What It’s Like to Be a Woman In a Man’s World

What It’s Like to Be a Woman in a Field That’s Still 99 Percent Male Nina MacLaughlin. (Photo: Beowulf Sheehan)

In 2008, journalist Nina MacLaughlin quits her desk job of seven years with no plan for what to do next. Though she had no experience to speak of she jumped at the chance to apply to a Craigslist job posting for a carpenter’s assistant. She was especially heartened by the tagline “Women strongly encouraged to apply,” and sent off her application right away.

She got the job, and has been a carpenter in Cambridge, Massachusetts, ever since.

In her new memoir, ‘Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter’, MacLaughlin tells us her experience of abandoning her desk job and the satisfaction and joy of learning to work with her hands. She spoke with the Cut about what her career switch taught her about ambition, how working as a carpenter changed her own femininity, and what it’s like to be a woman in a field that’s still 99 percent male.

To read the full interview click the photo or click here.

The Rotting Rothschild Mansion Of Paris

The Rothschilds are legendary as one of the greatest European banking families ever. They own grand estates and Chateaus throught the world that are well-known for anything but squalor, ruin or decay. However just outside of Paris, walking distance from Metro Jean Jaurès Line 10, standing quietly behind a thick wall of shrubbery and overgrowth is the haunting, ghostly figure of the Chateau Rothschild.

The neo-Louis XIV estate house has been abandoned since the World War II when the Rothschild family fled to England. Germans would inhabit and plunder the house during the four-year Nazi occupation of Paris. After the city’s liberation, the U.S. army were the next tenants at the Chateau Rothschild. The Rothschilds never returned to their home which has been left to rot, crumble and deteriorate.

This once palatial estate was built to reflect the Rothschild wealth and fortune. It boasted a regal English garden with picturesque waterfalls and beautiful indoor frescoes by Eugène Lami. For over eight years James Rothschild and his wife Betty, hosted the most lavish parties of the time within these walls.

Their guests and party goers would include great artists of the day like Rossini, Chopin, Balzac, and Delacroix as well as, a who’s who of the financial and political world.

Chopin even dedicated his Valse Op. 64, N° 2 in C sharp minor to their daughter Charlotte.

As the champagne flowed while the laughter and music rang through the halls, it would have been impossible to imagine that the this great estate house, the Chateau de Rothschild would be doomed to become a playground for vermin, graffiti artists and vandals.

Sources:

http://www.messynessychic.com

http://www.urban-exploration.com

https://www.wikipedia.org/

IKEA Small Spaces – Fitting a Laundry Room Into a Small Bathroom

When renovating in Paris you get to see your share of small spaces. This bathroom is only 2.7 square meters. It looks like it is 1 meter wide by 2.7 long or in inches that would be something like 3 foot 4 inches by just over 8 and half feet.

Wow! Now that’s small.

The designer does a great job maximizing the space using cabinets from IKEA. If you have a small bathroom these design ideas are definitely worth noting.

The laundry cabinet with the holes in the doors for presorting laundry is a great idea.

Also, the moveable dry rack is outstanding. The only thing with the video is the captioning is a little much. Just press the little ‘cc’ a the bottom right of the video and they go away.

Great job IKEA.

Keep up the good work.

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Modern Kitchen Design Ideas 2013

Modern kitchen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We found this video interesting.

Although you will rarely have a Parisian kitchen with the largeness and grandeur displayed in this montage, the material selection is completely in line with a trend we’ve been noticing.

It used to be a Modern kitchen, or what is sometimes called in Paris, an ‘American Kitchen’ used to consist of very basic, almost neo-industrial color schemes and elements which are ease to keep unblemished and maintained.

In the above video we see design ideas which incorporate the introduction of wood and other natural materials which broaden the feeling of home and nature that break up the clean lines and ultra ‘sterile’ functionality usually associated with Modern kitchen design motifs.

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WOOD AWARDS 2013 SHORTLIST SHOWCASE

As an American Carpenter learning your skills back in the good ol’ USA, it’s easy to fall in love with wood. The feel, the smell, beauty; it’s a sheer pleasure to work with.

In Paris, and France in general wood is expensive. The country has been deforested after thousands of years of building homes and villages which make home grown lumber a valuable commodity.

Our beloved American has only been building for the last few hundred years. So building with wood is still a cost effective and viable option for both the client and builder back home in America.

This is a re-post is a dedication to all the woodworkers out there who know how good and why you should work with wood.

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Architecture, Design & Innovation

A shortlist of 30 projects has been selected from a record entry of 318 in the Wood Awards 2013, the UK’s premier award scheme celebrating excellence in design in wood in British architecture and furniture.

This year’s 30-strong shortlist features unique private houses, stunning small projects, outstanding restorations, impressive public buildings and extraordinary bespoke and production-made furniture, ranging from the traditional to the cutting edge.

The independent judging panel of architecture, engineering, craftsmanship and design experts and specialists led by Michael Morrison of Purcell UK and Sean Sutcliffe of Benchmark Furniture now see the shortlist in person before making their final decisions. The winners of the Wood Awards categories and which project will receive the coveted Gold Award – the winner of winners – will be announced on the 19th November at a reception hosted by the Worshipful Company of Carpenters.

The shortlisted projects range from dRMM’s…

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