Waldorf Diaries--It's a Shining Christmas

My Crosstown Christmas vacation has come to an end and I’m back in my cozy hotel room preparing for Christmas Eve. I like to watch a seasonal movie on Christmas Eve to get in the proper spirit. There are many to choose from but this year being alone in an empty hotel I’m going with the Christmas classic, The Shining. It was that or the other hotel Christmas favorite White Christmas and let’s just say I’m a big Kubrick fan.

My favorite parts in the Shining are the shots of young Danny riding his Big Wheel trike through the hotel corridors. I have an affinity for hallways. The passages project a sense of mystery with their lines of closed doors. These utilitarian lengths of space, though often stark and unassuming, are the architectural realization of potential. Potential for comfort, threat, warmth, love, violence, safety—

Their space exists as a benign entity—it’s our choices that determine the potential.

Merry Christmas!

Light

During these dark pre-solstice days in the North West when the impenetrable clouds and steady drizzle diffuse and obscure the low set sun it’s easy to fall into a state of perpetual melancholia.  The light we find must come from sources other than our closest star.

Yesterday I crossed bridges and travelled through tunnels to deliver a table to the outer reaches of Vancouver’s suburban sprawl. Though it was still early in the afternoon the indicator on my dashboard was telling me I needed to turn on my lights. My windshield wipers intermittently cleared the accumulating precipitation. I’d spent a few extra days finishing the table top—carefully mixing the stains to match the other pieces in the client’s house and flattening the grain to get it to the point of a smooth mirror surface. It turned out beautifully and the client was very appreciative. She even gave me a hug and a bag of her home made shortbread cookies. These exchanges are what get me through the Vancouver winters. I need to spend time to ensure whatever I produce creates a little extra light.

The table leaves mid-process

Crosstown Christmas

The words “Christmas vacation” bring to mind tropical beaches, ski chalets, or maybe the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in New York. I have friends who are embarking on such winter holidays. I’m going across town to spend Christmas in the Lee Building. The building I lived in for two years when I moved back to Vancouver from Massachusetts.

The beauty of hotel living is in its flexibility. My friend called me shortly before he left town and asked if I wanted to housesit for him while he was in Mexico. I said, “Why not,” and he left his keys for me at the coffee shop downstairs on the corner. I packed a change of clothes and a toothbrush and drove across town to start my vacation. The Lee Building and I share history. It was where I first began my quest almost three years ago for “home”/”place” and I am comfortable within its solid brick walls.

Another notable fact is last December in my apartment on the fourth floor of this building I began this blog both as a way to promote my business and to pursue the concept of “home”. Since that time it has had many thousands of hits from six of the seven continents (I’m waiting on Antarctica). Though I greatly appreciate the tremendous support and feedback I have gotten through this endeavor the truth is that this is primarily a personal exercise. It’s in writing this blog that I am able to gain insight into what it is I am searching for. A connection to community but also a connection to “place” within myself. I’ve found that in reconciliation with the past there comes an acceptance of the present and it’s that acceptance that allows the formation of “home”.

I’m still working on this and likely will be for a lifetime. For now it’s just nice to be home for the holidays.

(Did I mention my friend has a beautiful apartment full of beautiful things?)

Resting Place

“Could you bring some rope?”

A request for a length of rope from a friend in a psychiatric facility is one I would usually not accommodate. Especially when that friend is in the facility following a suicide attempt. It falls into the same category as bringing weapons into hospitals. You just don’t do it.

In this case, however, it seemed like a sensible thing to do because we were going on an outing. My friend had spent close to two months in the woods in an attempt to starve himself to death. Thankfully his effort failed. Hikers rescued him after he fell into a river in a delirious state. Our little outing on this sunny Sunday in December was an endeavor to retrieve his wallet and other belongings he said were in a plastic bag close to his former camping spot. He told me the rope might be necessary in order to repel down a steep embankment.

I stopped at a hardware store on my way to the hospital bought 20’ of rope (A 20’ drop-off was the maximum I was willing to face) and I picked up my friend who signed out with me for the afternoon. We drove up into a mountainous wooded area and parked where the road ended. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun cut bands of light onto the mossy forest floor through the towering evergreens. As we walked through this soft quiet canopy I listened as my friend told me of his months in the forest. How he had found a large corrugated pipe where he created a “nest” for himself. Even in that “determined to die” state he had fashioned himself a space to exist. A space that was his. A home.

We finally reached the steep drop and it was over 20’. More like 100’. We could’ve slid our way down but our chances of getting back up seemed unlikely so our mission was aborted. For me it was never about retrieving a wallet. It was about spending time with a friend and being a part of his journey from the forest. I'm glad he's making his way back.

Stoicism and Endurance

This tall old brick chimney on corner of Clark and 2^nd in Vancouver is a personal landmark for me. I pass it daily on my way to and from work admiring its monolithic stature. It rises dramatically from an industrial landscape marking a nondescript corner and providing texture and pattern to an otherwise grey and unremarkable neighborhood. I like its age. It throws back to an old Vancouver when people built tall structures out of real brick and mortar. Its stoic sense of endurance gives me a sense of security.

The Unavoidable Nature of Work

Work is an unavoidable fact. There’s no escaping it.

There was a time in my life when having a real job just didn’t fit into my busy schedule. Those creative (though hungry) times stretched through my twenties until the long spans between meals became too uncomfortable.

