Steve Quillian | Wood Window Makeover
In this episode, Steve Quillian, CEO, Craftsman, and Historic Preservationist visits with me about his mission to spread joy and reverence for Historic Preservation and restoring old windows.
Inspired by his ancestors and a love for community and helping others, Steve started something called the Artisan Army. He knows that as one person he can only accomplish so much, but an army of trained artisans will fan out across the USA and beyond to save historic windows and the preservation trades.
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Join the Artisan Army
Be part of the revolution! For more information about Steve Quillian’s weekend workshops, the Historic Homes Workshop, and the Artisan Army, read here.
Items and Products Mentioned in this Episode
- Sarco Type M Glazing Putty
- Abatron Wood Restoration Kit
- Beekeeper Hive Tool
- Window Zipper (opener)
- Cobra Speedheaterâ„¢
I’m Headed to Florida
Last week, I wrote a post about joining Steve’s Artisan Army at the Historic Homes Workshop in Brooksville Florida. You can follow my trip on Instagram, and next week, I will publish a post all about it.
Now, I am off to pack my bags. Let me know what you think about this episode in the comments. I hope you are as inspired by Steve as I am.
-Stacy
Special thanks to Lamps Expo for sponsoring this episode.
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6 Comments
Ryan
I am excited to listen to this episode. I’ve done only emergency repairs to my windows so far to replace cracked and broken panes but still need to do complete restorations to replace putty and paint (luckily very little rot, +1 for living on the west coast).
After seeing your previous mention about attending this workshop and Steve’s mission of training more people to repair/build wood windows I realized that this is something I’d love to do for our community. I’ve batted around the idea before casually. It comes up when I see a broken window in my neighborhood with a pillow or blanket shoved in it to keep out the cold and I think, if only they knew how inexpensive it could be for them to repair that window. Most people think a broken window=needing a replacement but that’s only true with new windows.
Coming up I’ve already promised to show my next door neighbor how to replace cracked panes in his front door (I’ve done this twice – bad dog) and I really hope in a few years I can hone my skills enough to teach a workshop in my community – not only for old house lovers, but also for people in our low income, old home stock neighborhoods.
Stacy
Ryan, that is a worthwhile goal. I love that you want to do this for your community. If I can help in any way, please let me know. I am willing and able to travel.
Sam Jarman, Swank Surroundings
This episode touched my heart. His description of an artisan was a lightbulb moment. I am definitely going to look into attending an artisan army event. Thanks so much for sharing this, Stacy! Life changer!
Stacy
Thank you for listening and for this comment. 🙂 I am so happy that you enjoyed the episode and it motivated you to join the Artisan Army.
Devyn
Loved the podcast… Thrilled you are going to Florida.
The houses in my neighborhood range from 1790-1870 and know of only a single house that has original windows (an 1860s Italianate with several two over two’s still in place). So very sad really. In addition to not having original windows, most of the houses in my area (including ours) have the original iron shutter supports embedded into the window frames, but virtually none of the houses have proper shutters. That would be another fantasy of mine to bring shutters back to our house.
Stacy
Next year. Seriously. If you stay the week, you’ll learn how to build your own windows!