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May 3,
2002
Skilled
Carpenters Bring New Furniture, Cost Savings to MHC
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Photo: Fred Leblanc
Charles
Hommes removes excess laquer from his tables to ensure that
their drawers will slide smoothly.
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When people say "you
get what you pay for," they mean that it costs a lot of money
to get high-quality products and services. Michael Buckley respectfully
disagrees. After seeing cost estimates for the furniture being
considered to update the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center guest
rooms, the superintendent of general services for Facilities Management
promised that his staff could build better-quality pieces less
expensively. Buckley will make good on that promise at the end
of this month when he and his carpentry team deliver custom-made
furniture for ten of Willits-Hallowell's twenty overnight rooms—at
a 40 percent savings. Furniture for the remaining rooms, which
are scheduled to be redecorated next year, will be even less expensive
now that designs have been established.
"This is furniture
that should be in place a long time, and we wanted it to create
a warmer and more distinctive setting than our budget suggested
we could afford," said Buckley, who oversees furnishings
for the College. "What's exciting is that we have both the
carpentry facilities and the skill level to do this kind of work;
these resources are not typical of colleges."
Usually assigned to
routine campus work, such as fixing sticky windows and crafting
office work stations, small furnishings, and stair rail spindles,
MHC carpenters Charles Hommes, Michael Laizer, and Michael Russell
were eager to design and build headboards, mirrors, bedside and
work tables, desks, and built-in bureaus. They started the project
in February, working with students David Sanchez and Jorge Carrasco
from Holyoke's William J. Dean Technical High School. They have
eighty pieces of high-quality cherry wood furniture, which are
already in the process of being installed.
Willits-Hallowell
opened its doors in 1975 to overnight visitors. Last year, the
conference center accommodated 5,600 guests, from trustees and
lecturers to alumnae, parents, and summer conference participants.
For inspiration in this year's redecoration, Willits-Hallowell
staff looked to the décor of its most popular, most requested
room, #114, which Assistant Director Rachel Osborn describes as
"country inn style." Osborn says that new decorations,
such as framed antique quilts, and clean-lined, Shaker-inspired
furniture will bring that same country ambience to all of Willits-Hallowell's
rooms.
counter
is
3,766
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