Author: Walter

There is something different about this fashion trend we call “rustic revival”.  People seem to natural fall into step with its basic principles. People cross generationally have embraced it. This look is precise and clean. It’s comfortable and comforting; liberating and carefree at times but never sloppy. There is real sense of craftsmanship wedded to it. The look is at times downright nostalgic and yet it is forward thinking. There is a real sense of responsibility for our future at the very core of this look. And everyone seems to appreciate its values. All this was revealed to me as we started to build “the wall.”

And don’t you just love it when a plan comes together. You see, we needed a photography back drop to show off some of the products on the back cover of our new “rustic revival” catalog. And right from the start you could see that the spirit behind this fashion story had possessed the entire company. There was a lot of energy. The idea sprung up from Katrina, our buyer, that we were going to build a lodge-look wall. However, it wasn’t going to be made from just any old rustic looking wood we could get at the lumber yard. No, in keeping with one of the fundamental principles of the “green repurposing” look, we decided to make “the wall” from trucking pallets that arrive daily at our distribution center. No problem there, we get plenty of them!

Shortly afterwards, while making a trip out to the distribution center, I walked out to the piles of pallets our distribution team was “grading”. They were commenting on the quality and condition of the wood, on the grain, the knots and position of the knots, the color of the individual planks and the “tones and highlights within each plank. There was talk of how the different shades of color from plank to plank would play off one another. The guys were into it.

Next, the carefully selected planks were sent to our photography studio. Joey and Corey were going to construct the wall and they are quality craftsmen. Joey heads up the department that does a lot of the really special custom work we do here at Shades of Light and Cory does everything from driving our truck back and forth to Virginia Beach to monitoring our trucking bills.  Each and every already edited board was now once again carefully and critical examined and then precisely and artistically placed in just the right spot. When they were done, “the wall” stood proud. It was a work of art and the perfect backdrop for the look and the buyer Katrina had envisioned on our back cover. Thanks guys, the wood tones really did accent the natural birch console and industrial tractor seat!  In fact, the wall looked so good we sort of got carried away and used it to accent some of the organic pieces on the top of page three as well.

As you go through the catalog, check out the details that are intrinsic to this “rustic revival” look. Like the wall, there is nothing slipshod about the pieces that make up this look. Check out the Victorian details on the legs of the Adjustable Industrial Tractor Seat Stool on this back cover. The Slate Tile Sconce with Perforated Shade just slightly above the tractor seat is beautifully crafted and as the copy says: it’s the perfect marriage of modern and natural design elements.

It is not just the covers, look throughout the entire catalog for the “green” message within. My personal favorite is the De Vine Wood Ball Chandelier shown on page four. It’s beyond green; beyond renewable, beyond “eco-friendly” even.  It’s an absolute “eco-hero.” This chandelier is actually made from a fast growing invasive vine. (Think kudzu only meaner, my Georgian friends.) So after it has been harvested the ecosystem from which it came is actually healthier than it was before the harvesting!  Oh and one more thing before I go, I just thought you should know, Joey has a hand in making each and every one of those De Vine Wood Ball Chandelier.

De Vine Wood Ball Chandelier

**A word to the wise is sufficient. “Use caution: Discarded wooden pallets should not be used for fire wood or crafts unless it has been determined that the wood in these pallets has not been treated with wood preservatives, fungicides and/or pesticides. Various pyrethrins and propiconazole are commonly used to treatments wooden pallets. And even if they weren’t treated initially, imported goods palletized are routinely fumigated with highly toxic pesticides. while in use, harmful materials or chemicals also may spill on the pallet wood and be absorbed.”