|
|
|
|
|
Important Deadline! (John Kriegshauser)
Experts who study the marketing of craft claim that people are reluctant to buy a craft product until they have encountered the maker’s name and/or work a minimum of three times. That means that getting your work before the public is an absolute imperative, if you ever hope to sell it. Over 20,000 people will view your work at the show. Many times that number will view your work in the media coverage that we are working very hard to secure. Seize this fabulous opportunity to put your work before the public. Take an hour to submit a proposal for a piece that you will exhibit in the show. Are you too busy with today’s urgent matters to attend to the important things that can further your career? A show like the upcoming “Sustainable Furniture...Chicago Designers Respond” does not happen every year. In fact, you may never have the chance to exhibit in a show of this magnitude again. The deadline for Sustainable Furniture has been extended to February 15 in order to accommodate the publishing deadline for the AIA newsletter. Take advantage of it. The CFDA’s long term members should claim their places before new comers arrive and crowd them out. Program Schedule Feb. 8, 2005 Andy Pace, who represents the Safe Building Solutions Company, will explain the AFM line of environmentally benign finishing products. Many members have concerns about finishing products, because so many products present health hazards and contribute to air pollution. Andy's talk will acquaint us with the finishing products he represents, and he will be able to talk about developments in the industry generally. In addition, Andy represents several lines of environmentally friendly building materials, that include Wheatboard and Bamboo plywood, which he will talk about as well. Andy is a busy man, and we are lucky to find him available at this critical stage of our sustainable furniture projects. Mar. 8, 2005 Evan Lewis has successfully merged his interest in metal sculpture with furniture making. Many of us will remember the large cabinet he exhibited in our last Cultural Center show, which featured a steel frame and panels upholstered in pony skin. Also, Evan frequently employs very deft forge work in his pieces. Evan is rarely encountered outside of his busy studio, so don't miss this chance to see what he is up to. April 12, 2005 Bill First, as many of us know, is a photographer first and a furniture designer/maker second. In fact Bill teaches photography at Columbia College. Bill will talk to us on a subject about which we all need to learn more: photographing for our professional portfolios. As pieces are readied for the Sustainability Show, we are simultaneously approaching a massive photo moment, so arrive early and get a good seat.
|
CFDA January 11, 2005 - Membership Meeting Report
Dan Kowalik
| Attendees:
Chris Brandel New Visitors Felicia Lyda Announcements Judy S. Show: Pete - Please redistribute the most recent membership list Sustainability Show Sustainability submission deadline is February 15, 2005 Website - Please forward any jpeg to Pete regarding the sustainability show for the website. Signs are in rough shape, think about getting new ones Barry suggested the book, "How to get on the air and into print
2005" as a great tool to help with the PR. Guest Speaker: Chris brought several samples of sustainable materials. Below is a list of what was distributed with a brief description. Yemm and Hart Recycled plastic,rubber sheet ¼" thick |
Aluminum
versus Wood
John Kriegshauser
| Aluminum versus Wood: an amateur environmental
analysis
My wife became so interested in the question of whether wood or aluminum was the more sustainable material that she spent an afternoon running down some statistics on the web. She learned some surprising things, and we found that the analysis of the question is complex. To produce one dollar's worth of aluminum from ore the aluminum industry uses nine times the amount energy that the lumber industry uses to produce a dollar's worth of wood. Furthermore, aluminum smelting primarily consumes electrical energy produced from the burning of coal, a non-renewable resource. Lumber production derives most of its energy from the burning of wood waste, a renewable resource. If, however, this aluminum is derived from recycled material, the industry can produce a dollar's worth of metal with less than half the energy expenditure involved in producing a dollar's worth of lumber! Now let's consider the difference in price. A board foot of oak, at retail, will cost about $6, but an equivalent volume of aluminum, in an out of date McMaster catalog cost over $60. In other words, even if the aluminum is recycled, the production of a piece of it 12" x 12" x ¾" will consume five times more energy than the production of an equivalent amount of a premium hardwood! Of course the previous comparison is not entirely fair, because aluminum is not normally used in the form of thick slabs, as wood is. Normally, aluminum is used as thin sheets and hollow tubes. When this difference is factored in, the energy cost of recycled aluminum becomes comparable with that of lumber. Then let's consider carbon dioxide emission. Even if the lumber industry derives most of its energy from renewable wood waste, it still emits carbon dioxide. Then too, the trees that it uses as raw material are the earth's primary instruments for removing carbon dioxide from the air. So the lumber industry is responsible not just for the CO2 it emits directly, it is also responsible for the loss of the planet's ability to sequester CO2! Wait a minute, doesn't the lumber industry harvest primarily mature trees? Isn't it true that if those mature trees were allowed to die in the forest and decay naturally, the CO2 that they contain would return to the atmosphere as the respiration of bacteria? Isn't the lumber industry doing the atmosphere a favor by converting those mature trees into lumber and taking it indoors, where it won't decay? Put this way, the lumber industry is doing the planet a favor. Still further, suppose those harvested trees were replaced by new growth, whether by natural or human agency. Wouldn't that render this sequestration issue moot? If the lumber industry harvests no more than the annual growth of the forests, then the carbon sponge effect of the forest will not diminish. But if the forests were allowed to expand, they would soak up more CO2. Wouldn't that be preferable? From the perspective to CO2 sequestration the forests should be allowed to expand, but the industry should get the mature trees out of the forest before they can decay. So what do I conclude from this? Assuming responsible forestry practices, lumber is a very environmentally friendly building material. Recycled aluminum comes at a small environmental price, and, particularly if it is employed where it has performance advantages over other materials, it is sustainable too. However, aluminum smelted from ore bears a high environmental cost. Can it be a sustainable material? To keep things in perspective, using a table saw for one hour causes the power company to burn ½ pound of coal, and I burned one gallon go gas today going to and from work! |
| Dear CFDA members,
I am very honored to be working with your organization, and very pleased to see the progress you have already made towards adopting sustainable practices. The Chicagoland Home Expo is a new home show that is being launched at McCormick Place on April 22-24. I have been hired by the Expo to create a Green Pavilion featuring sustainable building materials, energy efficiency, interior design, and home furnishings. There will also be a model home showing these products. When I began meeting with you towards developing your show at the Cultural Center, I did not foresee products being ready until just before that show. However, I am starting to realize that some of you are already familiar with these materials and will be ready for this show much earlier. Therefore I would like to extend this invitation to participate in the Green Pavilion to those of you who may be interested. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this further. Best regards, Barry Bursak (773) 395-4976 barrybursak@aol.com
|
