Green Building Forum and Year-End Celebration

Nandi and I attended the year-end celebration of Build it Green on December 9th in Berkeley. It is a state-wide organization of environmentally concerned builders and subcontractors and we have found that this group dovetails with our own interest in building “green” cabinetry; that is, cabinetry that is built from sustainably harvested wood and panels, using non-toxic glues and components.

The first part of the program included presentations by leaders in the green building industry. We discovered that while Europe is gearing up to have all building standards in ten years to require “net zero” energy usage, California is following close behind. “Green” building, and by extension, “green” cabinetry is the future of the industry. Good thing Rivendell is on board at the start!

The forum was followed by a celebration with food, wine and live music, including the presenting of awards to builders who have distinguished themselves in green building. We rubbed elbows with builders we enjoy working with, including Bill Jetton of Jetton Construction, who was awarded Green Builder of the Year for residential home, and Seth Melchert of Master Builders, who embodies positive energy and enthusiasm for the year to come. May 2011 by the best year yet for all of us!

: Build It Green Forum

: Kanda and Seth

: Nandi and Seth

New Sign

We just mounted a new sign in our front window. Looks pretty sharp if I do say so myself! I redrew our company graphic in AutoCAD, all clean and perfectly scaled, then sent it to our sign-maker in DXF file format. Keep a lookout for our work vans outfit with similar styling.

Behind the Scenes

Here’s a photoset of the weekend film crew shooting our contest video for the Weeke Vantech CNC Router Contest by Stiles Machinery. We pulled out all the stops and dressed in costumes, made props, applied makeup – Nandi even performed a stunt! We all had a great time making this Chalin-esque silent film. Check out the finished piece on our YouTube Channel.

UPDATE: Our video is one of the Top 10 finalists! A big thanks to everyone who “Liked” our video.