Luckily for the most part I enjoy what I do. There is simplicity in cutting large pieces of wood into smaller pieces of wood and then reassembling them back into larger pieces of wood. Those are the fundamentals of what I do and I’ve gotten quite good at it over the years. I eat at fairly regular intervals these days and my biggest problem lately seems to be too much work. I returned from my month of traveling a couple of weeks ago and I literally haven’t had a full day off since. Financially this is exactly what I need but I know if I can’t keep it up physically, emotionally, or spiritually for very long. I’ve been down this road before and it always ends with me exhausted and making dumb mistakes or shooting a pin through my finger and bleeding on my work. I’m trying to avoid all that…

Here's Patrick at his job. Standing at attention behind the front desk of the Waldof Hotel.

Easy Keepers

Usually I reserve this blog for my own self promotion but I'm making an exception today to highlight a toy that has been developed by an exceptionally talented friend of mine, Janet Street. These bipedal equine figures are made of natural resin, food grade silicone, natural pigments, and wool. They are completely nontoxic and made of safe sustainable materials. There is no other toy on the market that can claim this. On top of that they are beautifully designed!

I recently had the pleasure of staying with Janet and her husband Dennis in Western Massachusetts as they were preparing for the launch on Kickstarter. I got to see Janet's workshop first hand, see the molds, and hear about the process that has been years in development. I can't say enough about how important and ingenious this is!

Check out their Kickstarter page for more information and watch the stop animation video Janet and Dennis put together. They did it on their iPhones!! Very Very Cool--

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1198284315/easy-keepers

Waldorf Travel Diaries--Still

I woke up this morning in a hotel room feeling a little jetlagged. I was “home”—I got in late last night after my 3 week multi-city cross continent excursion. I put my room back together. It had been used as part of the Waldorf Hotel’s Halloween festivities (as one of the haunted hotel rooms) and needed a little rebuilding. Creating my tiny space again so I have a place to be still.

I’m good at traveling. I travel light and I’m good at waiting in airports, bus and train stations.  I like talking to strangers. I’m adept at crossing borders. I’m not a picky eater. I can sleep almost anywhere and I pick up languages quickly. It’s being still that requires effort. Living in a hotel allows me the illusion of movement—lets me feel like I’m in transit even when I am in fact motionless. It provides a basis of balance.

I probably won’t live at “The Funnest Place on Earth” forever but for now it seems perfect—now I have build things and make some money!

Waldorf Travel Diaries--Haunted Hotel

(I was going to post this a couple of days ago but due to the foot of snow that fell on Saturday and the subsequent 40 hour black out I didn’t have access to internet service. It’s more fitting that it’s posted today anyway.)

In the spirit of Halloween I investigated (sometimes referred to as trespassing) an abandoned motel I pass daily on my way to get coffee at the Roost. It has all the classic trappings of a horror movie motel. It appears empty…but is it really? There are cracked windows—pieces of broken furniture that have been placed outside of rooms. The stained curtains are drawn on all the windows and the eerie silence is broken only by the sound of scurrying of rodents. The stairs to the second level creaked exactly as I knew they would. As I tried the doors I expected them to slowly open on their own. If malevolent spirits would want to hang out anywhere this would be the place.

I’ve been in many “Haunted Houses” but there’s something exciting about finding the real thing. One that is open to all possibilities and limited only by imagination—a haunted house whose story is yet undiscovered.  No designer could have done a more perfect job.

There are more photos at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/funhousedesign/sets/72157628004253578/

Minimalist Shop

Last year when I came to visit my friends in Massachusetts I built them the "Baby Killer" (See Blog posting from a couple of days ago). This year they needed something a little more functional for their kitchen. A cabinet. I've built a multitude of cabinets in my Vancouver shop using the industrial table saw, dado blades, pneumatic tools, perfectly calibrated chop saw, etc. Here my tool selection is more basic consisting primarily of a skill saw, a drill, and a hammer. I'm trying to use materials I've managed to uncover in their garage but I did have to get some plywood for the box.

This is an exercise for me. It's a chance to see what I'm still capable of outside of the protective confines of my usual well equipped shop location. I'm enjoying the slow assembly process.

Waldorf Travel Diaries--Pilgrimage

I try to visit New England every fall. Our seasonal changes in the Northwest are subtle and often easily missed but here summer’s annual demise is marked with brilliant color and a distinct sense of transition. It’s a reminder of the cyclical nature of the world we live in—a regular reminder of our own mortality. It’s an unavoidable marker I appreciate. My yearly pilgrimage east is important and provides me with the perspective I can lose in Vancouver. This is the time I evaluate what is important in my life and what to put effort into over the winter months. Take inventory and focus.

Some years, like this one, the process is fairly simple. As clearly visible as the vivid leaves against the grey October sky.

The Massachusetts "Baby Killer"

Last year while visiting my friends in Western Massachusetts I built them a railing/shelving detail at the top of their front entry stairs. I completely ignored building codes. There was no regard for space regulations that would prevent a small child from crawling through and falling into the stairwell below.

The result was a simple and balanced design both my friends and I were very happy with the only drawback being small children under the age of three are simply no longer allowed in their house. Children are ID'd at the door.

Waldorf Travel Diaries--Wall of Eames

The wall of Eames. So pure in function and so very sexy in form...