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New Life in Our Old Barn, page 1

After years of searching for a small farm to move our growing business to, in 2010 we re-visioned our future and set off on a different path. We expanded our network of urban micro-farms and renovated our Depression-era barn/garage into improved shipping space and a cozy new office – and we couldn’t be happier.

1. Our old office in Scott and Jane’s house had become painfully
cramped. We spilled out into the dining room during the day and took
pride in making do, but eventually we knew we had to move.

2. We hired our neighbor Marc Rueter to draw up plans to
renovate our big old barn/garage into office space upstairs and
improved shipping space downstairs while preserving the barn’s historic
integrity and making the whole project as “green” as possible.

3. The barn was built in 1929 by Otto Koch who ran his business
out of it for decades. Old neighborhoods like ours were once full of small,
home-based businesses like Koch’s, and we’re proud to continue that
frugal, independent, energy-saving tradition today.

4. Downstairs was a relatively simple project. First we removed
(and saved or took to our local ReUse Center) Koch’s old shelving, the original
stairs, and styrofoam insulation we installed years ago when we
first started shipping from the barn.

5. Then came a quarter-ton steel beam (quite a job!) and new
footings to support the added weight upstairs.

6. The newly built stairs seemed to symbolize good things to come. They lead
up from a vestibule (to come) and the old green door to our back yard.

7. To save energy, we added high-tech polyisocyanurate insulation
to the walls and spray-foam insulation in the ceiling (covered here by wallboard),
interior storm windows, and a high-efficiency heating and cooling system.

8. To save money, we did the painting ourselves. By September
our bright, open, well-insulated space was ready to set up for fall shipping.

9. From outside the barn looks unchanged, but shipping from the new space was awesome!
(Here Donna, Arlene, Josh, Kelly, and Scott enjoy a short tea-break.) Meanwhile, upstairs. . .

Continue to page 2: Upstairs

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