Again, re-use existing materials rather than buy and install new materials. In this case our floor guy recommended a skim coat of concrete on the Mezzanine to make it look like new. I declined, and instead we’re filling cracks in the old cement here. You’ve heard me talking about re-use and avoiding new materials it again and again. I think it’s a really important concept. And it combines two of my favorite things: environmentalism and frugality.
I think the virtues of the Yankee have been overlooked. I’m going to write more about this in the future, but it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. I grew up right below Vermont. In an area where you’re either a hippie, a Yankee, or a jerk from NYC, Connecticut, or NJ looking for leaves or running off to ski. (Before I get angry emails, I’m not saying everybody from those places are jerks. But honestly, most of those who come plowing down our small roads are.)
And I grew up admiring the old timers. Largely because of my Dad I’m sure, who loves maintaining old things, and loves New Englanders. Here’s what they meant to me: creativity and ingenuity, integrity,self sufficiency (what we now call DIY), simplicity, maintain rather than replace, grounded, hard work. These are some of my deepest held values. True New Englanders aren’t much swayed by trends, fancy flashy things. They aren’t yearning for the next thing, don’t expect to get rich quickly.
There’s a great tradition here of the hand and hard work alongside the mind and great ideas.
Now that I live in Boston, and maybe because I’m older, I’m not sure others understand the Yankee spirit the way I do. I read sappy nostalgia when I read Cooks Illustrated introductions, from others I hear things like “cheap Yankee,” or “damn Yankee.” Where did those phrases even come from?
I’d like to see the Yankee that’s in my mind come to life. I think those values are the values that will lead us into the future. They are really the foundation of what we’re building with Clover: creativity and ingenuity, integrity, self sufficiency, simplicity, maintenance, grounded, hard work.