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HBA HOME BUILDING NEWS
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UP FRONT
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AUGUST, 2013
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HBApdx.org
Custom Furniture, which manu-
factures all of its pieces right here
in Portland, and a pool table from
Golden West Billiards Manufac-
turing. The latter company, one
of the largest manufacturers of
billiard equipment in the coun-
try, does all its manufacturing in
southeast Portland.
Divers said that where a prod-
uct comes from might not be as
big as a priority to consumers as
the appearance or quality, but
the local aspect does add a little
icing.
“The thing people mostly are
interested in at this time is a good
product with a good value,” she
said. “But if we can get them lo-
cally, people do appreciate that.”
She also noted that in general,
people tend to take the environ-
ment into consideration these
days, and sourcing locally helps
reduce shipping distance and
fuel usage.
“I think that’s important to all
of us,” she said. “We love our en-
vironment and all desire to take
care of it the best we can.”
Like TTM Development, B.C.
Custom Construction went with
a local cabinetmaker — this one
from Ridgefield, Wash. — for the
cabinets in its Street of Dreams
home. Landscaping is from a
nursery in St. Paul, and all the
doors come from the Oregon
City-based Summit Woodwork-
ing. Scott Bowles, operations
manager for B.C., said not only
are there bigger-picture benefits
to working with local vendors,
but there are some purely practi-
cal ones as well.
“It’s easier for us,” he said. “Be-
cause some of these local places
have showrooms, buyers can go
there and look at what they want
or work directly with the design-
er. It is much easier than someone
who just has a book with some
pages of pictures.”
As far as using American-made
products, Bowles said the BBAC is
already making it easier for build-
ers to find products by putting
together a database on its web
site of products that are regis-
tered as being made in America.
Members can tap into that data-
base to find products and manu-
facturers that qualify as made in
America.
According to the BBAC, fewer
than 70 percent of construction
projects use products manufac-
tured, finished or assembled in
the U.S. Increasing that by just 5
percent could add $4 billion of
incremental value and support
close to 65,000 direct manufac-
turing jobs, according to esti-
mates by the Boston Consulting
Group.
Over at Clearhaven, one of two
homes on the 2013 NW Natu-
ral Street of Dreams by Pahlisch
Homes, designer Christine In-
gham of Interior Motives listed
off several unique local prod-
ucts that went into the home,
including a handmade ceramic
tile kitchen backsplash from the
Portland company Pratt & Larson.
“They have amazing tile and
we really liked the fact that it was
made here in Oregon,” she said.
The home also has custom
fused glass tiles for its pool from a
local artist who is friends with the
homeowner, as well as a custom
copper chimney shroud for the
turret, which came from a com-
pany just up I-5 in Battleground,
Wash. In addition, there are also
locally-made iron railings and
stair newel posts.
Similarly, Garrison Hullinger,
principal at Garrison Hullinger
Interior Design — the designers
working on The American Dream
— said he tapped into some lo-
cal artisans to craft everything
from custom stair railings (Master
Woodworks in Salem) to a custom
mosaic medallion for the master
bathroom that adorns the shower
walls and heated tile floor, done
by tile artist Margaret Kuhn.
“The other part of making buy-
ing local in our business model is
the great opportunities it gives us
to work with local artisans,” Hull-
inger said.
He noted that it can be a little
more difficult to sift through
showrooms looking for locally
made and even American made
products, but it’s worth it.
“I feel really lucky to work with
a builder like Westlake Develop-
ment. Gerald Rowlett has a pas-
sion for supporting not only re-
gional materials and supplies but
making sure the entire home is
made in America.” he said, adding
that The American Dream’s doors
are from Grants Pass and interior
paint is from Portland’s Yolo Col-
orhouse. “It has made our entire
design team go out and source
materials that are made locally.”
Beyond all the tangible local
and made in America products
that have gone into the homes
on the 2013 NW Natural Street of
Dreams, there’s another massive
local input as well.
“When you look at it as the
whole house and all the pieces
that go into it, by far the majority
of the cost is all local — it’s labor,”
said Jeff Haggart, owner of Hag-
gart Luxury Homes. “That’s a lot
of local jobs.”
All builders use local contrac-
tors, subcontractors and mate-
rials as much as possible. That
holds true for many construction
projects, including homes on the
NW Natural Street of Dreams, a
fact that Ingham said many peo-
ple might not realize.
“Often people criticize the
Street of Dreams because they
think it is wasteful,” she said.
“But all of the jobs it creates and
all the local resources used is
amazing. I think people don’t re-
alize just how many people and
trades work together to com-
plete just one home. It is pretty
remarkable.”
Made in America:
Supporting local craftsman brings “Made in America” to the local industry
Continued from page 1
The game table area by Garrison Hullinger Interior Design for “The American Dream” incorporates
local products from Golden West Billards and Yolo Colorhouse Paint, both based in Portland.