By
Stephanie A. Woronowicz
American University Interactive Journalism Program
Fall 2004
BALTIMORE --You might find Lars Jorgensen rummaging through your garbage can, but don’t worry. It’s for a good cause.
The Baltimore craftsperson and his wife, Lisa Pratt, rescue discarded wood to make and sell frames for pictures and mirrors.
“Sometimes we can find…wood on the side of the road or just anywhere—out of dumpsters,” Jorgensen says. “We’ll take it and turn it into a picture frame.”
Jorgensen and Pratt run their business, Green House Framing, out of their house. Their inspiration came from working in the corporate world, when Jorgensen was a buyer for a photo lab chain.
 Lars Jorgensen describes his business
“I just noticed that a lot of frames were coming from unsustainable forests,” he says. “So I was always thinking about how I could do it better myself.”
According to the U.S. Forest Service, 7.5 million feet of new lumber was used to make products such as frames and signs in 2002. The Resource Conservation Alliance, a nonprofit for reducing wood consumption, says that 40 million acres of forest that are cleared each year are never replaced. To reduce landfills and save trees, Jorgensen and Pratt decided to make their own frames with second-hand lumber. Besides rescuing wood from garbage cans, Jorgensen and Pratt partner with Second Chance, Inc., a local non-profit that trains low-income city residents as carpenters and craftspeople.
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Lars Jorgensen talks about the craftsmanship that goes into his frames
“What they do is deconstruct buildings before demolition, and they salvage architectural elements and other raw materials,” Jorgensen explains. “And so we take the raw lumber that they provide.”
The couple uses the wood—usually pine—with other materials that are earth-friendly and free of animal products. They stain their frames with powdered rock and earth pigments that are easily renewable.
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“I just noticed that a lot of frames were coming from unsustainable forests. So I was always thinking about how I could do it better myself.”
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They even buy mats from a small company in Indiana that grinds up junk mail, grocery bags, and colored office paper—and uses water from the studio’s dehumidifier and air conditioner—to make the mats.
“We have looked to nature for our inspiration in creating our frames,” Jorgensen says.
Just don’t be surprised if you also find them looking in your garbage can.
Green House Framing’s wares |
