Repo

We built a new awning

2010-02-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

It's kind of pretty.

We had some fun.

More photos on flickr.

8,000 pounds

2009-10-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

(this is a crosspost from our announcement mailing list.)

Oh, you pretty things:

As most of you have probably noticed, since the beginning of September we've recorded the weight of "all" things which pass through Repo. This, as well as some other information, is recorded directly to a spreadsheet, which in turn gives us running totals on gross flow vs inbound and outbound.

Yesterday afternoon, Tracy Lee picked up a piece of drywall which put us over the 8,000 lbs (gross) mark.

In celebration, and as a perhaps less-exciting homage to Harper's Index, here are a few charming statistics:

Day in which the most material moved, total in and out:

September 23, 2009, with 1549.7 lbs

Day in which the most material left Repo:

September 25, 2009, with 417 pounds.

Number of days since August 31, 2009 that Repo has not recorded any material flow:

Five lowest non-zero daily totals, in pounds:

0.1, 0.9, 2, 4.5, 6.5

Average flow per day, since August 31, 2009:

133.72 pounds.

Average donation size:

44.35 lbs

Average outbound transaction size:

10.78 lbs

Number of unique entries in the "email address of recipient/donor" column:

200

For those of you who prefer raw, hard data, our monthly spreadsheets are available (note, of course, that October still has a few days left to go.)

WIth love and a twinkle in the eye,

Repo

Multiples and Large Volumes

2009-10-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

(this is a crosspost from our announcement mailing list.)

My special someone,

I just thought you should know about a few things that we have a lot of:

FABRIC, ON ROLLS
There's a sample bundle of pretty much everything we have pinned to
the wall of Angie's office, across from Turner and next to Moka Joka.
It's primarily nylon, ranging from loose meshes up through some pretty
heavy duty material originally intended to make airbags out of.

FABRIC, ASSORTED
Additionally, in non-roll form, we have a pretty amazing mixed jumble
of sheets, things that might have once been clothes, patterned
fabrics, et cetera.

WAX
About 200 pounds left of unscented, colored paraffin in sheet form.
Get it while it's cold.

CANDLE JARS
About 30 cases (12 jars per case) of open-top glass jars formerly
home to a slow-burning candle, complete with crucifix embossing.

SECURITY GLASS
Over 2 dozen sheets sheets of 1/4" thick glass with steel security mesh
embedded in it, approx 12x12".

SHORT LENGTHS OF CHAIN W/ DOG CLIP
51 lengths, about 2' long, most with a dog clip on one end.

ODDS & ENDS
Unused toothpaste caps; shower curtain rings in a variety of styles;
retired card catalog cards; empty DVD and CD cases.

OLDIES & GOLDIES
Napkin holders and lunch trays. You know the ones. Still plenty to
go around.

KEYHOLDERS
About 30, assorted sizes/shapes. See container for details.

OPEN HOURS
Every Wednesday 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

love,
Repo

The Repo Fundraiser, retrospectively

2009-10-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

So we made some stuff and sold it. Brought in about $500, give or take a bit. (Our financial team has not got back to us yet.)

In general it was mildly successful. We traded most of our sanity to come few steps closer to a second container.

In subsequent conversations with our Faculty/Staff Advisor, David J. Fredrickson, we've come to realize that the road to true success is by working ourselves into the long-term plans of the school.

If a container were to manifest in the neighboring area, we would probably Repo that right away. But the reality of the situation is that nobody is giving them away, and it would be a commitment onto a dead-end path to purchase another one right now.

More photos.

Fabric, paint + our first ton of the schoolyear

2009-09-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Stern and Stern in Hornell and Golden Paints in New Belgium managed to incidentally coincide donation days, netting us about 919 pounds of cool stuff in one fell swoop.

On the paint front, Kevin Wixted and Dale Inglett split the cost of shipping, and then split the paint with Repo. About 100 pounds have already been split between senior painters, sophomore painting classes, BAFA foundations, and the BFA freshmen, with another 20+ pounds of odd gel mediums and earthy hues lingering in Repo for a little while. What's left looks a little like this:

On the fabric front, we negotiated and picked it up, with zero monetary exchange. 22 rolls of mostly nylon, off-spec or otherwise unsellable: ChemStat / cleanroom fabrics, anti-static fabrics, airbag material, weird chemical-resistant filters materials, etc. We intend to ration this out gradually, keeping a few rolls at a time on public display to discourage reflexive hoarding of such awesome materials. Know that we have more, and that if you have a use for it we will provide it.

On the weight front, today's influx of material brought over the half-ton mark on both material out and material in, with total flow solidly into the 1-ton range. We didn't start counting until September 1st, so that really means a little over two weeks to hit 2,000 lbs.

9/6 open repo

2009-09-06T14:36:00.001-07:00

Another successful Repo day.

Photos courtesy of Shanghai Jack.

As always, more on the Repo Flickr.

Give, and they will wear.

Speak, and they will listen.

Write, and they will sign.

He didn't get a key yet. Can you see the regret?

Dumpster diving is for everyone.

2001, here we come!

2009-08-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jake and all the other folks at AU ITS, Repo now has a computer. It's kind of old, and it doesn't have any USB ports, so I don't know yet how we'll get the records off of it yet, but we're going to record material flow direct into a spreadsheet rather than via pen, paper, clipboard, and an unruly pile of dirty crumpled 8.5x11's.

The goal at this point is to put this material flow information onto Google Documents, and in turn generate interesting charts, graphs, and statistics. In just a few unannounced hours of sitting around setting up the computer and processing some scrap metal, close to 200lbs of material left Repo, and about 15 more were donated.

Max Davis, pictured above, was the last Repo customer of the Analog Era.

8/30 cleaning + keygiving

2009-08-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

The first Open Repo was a rousing success, resulting in an abnormally clean container, now completely clear of flammables, and a great deal of progress (25 lbs of brass) on the scrap doorknob project.

More photos available on the Repo flickr.

Open Repo, Sunday 8/30 @ NOON

2009-08-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

The first Open Repo will be this Sunday at noon.

This is your opportunity as a member of the not-Repo to visit, volunteer, or just linger around quietly for a few minutes before walking off without talking to anyone.

Repo can be reached at this green arrow:

View Larger Map

State of the Repo

2009-08-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

As of August 2009, we have realized a few things:
First of all, Repo needs more space, or a major restructuring. We are at capacity because we are standing in for both a well-run campus recycling program and a houseware-donation program. We would like to have more space available for bringing in sweet industrial materials, like end-rolls of nylon (or Kevlar!), seconds from paint companies, and giant vinyl billboard tarps.
Second, Repo needs dependable people. We have a small core of trash ninjas, but if you are interested, and like midnight trashpicking and large quantities of stuff, please contact us (repo@alfred.edu).
Third, we are no longer providing the service of guilt-free trash disposal. If we are given stuff that you should have thrown out, we will throw it out too. This doesn't clear you of the negative karma of sending things to a landfill. In fact, it amplifies it so much that soon you might be hit by a bus.

More to come about imminent changes to Repo. Check back soon.

Love, Repo

Repo-ing our way to the future

2009-08-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog for Repo, the materials exchange parasitically attached to the art school at Alfred University in Alfred, NY. Here you'll find updates on our activities, new materials, and schedule. Presumably you were directed here from the main Repo site. If not, and you're curious about what, who, and why we are, check us out at:
http://people.alfred.edu/~repo