Slow Furniture at Shift Build Austin

If you’re not familiar with Shift Build and the work of Jesse Hartman in Austin, Texas, then you should be! “Slow furniture,” is what Hartman calls his pieces, which are built using reclaimed materials by repurposing them through quality craftsmanship. “Each of our design build projects is built from the ground up, in more ways than one. From the materials we use to the sites we choose, every decision is collaborative,” touts Shift Build’s site.

A favorite piece is the Bicycle Rim Plate Rack—seems functional! Hartman built his own home out of mostly reclaimed materials, too. And, Shift Build has constructed several buildings in addition to furniture.

Throughout America’s history we built multiplexes, and “ticky-tacky” houses in Suburbia so quickly that we lost the handmade quality that made something feel authentic. Reconstituting quality, and repurposing materials that might otherwise fall into disuse seems like an apt solution when confronted with the future of America’s architectural landscape, which currently looks grim. In short, we need solutions that are less energy intensive and of higher quality to transform ticky-tacky into lasting beauty.