In 2012 The Resource Exchange and The Arden Theatre Company saved tons of lengths of rough cut poplar and giant barn doors from their production of Charlotte’s Web.

Donating the lumber to The Resource Exchange instead of sending it to landfill enabled our creative customers to reuse the wood in local projects. The barn doors were given a second life in The Philadelphia Sculpture Gym’s warehouse space, and we were thrilled when Little Berlin decided to use the poplar to build their community vegetable garden.

The lumber was used in a number of interior design projects, furniture, and even in the remodel of a restaurant in Tennessee for a makeover TV series!

A piece of the production is even still present at The Resource Exchange now, 6 years later! We reused the poplar as a shelf in the frame section of our store and for structural accents in our space (lumber from the show seen here on the left and behind the ‘frames & prints’ sign).

Since 2012, The Resource Exchange and The Arden continue to partner to save these materials from going to landfill. We also saved lumber and building materials from the sets of Cinderella, Parade, Peter Pan, Equivocation, Pinocchio, Cyrano, and Robin Hood, with customers using the materials in educational theatre projects, miniature golf courses, home decor, fine art galleries, and even on the set of a major motion picture (see how Robin Hood’s cardboard tubes were used in M. Night Shyamalan’s  SPLIT here!) 

Creative customers have incorporated set lumber into their homes.  Lumber from The Arden was used to create this coffee table…

and to build this decorative wall…

When the Arden decided to remount their production of Charlotte’s Web, including the same set design with rough cut poplar and barn doors, they contacted us again to make sure the lumber could be reused after the curtain closes.

The poplar from the amazing barn structure will be integral in the build of our new location at Berks and American in 2019. We can’t wait to give it another life, and to see what’s next for these set materials in the hands of our customers.

More about The Resource Exchange and The Arden’s collaboration here!