Preservationwerx is built on the concept that “old” matters. Old houses, buildings, farms, music, hand craft skills: it all matters. It makes us who we are today. The computer generated virtual world is meaningless without the backdrop of what’s real. Our job: to make sure all generations realize the beauty and purpose of old structures and spaces, and to insure their survival.
A short list of what we do is easy, a description of why or how is close to impossible.
1: Restoration Consulting. What needs to be done, when it needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and how much it might cost. We can provide a building survey, a maintenance plan, and for the adventurous homeowner, advice on hw to do it yourself.
2: Restoration contracting: For over 30 years, we’ve fixed old places up. From an affordable “close-as-we-can-get” approach to museum quality, we’ve done it. It’s easy to be a restoration snob and only go for “perfect”, but that’s not necessarily wise financially, or even livable from a practical standpoint. We want to do whatever we do right, and in keeping with the house’s period. Our best complement is when people never know we were there. It needs to be affordable and of high quality.
The other stuff:
We also help with preservation and restoration fundraising event planning. Building awareness is the first step to raising money for a preservation cause, but there’s more needed than just dollars. We show you how to build a sustainable organization. What started as a hobby 20+ years ago (hosting concerts of genre-specific folk music, like Irish, Scots, Old-time, etc) rapidly tuned into a local fundraising juggernaut, helping raise awareness and funds for many local non-profits.
A quick list of Founder/Head Guy Charles Shafer’s bio highlights:
1: Conceptualized and started the first real estate marketing division specifically for old houses, with the inception of Merrill Lynch Realty’s Antique and Historic Homes Division. It involved not just focused advertising, but training agents across New England, writing newsletters, developing sales events and organizing preservation events. Amassing over 1 billion in sales within the first two years, and attracting customers from across the country, it quickly became the most-imitated template for old-property marketing.
2: Seminar/program leader for homeowners looking to restore an old house.
3: Founder/leader Charles Shafer Restoration Contracting, a restoration company that can do museum-quality restorations, but is more interested in cost-conscious restoration, and keeping project costs in line with what the market can bear. Historical accuracy counts, but keeping the costs in control for possible resale is better.
4: Founder and director, Fire In The Kitchen Concerts, a concert series that is devoted to preserving the art of old-time acoustic music from around the globe, and it’s associated fiddle club, the Skunk Misery Ramblers. The Ramblers are an all-ages, all-abilities fiddle club which plays dance/house party music from centuries past at various fund-raising events. The program uses music to build community, and to harness the power of that community to support local charities and preservation efforts. A 100% volunteer effort, virtually all “profits” go to local charities.