October 2015 Customer Creations Gallery Jacksonville, FL

Have you been by to check out Eco Relics, yet? If not, you are in for a real treat. We have a large inventory of antiques in Jacksonville and salvage materials. You wouldn’t believe some of the amazing things that come across our path. It has pushed us to get creative with the use of the antiques and salvage items…

Many historic buildings around the world are constructed with double hung sash windows. Unfortunately, many of these historic windows are lost to rot and replaced with inferior alternatives. Don’t let this happen to you! This simple maintenance procedure will return your windows to their rightful glory both aesthetically and functionally for decades to come. Before getting started, it is important…

At long last, the Eco Relics shop is operational! Doug “the Termite” has moved in and is now constructing custom builds on-site rather than at his home shop. The sawdust is flying, but many details are still sorting themselves out. The Termite says, “It’s not down to a science yet.” The final layout of tools and work stations will be…

The folks at Eco Relics architectural salvage company want you to know!  The City of Jacksonville is now reusing and recycling its household hazardous waste! Leftover paint is applied to city buildings and distributed to non-profits, chlorine is used in city pools, and other city departments make use of any usable materials that the city collects. Fertilizer, motor oil, appliances,…

What is the difference between an artist and a craftsperson? That is the question I contemplated when I started thinking about the Fabrications Crew here at the Eco Relics architectural salvage warehouse. As it turns out, most of our fabricators would probably consider themselves both artists and craftspeople. Outside of work they paint, draw, and sculpt. They bring that creativity…

2015 was the first full year of business for the Eco Relics architectural salvage company, and also the first year for the Eco Relics blog. It launched with a post from back in January about our historic 1927 warehouse in Jacksonville’s Mixon Town neighborhood. Since then, plenty of posts have come and gone down the blog roll. Here’s our top…

The Bostwick building, at the corner of Ocean and Bay, is one of downtown Jacksonville, Florida’s most visible historic buildings. It was constructed in 1902, one of the first permitted structures built after the Great Fire. Sporting typical “big bank” architecture, it hosted a succession of failed banks through the boom and bust cycles of the early 20th century. A…

The Eco Relics crew is a great resource for Jacksonville’s DIY community. We are wood workers, metal workers, engineers, draftsmen, and builders of all kinds with over a century of experience and we are always available for you to consult. And we’ve just deepened our knowledge and experience by adding another unique personality to our crew. Let’s take a minute…

Buying furniture can be a daunting task for the ecologically-motivated shopper. A life cycle assessment of the average piece of big box store furniture is a scary sight. Carbon emissions, toxicity of materials, forestry practices, VOCs, and other concerns often lead furniture seekers to greener alternatives. Vintage Furniture Vintage or used furniture is one option. By keeping money out of…

There is just something incredible about walking through an antique furniture shop in Jacksonville. Here are Eco Relics, we have been excited to grow our selection of antiques. We have had the chance to find some incredible treasures in our search. How Old Does Something Have to Be to Be Considered an Antique? When it comes to most things, the…

Woodworking with reclaimed and salvaged lumber is a great way to lend some authentic Americana to a DIY project. “Weathered” is not a look that is easily faked. When done wrong, it just looks terrible. On the other hand, genuine patina not only adds aesthetic value to a piece, it can also provide a protective covering to material that might otherwise…

How deep are the roots of the ubiquitous Christmas album? Well, that depends on how deep you want to dig. Carols written in the vernacular date back to the 13th century in England but singing them was banned by an Act of Parliament in 1647. The act was rescinded by the royal restoration of the Stuarts in 1660, when King…

An underground landfill fire in St. Louis has been burning for nearly four years, releasing toxic concentrations of benzene and hydrogen sulfide. It threatens to contaminate the water supply with radioactive compounds. In January 2014, sixty elementary school students and staff were hospitalized following exposure to carbon monoxide from a leaking landfill. City officials in Bozeman, Montana allowed the construction…

Cast iron is a building material with weight, distinguishing itself from more flimsy alloys and plastics that are common today. Behind that weight is the 8,000 year history of human experiments with smelting and metallurgy to develop crafted metal tools. To behold a cast iron object is to literally feel the weight of history resting in you hands. The earliest…

Ciao, bella! The easy breezy Italian architectural style looks great all over the world! Tuscan landscapes, Sicilian sunsets, Roman holidays, and Florentine extravagance echo in the architectural design elements that define the Italian aesthetic. Incorporating a few of these elements into an indoor or outdoor space can generate a sunny southern European feel in any location. Picking a theme is…