We’re Cooking Up a Positively Presidential Sale…

Start planning your home improvement projects now! Forklift staffers are getting ready for a big sale weekend to celebrate Presidents’ Day. Watch this space for tomorrow’s announcement of our BIG sale for Saturday-Monday.

Photo from HGTV

 

 

New Treincarnation Delivery!

Treincarnation just delivered a new stock of sustainably harvested, air-dried and rough-planed specialty lumber!

Stop on by this weekend to check it out. This beautiful lumber never stays on our racks for very long!

Super Bowl Sale – 40% Off Storewide Saturday, Sunday and Monday!

Super Sales for the Super Bowl! We’re knocking even more off our weekend prices and extending the sale through Monday to aid in your Super Bowl recovery! On Saturday, Sunday and Monday (January 31 and February 1 & 2), take 40% off STOREWIDE! Don’t let the wintery weather keep you from DIY and home improvement!

As always, this sale does not include items from Tanglewood Works, certain specialty items, items with missing or damaged price tags, items from our consignment partners (Treincarnation, Salvage Arts, Alco Appliances) or Amazon Paint. The sale may not be combined with other sales.

If the weather is hazardous, please call the store at (301) 985-5180 to make sure we are open. We will change the voicemail message if we close due to weather.

Super Bowl Sale – 40% Off Storewide Saturday-Monday

 

Super Sales for the Super Bowl! We’re knocking even more off our weekend prices and extending the sale through Monday to aid in your Super Bowl recovery! On Saturday, Sunday and Monday (January 31 and February 1 & 2), take 40% off STOREWIDE! Don’t let the wintery weather keep you from DIY and home improvement!

As always, this sale does not include items from Tanglewood Works, certain specialty items, items with missing or damaged price tags, items from our consignment partners (Treincarnation, Salvage Arts, Alco Appliances) or Amazon Paint. The sale may not be combined with other sales.

If the weather is hazardous, please call the store at (301) 985-5180 to make sure we are open. We will change the voicemail message if we close due to weather.

 

Tanglewood Works and Community Forklift Team up with the Riverdale Park Farmers Market

Riverdale Park, home to the area’s most talked about Farmers Market, is doing something a little unique this winter with the help of an entire community. With a little bit of paint, love, and attention from a few good neighbors, the local year-round Riverdale Park Farmer’s Market is now being held in a formerly vacant storefront, right by the Riverdale train station. The “Winter Pop-Up Market” takes place every Thursday from 3-7pm, and starting Feb. 1st, the market will be host to the “Riverdale Rooster Sunday Morning Coffee House Popup”, every Sunday from 9-2pm.

In order to transform the empty storefront into a vibrant and cozy neighborhood hotspot, Tanglewood Works coordinated with local volunteers to furnish the entire space with their funky upcycled furniture, and Community Forklift provided the paint that the Neighborhood Design Center used to beautify the walls with colorful murals.

“We are proud to be a part of transforming an unused space into a community gathering spot filled with organic produce, live music, hot prepared foods and most importantly, friends and neighbors.”, says Sue of Tanglewood Works.

The National Building Museum needs volunteers!

 

Our friends over at the National Building Museum are up to some pretty cool things this year, including their Design Apprenticeship Program, which brings together 30 youth from the D.C. metro area to learn the basics of design and construction.

2014 NBM Teen apprentices using materials from the `Lift to build a Little Library

Community Forklift worked with the NBM apprentices last year, and we’re looking forward to doing it again.  But before they can begin, the museum needs some skilled adult volunteers to help with the students!

–>  This summer, NBM is partnering with the Petworth Community Market. The Petworth Community Market strives to be perceived as more than a place where people buy produce from local farmers. They want it to be a space where people feel comfortable, connected to their neighbors, and engaged with ideas that are important to the neighborhood. Working in studio teams, the apprentices will generate design solutions that help create a sense of community in a temporary space, a weekly and seasonal outdoor market. The end products are entirely up to the studio teams and may address issues such as presence, visibility, way-finding, and engagement.

–>  The Design Apprenticeship Program meets on Saturdays, February 28 through May 2 (with one Saturday off, on April 4), and volunteers actively instruct and assist the teens as they explore materials, learn to use power tools, and work in teams to fabricate their final product. Ideally volunteer instructors can commit to all 9 Saturdays, but we understand that sometimes life gets in the way, so 2 sessions would be the max one could miss.

–>  There is a mandatory training on Saturday, February 21, 10am-2pm (if majority of schedules don’t work with this day, will shift to a weekday evening session).

–>  More information:

–       Volunteer hours: 9:30am to 3:30pm; 9:30am is when we check-in as a staff and volunteer team, arriving at this time is really important

–       Volunteer role is heavy on instruction, so one should feel comfortable leading a group of 5-6 teens, with help from 2 other adult instructors, through the project. Any fabrication and tool experience one has will be helpful, but not mandatory.

–       Though it is my job to create and implement the curriculum, volunteer instructors should plan on spending time reviewing weekly emails (before meeting on Saturday morning) or communicating with their team outside program hours as the project progresses.

–       The first couple days will focus on revealing the project, getting to know the client, brainstorming ideas, and sourcing materials. There will be 3-4 days devoted to fabrication, and the final day will be a final presentation of their work to their family, friends, and the museum community.

–       The students are 13-18 year olds in DC, MD, and VA, and have all completed DAP I, and some have completed DAP II once or more. DAP I is always in the fall and is for new students only, and DAP II is always in the spring and is for returning students.

If you are still interested after reading, please fill out the volunteer application. Should you have any questions, please get in touch with Lauren Wilson, Teen Programs Coordinator at 202.272.2448 ext. 3301  |  202.376.3564 (fax)  |  lwilson@nbm.org |  Follow Teen Programs on Facebook and Instagram | National Building Museum  |  401 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20001  |  www.nbm.org  |  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Community Forklift, Coming Soon To A Theater Near You!

