Wedding Day!!!
A few weekends ago one of our good friends got married and the pallet people attended the wedding. So we decided to make a quick montage depicting our shenanigans. We paid one of our friends to drive us to and from the wedding in a van we rented ( safety first) . And we had a blast. First, brian and I had to finish up a table so you'll see that . We also had to make a pit stop and pick up a few more passengers,so while we were waiting we partied in the hotel parking lot. Overall the day was a raging success!
The News is coming!!! | Sundays with The Pallet People
Christmas in July!
Summer days
In our book summer is way too short. How can you beat the long hot days that turn into late nights? How can you top those fanciful blue skies? The way your skin tingles when the first summer rays hit it . The feeling of warmth and comfort as the sand nestles between your toes. The daily iced coffees , summer brews ... the list goes on and on .
TPP thrive in the summertime . We get to be outside , we aren't freezing in the garage with a small propane heater . We don't have to wear winter hats and gloves . The garage doors don't have to be shut tight while we pray for the glory days to be upon us once again .
So for now... while we have the chance, we are going to take advantage of these warm days . We are going to relish in the heat. We are going to hang with friends and enjoy long beach days . We will cheers countless times with our Corona Lights, and we will count our blessings , as we watch the dazzling sun bleed into dark indigo skies.
Don't play in the road!
Risking our lives to get a shot of this beautiful Mosaic.
Life with Brian...
Theres ALWAYS brushes in the sink.
The night before a deadine
Brian has a hard time getting ahead of deadlines. He hopes to one day have the car packed and ready to go prior to the night before.
These are a few of our Favorite Things ✨
You have probably seen a lot of our favorite things if you follow our Instagram page , but I'm going to list them anyway . Here's a list of our favorite day to day items that we'd hate to live without (besides pallets)❤️.
1. White Monster Energy Drinks ( all the members of TPP have an open addiction to these bad boys).
2. Music 🎶... I doubt you'll ever come to the shop when we aren't listening to something . Whether it be top hits , or a random selection from Andrew, we live for it.
3. Bose portable speaker 🔊. We love our Bose!
4. Corona Lights with Lime....The beer of choice around here .
5. Deco Color paint pens. ( I won't use anything else ) and this was after a lot of trials!
6. Our video camera... if you come to TPP headquarters expect to be on film . We are always playing around with our cam. It's an older Nikon DSLR that we weren't using , so we attatched a microphone and a cool tripod. Now it's one of our most used objects.
7. Minwax Polycrylic ... a fellow woodworker told us about this product and it's literally the best thing to have happened to us.
8. Rolling work tables... the boys built our work tables out of scrap pallets wood and added wheels to the base. This way we can roll them out of the garage when the weather is nice!
9. Burn Barrel ... not only is it awesome for friends to sit around but also lets us burn a lot of pallet scraps at once
10. Ticonderoga erasers ... never realized how bad some erasers are. Ticonderoga are our favorite ! You'd never believe how annoying the pencil on our signs is. These erasers definitely help.
11. Our iPhone 7 ... takes dope photos 📸
They've got us surrounded
6/12/17
The pallets are everywhere. Full pallets stacked behind the garage up to the roof. Stripped pallets stacked against the green brick walls inside. Pallet scraps in barrels around the garage filled to the brim. Remnants of what used to be pallets spread over the concrete floor. Pieces of pallet in the burn barrel in the back yard. Pallet signs in the basement loaded in the racks which are also made of pallets. Finished pallet signs in the kitchen, where they line the walls as they await their fate. Will they hang on another’s wall? Will they be used at someone’s special day? Or will they become a mistake and get tossed out to the back yard and join the scraps in the burn barrel? The Pallet People are outnumbered, we are covered in sawdust, and surrounded by pallets, and our home has turned into a workshop. From the living room down to the basement and out to the garage. The “palletless” life we once knew is long gone. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.
