A former carpenters' union office on East Lake Street in Minneapolis is being re-imagined as the Forage Modern Workshop.
Brownsmith Restoration is redeveloping the building, which will house its offices along with a furniture store and a brand/idea workshop, according to Brownsmith partner James Brown.
It’ll take nearly $200,000 to turn it around, he says. (Check out its progress
here.)
Forage will feature local furniture makers who specialize in modern and vintage designs, he says, adding, “It’ll be kind of like
Design Within Reach but on more of a local scale.”
Small manufacturers and designers will sell new and existing lines in the store. Certain home goods, such as specialty wallpaper, will also be available. “It’ll be a curated store, with stuff that we think is really cool,” he says.
Inside, there will also be a café, which will be furnished with tables and chairs from the shop.
The redesign of the 1951 building will reflect its roots with a mid-century modern aesthetic. Reclaimed oak paneling is just one way that Brownsmith will create that, he says.
Forage’s store will launch online first, within the coming weeks, while the café will be ready within six months, according to Brown.
Already, Brown is thinking about ways to make the place, which sat vacant for a year, a destination.
In the future, the building could also be a drop-off location for community-supported agriculture (CSA). It's already hosted various performance art activities. “We’re trying to make ourselves culturally significant,” he says.
East Lake Street is “an important commercial part of the city,” he says. “We want to help redevelop it,” and that, he adds, will “help the surrounding properties a ton.”
Source: James Brown, Brownsmith Restoration
Writer: Anna Pratt