It’s official, we have arrived!
Community Forklift is featured in the upcoming documentary Reuse! Because You Can’t Recycle The Planet by Alex Eaves of Stay Vocal. We’ve been waiting for the release since our Outreach Director, Ruthie, interviewed with Alex over a year ago. Now the film is in it’s last stages of production and the trailer is out!

Check it out, you can even catch a glimpse of Ruthie and our Community Forklift courtyard if you watch carefully (at 48 seconds in):

You can also learn more about this film and it’s story at Alex Eaves website.
Film scheduled to be released later this year

Long Weekend Sale – plus great ways to celebrate and serve on MLK Day

Due to the long weekend, we are having a HUGE 4-day sale! On Friday – Monday (January 16 – 19), you can take 40% off items throughout the warehouse, and take 75% on orange-tag furniture.

As always, this sale does not include items from Tanglewood Works, certain specialty items, items with missing or damaged price tags, items from our consignment partners (Treincarnation, Salvage Arts, Alco Appliances) or Amazon Paint. The sale may not be combined with other sales.

But let’s not forget the reason for the long weekend – Martin Luther King Day!  Here’s how you can  make it a day ON, not a day off:  There are lots of events celebrating the life of Dr. King around town, and many opportunties to take part in the national day of service honoring his legacy – including service activities for kids!

And all year long, please remember:  if you belong to a nonprofit, school, community, or faith group that serves the community, Community Forklift would like to help you out.  Please visit our programs page for more information, and to apply for free supplies and materials through our Community Building Blocks program.

 

Thinking about visiting us in 2015?

Here’s what you need to know!

Community Forklift is a 40,000 square foot self-serve reuse center. We do not have an inventory list, so you will need to visit in-person to see if a specific item is in stock. Thousands of items come in and out of the warehouse each week, so remember: if you see something you like today, act fast because it may be gone tomorrow!

 

We are located at 4671 Tanglewood Drive in Edmonston, MD (just outside NE DC in the Hyattsville area) .

Our warehouse is open Monday 10-6, Tuesday 10-6, Wednesday 10-7, Thursday 10-6, Friday 10-6, Saturday 9-6, and Sunday 9-6  

(If you are making a donation or picking up a bulky item, you must arrive at least 30 minutes before closing time.)  

 

HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR VISIT

• Dress very warmly– due to the concrete floor and walls, it is often colder inside our warehouse than it is outside! This means hats, gloves, long johns, heavy coats, etc. You may get dusty while hunting for treasure, so don’t dress your best! Shirts & shoes required.
• This is a working warehouse. Keep a close watch on your children so that they do not dive off a loading dock or tip something heavy onto their siblings. Unattended children may be eaten by Purple Polka-dotted Trash Monsters.
• Friendly, well-behaved pets are welcome, and may attract head pats and belly rubs. They must be on a leash at all times.
• Bring your specific measurements and a tape measure. Bring a sample if you are trying to match a specific color or style—remember, there are no returns on most items!
• If you are making a donation, or picking up a large bulky item, you must arrive at least a half hour before closing time. Although our checkout desk closes at 6pm (and 7pm on Wednesdays), our courtyard and loading bays close at 5:30 pm (6:30pm on Wednesdays). We are strict about this policy for safety reasons.  It also ensures that all Forklift Fans will have enough time to load or unload their vehicle and exit the courtyard by closing time.
• Ask staff for help if you find something you will need a ladder to reach–otherwise it is a self-serve warehouse. You are welcome to use the shopping carts, dollies, hand trucks, and flat carts.
• People who switch or remove price tags are indeed shoplifters. Shoplifters will be prosecuted, banned from the store, or held upside-down over an old toilet. Likewise, folks who remove “Sold” stickers are mean people, and they will get what’s coming to them someday.
• We put a lot of time and research into setting prices, so we discourage haggling. However, if you feel there is a possible price error, please inquire at the checkout, and you will be asked to wait patiently until a manager can investigate. If you still remain unhappy with the price, you are encouraged to keep an eye on our Facebook or Twitter feeds, where we announce frequent flash sales.
• We do not accept American Express. We do accept cash, checks, Visa, Master Card, and Discover.

 

STORE POLICIES

RETURN POLICY: All sales are final, so please inspect items carefully before you check out! We are very happy to open sealed boxes for you at the front desk so that you may look at the item before you purchase it.

The only exception to this rule is for appliances, radiators, and designated machines (these items come with a 14-day return policy if they don’t work when you install them. You must bring your receipt and the item back to the store to receive your refund). Also, reconditioned appliances from our consignment partner may come with a longer warranty – please ask a Reuse Associate for details.

LOADING INTO YOUR VEHICLE: Please bring an appropriate vehicle and friends to help you get your materials home safely.  Community Forklift staffers and volunteers are not able to help load items into your vehicle. However, once you have purchased your item(s), we do offer one week of free storage. This will give you time to round up strong friends or hire folks to help you move, to borrow or rent a truck, etc.

 

 

Join us on January 24th, 2015 for our 2nd Annual Polar Bear Plunge!

In a few short weeks, the ‘Community Forklift Freezers’ will be diving into the Potomac River to raise awareness and advocate for change in our daily habits that negatively impact our earth’s climate. Last year, organizers had to cut a hole in the ice that morning because it was so chilly – but we still had over 40 employees, volunteers, and Forklift Fans show up!! We were able to give over $1,200 to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network for their work to fight climate change and “keep winter cold!” 

Can we raise $1000 for the cause this year? We hope to! If interested in participating on the Forklift Freezer team or donating to the cause, find out more here: http://www.firstgiving.com/team/282964