Play House "R" Us

One of the real joys of working at Yestermorrow (and there are many) is introducing folks to buildings that are well-designed and functional. We like doing that for people of all ages, but we really love it when those buildings impact the lives of the littlest among us. And that was certainly the case when a class recently built a playhouse for the Warren Elementary School. Those who delivered the small building to the
school told us tales about children waiting in line to be among the first to enter this delightful, right-scaled play space. Thanks to the parents of Warren School students for raising the money for this project and the students of the Yestermorrow Basic Carpentry class for raising the roof--and other parts--of this handcrafted cottage.

Thanks for NYC

As I sit here taking a breath between the NYC event, preparing for our next Board meeting, and ironing out arrangements for our planned trip to Bonnaroo, I wanted to take a moment to thank all the folks who came, helped or otherwise made the NYC event at the Tribeca Cinema the success that it was. The board, staff, intructors and yester-friends (old and new) came out in scores to celebrate Yestermorrow's inclusion in Metropolitan Home's Design 100 listing for 2008.

The event (and dinner afterwards) was great fun as was the Metropolitan Home shindig the following evening. Lots of rain and another time I had to wear a tie, but it was gratifying to see a Yestermorrow project flashed up on the video screen along with 99 other stars from the global design world. I had to duck a few times to avoid getting poked in the eye by a woman who was wearing an elegantly sculptured hat complete with trailing pheasant feather, but I was able to bob and weave and still enjoy this wonderful event.

So thanks especially to Erin, Dan, Monica and Kate for assembling this grand event and to board members Bill Bialosky, Kyle Bergman, Hannah Purdy and Stephen Kellert who really opened their roledexes to bring us a crowd. And special thanks also to artists Bill Brauer, James Hubbell, and former board member Art Schaller who all donated artworks to the event's silent auction. Many, many thanks all around.

Best,

Bob Ferris

Executive Director

Yestermorrow Design/Build School

ReadyMade: Great Escape

Take a moment to catch this great article and photo spread on Yestermorrow in the June/July issue of ReadyMade magazine. Our school and instructors clearly made a big impression. The article is part of an overview of summer learning excursions.

Music and Mud at Bonnaroo

Former Yestermorrow Design/Build School interns Amorin Mello and Anne Marie Flusche are heading up a team to build a strawbale post office on the 700 acre Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival site in Manchester, Tennessee (http://www.bonnaroo.com/). They still need a few folks with natural building skills to help so if you are interested in a muddy and musical experience visit their FaceBook page (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13181314573&ref=mf) to get details on what you can expect from the experience. But act fast because mudslingers have to be on site by the 6th of June.

And if you do go you might see many Yestermorrowians in the crowd because the Mad River CarbonShredders might be making an appearence, Buzz Ferver (board member and instuctor) will be helping with the compost operation on site, and Russ Bennett (instructor) is one of the moving forces behind the event.

Summer 2008 interns are on their way...

We are getting ready for the summer season at Yestermorrow and looking forward to the arrival of our summer session interns-- Erin Campbell, Colin Widdoes, Laura Fedderson, Matt Wolpe and Bob O'Hara. They're all making their way towards Vermont and will be arriving this coming weekend. You can read their bios on our website at: www.yestermorrow.org/interns/inthis.htm.

Yestermorrow named to Metropolitan Home magazine's Design 100

If you're familiar with Yestermorrow, you know that Yestermorrow is unique. Indeed, one in a million.

Now Yestermorrow is being honored for it's one-of-a-kind-ness. Yestermorrow has been chosen by the editorial staff at Metropolitan Home magazine as 1 of the 100 best and most interesting designers, design elements or locations of the past year. Published annually, the Metropolitan Home's Design 100 list is an “admittedly quixotic collage of the 100 most noteworthy objects, events and personalities in the world of design.”

Join us for a special reception in New York City to celebrate this award and the many achievements of our special design/build school. Our "1 in 100 Reception" takes place May 19 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Gallery at Tribeca Cinemas. You can find more information here.