On Mon, Jun 12, 2017 at 10:51 AM, Victoria Lee <thepalletpeoplect@gmail.com> wrote:
A Quick Trip
Our Shop Dog 6/5/17
So by now you’ve seen plenty of Rory Kaye in photos and videos around our house and shop! But it’s time you were properly introduced. Rory is an old soul. Brian and I rescued him from PAWS NEW ENGLAND https://www.pawsnewengland.com/ approximately two and a half years ago and immediately fell in love. Rory was a stray dog found in Georgia. Rory is the most relaxed, easy going dog I have ever met. We have probably heard him bark 6 times since rescuing him. He is so full of love for other people. And always appreciates a good hug.
Rory is approximately 6 years old the vet says. But we really have no idea of his age. He sleeps with us every night, taking up most of the space. He loves long car rides, well he actually just loves being in the car. He is truly obsessed with being outside. He will sit for hours in the rain, loves digging holes all over the yard, and believe it or not he loves to hunt. There have been plenty of times where we catch him with other animals in his mouth. It still shocks us that this lazy, slow moving dog can catch anything, but he does.
Brian had never had a family pet before Rory and we both say it every day “how did we get so lucky” and “we’ll never get a dog better than him” Rory is definitely a top member of the TPP crew. He follows us around the shop, and is always overseeing our work. So if you ever want to meet the most chill dog stop on by the TPP headquarters. You can find him lying motionless in the grass or sleeping in the back of the Volvo wagon.
the hardest part of the business
Cuckoo for coconut ! 5/31/17
Hey Friends! Funny story to share. So a few weeks ago, I was working on a sign and a little bit before I had put coconut oil on my hands. As I was working I noticed words I had already written were smudging off. I called Brian in and I was like “ I think the paint you used on this board is defective.” He responds with “ Tor it’s the same paint I use all of the time, so I don’t know.” I was totally stumped at that point. But I rewrote the words that had mysteriously disappeared and kept working. 10 – 15 minutes later I realized I had the coconut oil on my hands and AHA I knew that was the culprit.
This past week I created a wood stained sign with a wedding date on it. I show the customer the piece and she loves it but to her dismay she had told me the wrong date! She asked if there was any way I could change it without having to redo the sign. In the past we would have sanded off the wrong date and re-stained the area. This is a timely process. I decided to try and take off the wrong date with COCONUT OIL, and guess what it worked!
Now any time there is a mistake made I just reach for that magical oil. Thank you coconuts!
How we got the shot
The Rustic Barn mosaic
A quick video of an exclusive mosaic we designed for our friends at The Rustic Barn in Killingworth, CT.
The Garage
The white doors are stained with grit, sawdust, and ash. No matter how hard you scrub the door, it remains ever so grey. The windows dusted over, creating a hazy view when trying to peer inside. The right door is our entrance. The automatic function no longer an option. The door slides up easily revealing our place. Sawdust enveloping you, the burnt wood smell fills your nose, and it’s all so comforting. Bits and pieces of scrap wood everywhere the eye can see. Sawhorses and power tools in every corner. Stacks and stacks of stripped pallets perfectly placed to size and color. The tiny garage with the green walls, the green walls that now contain all of the things we need to make our beautiful art. The tiny white garage with the black shutters. A place that doesn’t protect our cars but protects our wood.
Where the magic happens
Photo Competitions
Let’s just say I am not afraid to tell people what I am truly feeling. If I think something is wrong, I will voice it, and I typically won’t let it go. The members of TPP know this about me. I am also extremely critical over the photos we choose to use on social media. I am pretty much in charge of what gets posted to Instagram; however I am not the only one taking the photos. Brian and I like to have friendly little competitions of whose photos are better. We will set up the scene and both take photos of the same piece. We then proceed to argue over who took the better shot.
We never meant for this to improve our content, but it actually does. We push each other to do better and to be better. I feel it is so important to have some criticism; of course we all need a little praise too. ; ) We are learning as we move forward how important communication is, and how necessary it is to voice opinions. The one thing that goes unsaid may lead to conflict down the road. Brainstorming and talking out ideas leads to great work and growth. So speak you mind, explain your ideas, and criticize each other’s work. I think the results may surprise you.