to Juliet Arnott, Rekindle's founder, about the business. Guy Frederick took the photographs. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFFr7hbfLu-KzLYZO4wNgJpNE9uTWnR2HY1RbDYMMPEb1ONIADlfbAsp2I4pDols-mu5w-DVipFq2C7dI99ltYRopaoNyLs152-oVK9SiIf4zWcWU-wm4-NU-vHKsPh74BxhkfNuuVfc/s1600/B4524849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFFr7hbfLu-KzLYZO4wNgJpNE9uTWnR2HY1RbDYMMPEb1ONIADlfbAsp2I4pDols-mu5w-DVipFq2C7dI99ltYRopaoNyLs152-oVK9SiIf4zWcWU-wm4-NU-vHKsPh74BxhkfNuuVfc/s640/B4524849.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juliet Arnott, Rekindle's founder, in Shop Eight cafe. She's sitting at a table by Rekindle</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>HOME </b><b>We love your new café and studio space. What is it comprised of?</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">JULIET ARNOTT Downstairs is Liz Phelan’s Shop Eight, a café we built from materials diverted from landfill including handcrafted Rekindle furniture. Upstairs is our Rekindle shared studio space. In a city where built space is so limited we’re happily working to use the small space as resourcefully as we can. We hold evening events and forums that invite discussion from a diverse audience on topics of concern. It's certainly a space that encourages conversation. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-dfMvoL8yYRM84TObrPXT9s4kicpCiJCgylIQhH1RQquiFLuhgotTZCV8W5N1p3ippGcRas2hAwJujwbtaT6TtHgLCkQDSQ3KeK9hPFHoPzXGdtoJyl0T35wuatooyH2OwGYbBJW7Io/s1600/_MG_1090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-dfMvoL8yYRM84TObrPXT9s4kicpCiJCgylIQhH1RQquiFLuhgotTZCV8W5N1p3ippGcRas2hAwJujwbtaT6TtHgLCkQDSQ3KeK9hPFHoPzXGdtoJyl0T35wuatooyH2OwGYbBJW7Io/s640/_MG_1090.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shop Eight cafe is located in the refurbished Christchurch heritage zone of New Regent Street.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>What is Rekindle, and what made you want to start it? </b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rekindle came out of my therapeutic concerns as an occupational therapist for those who have barriers to coping in working life, and my desire to use a creative process to problem-solve wood waste. I began to see that these concerns could be met via a social enterprise that uses wood waste to create employment and beautiful products. This began in Auckland but soon after the earthquakes I decided it was time to move back to Christchurch. Rekindle is young, but we are flowing some work to community groups here who need it, and building demand for our furniture in the store and online.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzYLWOrrSA8k4oPhIhSDBzy4uz9K3Ss2rF_6bZJfc3vTWCMc5jNeTyXKJlRdOGcxVhNy_E-KNzKKyB9RyObfeZTXzP7PthcFUR9Rz8o3CH9-ONUlos83ihxpaSbWurlDqY45_HwFCSM0/s1600/B4524823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzYLWOrrSA8k4oPhIhSDBzy4uz9K3Ss2rF_6bZJfc3vTWCMc5jNeTyXKJlRdOGcxVhNy_E-KNzKKyB9RyObfeZTXzP7PthcFUR9Rz8o3CH9-ONUlos83ihxpaSbWurlDqY45_HwFCSM0/s640/B4524823.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Rekindle chair in the company's workshop.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>You’re located in a strange heritage oasis in the midst of the red zone. What’s that – and life in Christchurch generally – like at the moment? </b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yes it is strange, a beautiful old street set against a backdrop of demolition. We value the heritage enormously and have kept the street signage from the mid 1900s. The realities of loss are still very present in Christchurch, and we feel this particularly in our salvage work with home owners. But innovation and hope are strong features of daily life here, there are many passionate discussions about what could be.  </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopkFEEz5L3AMRm6iA6_OCjKLiCeZ6V2zuOAfTGapH2ijaFRdP7ZqVgUYDbaMnbuCHSE04ZFCLtgmLJ3J9vbJkL6a6DsnVuMEvLj_Lxs_f3PVVHI7C1WktO1Kf-4p9ST2g3JqfVQVANvM/s1600/B4524998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopkFEEz5L3AMRm6iA6_OCjKLiCeZ6V2zuOAfTGapH2ijaFRdP7ZqVgUYDbaMnbuCHSE04ZFCLtgmLJ3J9vbJkL6a6DsnVuMEvLj_Lxs_f3PVVHI7C1WktO1Kf-4p9ST2g3JqfVQVANvM/s640/B4524998.jpg" width="508" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rekindle furniture outside Shop Eight in Christchurch's recently reopened New Regent Street.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Shop Eight and Rekindle are located at 8 New Regent Street, Christchurch. Click <a href="http://www.rekindle.org.nz/">here</a> for more information about Rekindle.  </i></div>

We like: Rekindling Christchurch

We like Christchurch's Rekindle, a fascinating firm making furniture out of demolition timber. We also like Shop Eight, the great cafe ...

Magnificent Home Improvements

We like: Rekindling Christchurch

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