Re:work Furnishings Launches Kickstarter Campaign

Re:work Furnishings is growing.

The local company, owned by Alex and Lindsay Remley, uses all reclaimed wood and materials to make décor, furniture and gifts out of the couple's Upper Arlington home.

What started with Alex piecing together projects for Lindsay quickly turned into a full-fledged business in 2013. Local shops and salons, including The Blowout Bar, Watershed Distillery and The W Nail Bar, have all looked to Re:work to build desks, cabinetry and tables for their spaces. Their work can also be found for sale in Simply Vague at Tuttle and Polaris and at Bohindi in Upper Arlington.

But now, they need more space.

"We're at the point where we can stay where we're at and keep it how it is," says Alex, who also balances another full-time job, "but if we want to grow it, we need to get into a real shop, a bigger space."

So they're launching a Kickstarter on Sunday, Feb. 1. Their goal is $15,000, which Lindsay says will mainly go toward building a workspace and area where they can house a showroom and meet with clients about future projects.

"We're really hoping that people get behind and appreciate the work and craftsmanship that goes into each piece we do and appreciate that we're trying to be a sustainable company and reduce waste," she says.

Re:work will host a launch party, open to the public, on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Elevator Brewing Company at 6 p.m.

We talked with the two about their favorite projects and why sustainability is so important to them.

-Taylor Starek, @taylorstarek

What makes Re:work a sustainable company?

Alex: All of the wood we use is all reclaimed, mainly from very old barns that have been torn down. We've had the opportunity to go and tear down a barn, and there's a lot that goes into it. We haven't had the opportunity to take a full one down, but we've gone and cherry picked off. With other materials, there's a local scrap yard that has a lot of usable scrap and different architectural pieces that we'll try to use and turn into something.

What do you love about working with reclaimed wood?

Alex: It's all different. For me, its presents a challenge because when you go to a store and buy nice clean flat wood… there's no challenge to it. [I have to] make it fit together and look right and work well. Every piece is different.

Lindsay: There's a distinct difference looking at a piece of wood and furniture when it's made out of a reclaimed material. The grains and color variation and the fact that it's not perfectly flat or straight-it adds a layer of beauty to the piece you don't get when you have new material.

Favorite projects?

Alex: I really enjoy making dining room tables. It's a one-of-a-kind item for a family. They're going to share so many memories around it.

Lindsay: Our cutting boards are really labor-intensive, but they're beautiful. They all look so different, each and every one of them. They're one of our most popular items. Around the holidays, we had people coming daily. It's a great gift item or hostess item.

Photos courtesy Re:work Furnishings