So here I sit in a Starbucks in Westwood....

contemplating the fact that i am officially a Certified Renovator for lead paint. What does that mean? It means that I had the pleasure of spending 8 hours in a Contractor's State Licensing course learning how to safely renovate windows that have been painted with lead paint! I know, exciting stuff, for me it really is as a fair amount of the windows I use in my green houses have been painted with lead paint which is a definite health risk, predominantly to children, but also to adults.

The beauty of reclaiming these windows is that I am keeping them out of the landfill, giving them a new purpose And encapsulating the lead paint so as to remediate the risk of lead poisoning!

While in the class I was able to connect with several contractors who demonstrated an interest in what I am doing and a willingness to get me the windows that they are now removing! They also had great ideas when it came to transporting and storing the large office building windows I mentioned in my previous blog.

As I sit here today surrounded by people I do not know (yet!) I am feeling gratitude to those that are helping me and gratitude to those that share my enthusiasm for A Place to Grow....

Dana O'Brien
Owner of A Place to Grow
Recycled Green Houses
Dana@recycledgreenhouses.com

Woman Cave, sounds like a great idea!

So here is an article that really speaks to what I am trying to accomplish with A Place to Grow, check it out!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203370604577265471922759502.html

Let me know what you think....

Dana

Just when I was wondering when it was going to happen...

it happened! I know that sounds vague however what I was thinking was that I needed to secure enough, or even the right kind of, reclaimed materials in order to meet demand (or at least the level of demand I know will be there) in time. Well today I met a gentleman who is replacing all of the windows in his 19 story office building in Los Angeles and he wants to give the windows he removes to me! I can't quite fathom what this means except that it means that a couple of thousand windows are NOT going to the landfill and instead will be re-purposed into greenhouses, artist studios or small residences (Austin & Warren). This is exactly the vision I had with A Place to Grow is to take these windows that are being replaced with current up-to-date energy efficient windows (a win) and re purpose them to make other structures that are functional and unique (another win)!

What does this mean? It means we are moving forward and have an incredible amount of energy in the pursuit of this business venture!!

Sit back and enjoy the ride, we are about to LAUNCH!!!!

Dana

Little glass houses for you and me....

and that is exactly what we have built! Our first greenhouse is 90% complete and I couldn't be happier with how it has worked out. We managed to get all four walls built, transported by trailer and stood in place in just 12 hours! The 12 hours was a lot of learning curve as we needed to make calculations and documentation that will not be necessary for future structures. The roof is on and the door is hung, all that remains is to fill in the open spaces with plywood, install the roof fan and paint. Speaking of the fan, we found a "green" fan that is completely powered by a solar panel mounted on top of the fan! This fits perfectly with our goal to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The plan is to complete the greenhouse except for painting by next weekend!

My sister wants to leave the windows their current color of pale pink and paint or stain the wood around them. The greenhouse is 9'x10' and predominantly glass. Needless to say my sister is absolutely thrilled with her greenhouse and can't wait to get her potting table and shelving in place! She has installed a sink at the back of the greenhouse on the outside of it in order to leave as much growing space as possible on the inside. My greenhouse also has a sink which is a great addition in that it is so much easier to rinse the harvested vegetables before you bring them in the house. Also, it allows me to wash out my pots before I re plant in them to make sure fungus's from prior plantings are killed.

I continue to cultivate business connections to obtain materials. The amount of waste in the construction industry is immense. I will strive to do my part to utilize as much of this waste in order to re-purpose it into something beautiful AND useful!!

We are continuing to discover new uses for our recycled structures. A friend of mine wants to enclose her deck so that she may use it as a studio to paint in. Another friend wants a glass house around his hot tub that would incorporate some privacy glass windows and regular windows. These are two great uses that have been brought to me that I am really excited about! As I mentioned before, A Place to Grow has many meanings as we all continue to grow each and every day in many ways....

Yours in growth,

Dana O'Brien

Can you feel it?

the energy surrounding recycling, reusing or re purposing instead of throwing away? It seems that everywhere I turn I see a new sign of it and appreciate the shift in our collective selves to move toward a more sustainable lifestyle. Whether it's recycling more or just consuming less whatever seemingly insignificant move we make in either of those directions matters.

I recently visited the Habitat Re-Store where I was able to pick up 3 doors for future greenhouses. It is amazing how much awareness there is and how many people are donating materials rather than throwing them away. The premise of selling these used building materials to raise money to then build homes (Habitat for Humanity) feeds right in to my business model of using these used materials to build "places to grow" and then donating a portion of the proceeds to organizations that benefit children! How can I not be enthusiastic?

Speaking of enthusiastic, the design for the first green house is almost complete with construction/assembly to begin within the next week! Now THAT is something to be excited about! Keep an eye out for pictures, as I will be keeping you up to date on my progress.
 
I am laying the bricks and meeting the people who will help move this forward. My gratitude goes out to each and everyone of you that keeps following my progress and encouraging me along the way.

Back soon, Dana

So as I have just returned...

from a trip to Ft. Collins, Colorado, I can't help but appreciate the focus on recycling and all things green. It reinforced my belief that beautiful and useful things (such as potting sheds/greenhouses) can be created using recycled windows and other recycled building materials!

While in Ft. Collins I found myself sitting in a waiting room that had the recent "O" magazine by Oprah. There were a series of articles about women that had chosen to start various business endeavors under the "Live Your Best Life" series of articles. The one that caught my attention was titled "From Editors to Entrepreneurs" which shared the story of two women who met through editing for various publications and eventually became inspired to move on from editing to a more fulfilling endeavor. They had worked with many entrepreneurs over the years and wanted to give it a try themselves while also finding a way to give back. They started a business selling charms for bracelets and each charm was associated with a particular non-profit organization that they then donated 50% of the net income to that organization. I thought about this for awhile and realized that I too have always wanted to have my own business and to give back to society.  My volunteerism and work with various businesses over the years inspires me to do just that. My goal, as I mentioned in my previous blog, is to donate one of my first potting sheds to a program in the San Joaquin Valley that teaches children to grow plants and work ethics in order to keep them away from gangs, drugs & alcohol. Once I get my business fully up and running, I would like to donate a portion of the net income to various charities that will continue to support our children in their growth either as mentioned above or growth during or after illness, etc... There are many ways to help children get outside and grow something so that they can grow in the process!

 I continue to marvel at the intense sense of joy I get from just thinking about this fledgling business of mine and can hardly wait to see what each new day brings!

Dana

Do you ever wonder why....

things just seem to work out most of the time? I shared in my previous blog that I have a friend who is giving me recycled windows that his business removes when they install new ones. When I picked up the first load of windows, several of them were broken. I wanted the glass replaced and said I would call them soon about picking them up, leaving with my estimate in hand.

Today when I called the kind gentleman said that they had been trying to figure out a way to replace the broken glass so that it would not cost me anything and he asked if I would be okay with used glass instead of new? My response was "yes!" followed by the thought that I wish I had come up with that idea!Given that the main premise of my business is to utilize recycled materials as much as possible, I couldn't have asked for a better solution. So again I ask you, do you ever wonder why...

With renewed gratitude to my generous donor and friend,

Dana