October 2015 Customer Creations Gallery Jacksonville, FL

In 532 CE, chariot racing supporters in Constantinople led a riot that burned half the city to the ground, including the Hagia Sophia’s second basilica, the first having been destroyed by rioting in 404 CE. Identified by their colors, chariot racing supporters in Constantinople were part street gang, part political party, and their riots often incorporated political demands. Emperor Justinian survived this…

While sorting and organizing the vast vinyl collection at the Eco Relics architectural salvage warehouse, I came across several records produced right here in Jacksonville. While our fair city might not have the musical reputation of New Orleans, Austin, or Nashville, the truth is that Jacksonville has played a very important part in America’s musical history.   Ashley Street might…

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…

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…

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…

Our custom craftsmen in the wood shop, are always looking for creative ways to use live edge cookie slabs, and when Billy was approached by a customer with a different idea, he knew he could count on Roni Luebkert of RL Pyrography to help with this Cookie Slab Table With Pyrography And Paint Design project. (Click here to see another…

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…

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…

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…

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Richard Bilyard’s Epoxy River Table Each item that comes into Eco Relics has a story. Every piece of lumber was once a tree. Once materials leave the store, they embark on another journey, a new chapter to its story. The Eco Relics DIY Customer Creations Facebook page is full of wonderful creations and this month we spoke with Richard Bilyard…

When we first started out with the concept of Eco Relics, we expected to mainly carry salvage lumber. We do have aisles and aisles of salvage building materials. Much more unexpectedly, however, is our collection of antique lighting, antique light bulbs, and other relics that have come along. We have been so surprised at the turn of events of bringing…

More than fifteen years ago, Robert and Mary purchased an old lamp base in a Williamsburg, Virginia antique store. To the untrained eye it might have looked like a candidate for the trash can. The electric components were shot, the shade was missing, and the metal base was tarnished and corroding. But Robert and Mary recognized something in lamp base’s…

*This article originally appeared in August 2016 and contains updated material. You know the old saying, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” It might as well be the Code of Hammurabi at Eco Relics. If it can be reused, recycled, or repurposed, it’s not trash! The crew takes great pride in the length of time between visits from the…

It’s time for Spring projects! We didn’t have to wait for the snow to melt, but Spring still inspires the creator in all of us. Azaleas are blooming, bees are buzzing, and everywhere you look, nature’s busy builders are collecting raw materials and fashioning them into something they can use. Here’s a couple of recent projects, one from our wood…