For the last two years, I have been tackling the project of a lifetime! We've been building our family's first and forever dream house here in Los Angeles. While it's been a long time in the making, we're just about finished, and I'm excited to give you a peek right now. I'm so thrilled to be partnering with Humboldt Redwood to share how we brought this amazing, natural material into our modern home. Take a look at this video below for a peek and all the details…
Thanks for joining me to take a peek at this beautiful, natural material and how we've used it in our home build project! If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below!
*This post is in partnership with Humboldt Redwood. All words are my own.
(Creative Direction: Joy Cho, Production: Julia Wester and Jess Hong, Video: Jenner Brown, Still Photos: Lily Glass, Music: "Milkshake" by Pleasant Pictures Music Club, Graphics: Angie Stalker, Special Thanks: Project M+ and Boswell Construction.)
I have been following this blog for nearly a decade, and have always enjoyed the personal narratives that accompany the product posts. I’m reticent to be leaving a first comment that tends towards the negative, but I found this promotion to be very unsettling, particularly given the “California-sourced product” framing as a highlight.
While Humboldt Redwood might be one of the best of the bad logging companies, it still engages in problematic activity in the most sensitive environments in the state; FSC certification is a low bar. (See coverage of the issues here: https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2018-02-13/california-timber-battles-shift-new-grounds and here: https://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2018/07/30/after-several-arrests-logging-protest-planned-for-thursday).
In fact, even in their management plan Humboldt Redwood concedes that its activities may mean “cutting of an old growth tree […] for road construction, skyline corridors, or workplace safety considerations.”
I understand that this is a sensitive topic given that this is your new home, but as a longtime reader, I would urge you to reconsider promoting the product for sponsorship on this platform.
Hi Maria,
Thank you so much for your note. I appreciate your concerns and comment.
I don’t have all the answers to your questions but I did ask Humboldt and they were happy to give me this information to share with you!
• The harvest operations in the Mattole River watershed are thinning the forest to increase the growth rates of the remaining trees whilereducing fuel for wildfires. These operations are conducted on a sustainable basis and adhere to the strictest regulations of anywhere inthe nation.
• Humboldt Redwood has conducted 13 tours to this watershed to show interested individuals how we are managing this portion of ourforest. Anyone can request a tour through our website to visit any portion of our forest. That may be done via this URL link:https://www.hrcllc.com/field-visits
• While our management plan does allow for the occasional harvesting of an old growth tree for road construction and placement of askyline corridor, in practice new roads and corridors are routed around such trees. In fact, the last tour to the Mattole River watershedresulted in positive comments about how the new road construction avoided old growth trees.
If you have any other questions, I am happy to put you in touch with their team who will be well-suited to help you.
Thanks so much,
Joy
I love your jumpsuit…where can we find it?! Also, can’t wait to see your home when it’s finished.
Ellen