playground bookcase

ABOUT

Welcome to Rustbelt Rebirth. I’m Doug Meyer; chief designer and builder of all you see here. The short version of my story goes like this: unable to afford art school I enrolled in the Job Corps welding program, graduating with a Combination Welder certification in ‘98. Eleven years later I formed Rustbelt Rebirth as a company to produce limited-run steel furniture works. The rest, as they say, is history.
My works are mostly made from reclaimed sheet metal and tubular steel. Hand-pulled bends are cut and formed into the frameworks. What I buy as institutional desks, shelving, and cabinets at auctions and salvage supply stores is then cut up for it’s useful sheet metals. I’ve pioneered a technique I call Segmenting during the building process, which makes use of all of the cut-off pieces elsewhere in the build, resulting in a patchwork effect on the sheet and something like bamboo on the tubular frame. This process allows me to use 99% of my materials, but also visually reflects the holistic thinking of the entire process of reclamation. Minor pings, dings, scratches, hole patterns, and rust all tell the story of a previous life, as I leave the color of the material as I find it, often preferring the material “ugly side up”. Finally, the product is clear-coated, waxed for additional protection, and ready to ship to you.

Color Selection:

Due to the ever-revolving nature of materials I find, I may not have a color you prefer. I may have just a few scraps of your color. I’m also not above spray-painting some panels to match a color you might request. You may prefer a worn, scratchy patina to the surface. You may be more of a crisp, clean, newish-looking surface type of person. Knowing this helps me decide your color palette. We can email color preferences back and forth between what you want and what I have in stock until we agree on a path forward. I prefer some degree of interaction with all of my customers anyway.

Shipping:

Shipping occurs through any 3rd-party shipper unless you are local to northeast Ohio, in which case I might make the delivery myself.

My shipping go-to is plycongroup.com. They offer excellent delivery into your home and take away all packaging—a service known in shipping as White Glove Delivery. Make use of their free furniture quote for an estimate.

Sometimes shipping gets hectic and services are slow and/or expensive. These conditions are completely out of my hands. You may opt to insure your delivery in case of accident. You may want to set up the delivery yourself through your preferred shipper. I can be flexible to your needs, but beware of random guys from Craigslist who offer to ship for a great price. It rarely works out in your favor.

Wholesale Orders:

Wholesale pricing is available for minimum orders of $10,000 and up.