Traveling Cowboys: Two Birds Doing the Two Cowboys Production Van Fit-Out With Reclaimed Barn Wood from Alberta, Canada

Cabin In A Van

How many people can say that they've built a cabin in a van and that they did it with wood that is a hundred years old?

Clinton Pigeon and his team at Two Birds Furniture in Okotoks rose to the occasion to help the Traveling Cowboys with the final step in the build of the Two Cowboys production van. The brief was to create a comfortable work and living space within our Ford Transit that can accommodate our travels in all-weather circumstances. We want to take our studio on the road as we crisscross North America to feature destinations, communities, makers, and entrepreneurs all over the continent. The van is an essential item in our fleet that includes a Sprinter van from Leisure Vans, and an A-Class RV from Holiday Rambler that we purchased from Guarantee RV.

The objective of the construction of our production van was that it should allow for enough storage for all the production gear. It should be comfortable for long trips away from home. Ultimately, the project should showcase some of the best of Alberta's craftsmanship and the rich history of our area. We think the Two Birds succeeded in doing it!

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The Two Cowboys production van is a project that's been in the works for most of 2017. It started with the support of Cam Clark Ford helping us to procure a Ford Transit 350HD van in the early parts of summer.

The next big task was to install the required solar and battery power for the studio's equipment. Bucars RV stepped in to install solar, controllers, inverter, batteries and ventilation for charging our high-end camera gear and for operating our sensitive computer equipment, while on the road.

A business' vehicle is an ideal billboard for advertising. Spy Designs in Okotoks helped with an eye-catching branding design and applied the vinyl graphics so that everyone can identify the van on the road.

Canada throws all kinds of weather at you and the van needed to be insulated and heated for weather that can go between extremes of -35C and +40C. The insulation task fell on the shoulders of resident Cowboy, Braam Compton, who spent weeks researching the ideal solutions and several weekends installing it over the hot summer months. A vital part of the insulation journey was getting the required window coverings to trap heat inside or keep the hot sun out. We sourced custom window screens from Solar Screen in Australia.  The Espar Airtronic gasoline heater installation was done by Polar Mobility Research in Calgary.

Once all the "invisible" installations were out of the way, the Two Birds had a chance to work with us on the layout. Wood framing provided the structure for the arrangement. The framing was then clad with reclaimed timber sourced from an old Alberta barn. The design accommodated a work desk, fridge, shelving, closet, drop-in storage and a single bed for when a day gets too long.

Observations

A van is an invaluable business tool for our line of business. A well-designed and properly-constructed vehicle makes our day easy and allows us to reach the many destinations we cover and to work on the road while away from home base. We learned a lot with the build of this first one and did not doubt that there will be subsequent projects with improvements in our design and construction approach.

The most significant lessons we've learned from our project is how valuable the people are that committed to helping us with it. All of the businesses that contributed are patrons and supporters of the Two Cowboys mission. We gladly promote them at every opportunity we get. We appreciate their help to keep us on the road for telling the stories of our people and inspirational businesses in our local communities.

We are extending a sincere word of thank you in particular to the Two Birds for putting in days, nights and weekends to finish the project before winter finally arrived. We can now look forward to many miles and many more inspirational stories on the road.

If you want to know how exactly it was all done, then please consider becoming a friend of ours on Patreon. We will give you all the details of what to do, and what to avoid if you contemplate a similar endeavour. We may even help you with your project if you ask nicely.

Hendrik van Wyk

Van Cowboy

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Photos

It starts with a plan...

Insulation Done

Framing Done

Stress Test!

Cladding

More Cladding

Bliss!

o-CNN: Checking In With Two Birds Furniture that Makes Pieces from Recycled Lumber in Alberta Canada

Metamorphosis

(Learn: ** Inspire: ** Amaze: ** Live: ****)
(The Two Cowboys Subjective Rate-o-Meter.   )

Thanks to Wikipedia we know: "The word metamorphosis derives from Greek μεταμόρφωσις, "transformation, transforming", from μετα- (meta-), "change" and μορφή (morphe), "form".

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What then do you call it when you transform a hundred-year-old barn and turn it into beautiful furniture and decorative finishes? In Okotoks, they call it: "Farm to Furniture, by the Two Birds".

Clint and Robyn Pigeon (two pigeons - birds - get it?) established the business in 2013 with a helping hand from within the community. Both were raised in rural Alberta where they cultivated an understanding and value for the importance of hard work. These are farm people. They can farm where most of the year there is only snow and ice.

Their appreciation for Alberta’s heritage and a passion for their own sparked an initiative. They wanted to reclaim the beauty of historic farms and ranches by creating heirlooms from the weathered barns and outbuildings. This leads them to the recycling old lumber and turning it into quality things that will last for generations.

The natural next step for these ageing and often unsafe structures is to be burned down. Clint mentioned that this is the way he gets to know about them. The owners usually apply for a fire permit with the Town. The Pigeons step in by negotiating the opportunity to dismantle and salvage the weathered lumber from the old buildings.

They then turn the lumber from the buildings into custom, authentic, one-of-a-kind furniture and decor, that they assure me is more affordable than I expect. What is for sure is that they turn it into quality pieces that will last another hundred years.

Observations

I asked Clint about the best part of his day. His reply: "When I am out in the open with the old barn, by myself in thought, admiring the history, appreciating the character and I realise that I am merely another step in the evolution of the story that came before, and the one that will be after." The next natural step is for Clint to make something beautiful for someone to use and appreciate.

Robyn mentioned that people appreciate the furniture because it comes with a story. I think people appreciate it because it is really beautiful, solid and something one's grandchildren will still be using decades from now.

If you have ever found two pure entrepreneurs, it is Clint and Robyn. The business started naturally with love for the material, the creative processes, the hard work that goes into creating a utility from passion and recycled old wood. They turned it into useful and beautiful items for their family and friends. All that remained was to keep doing it. Get better at it, and share it with more people.

For now, you need to get to know them personally for their custom pieces they make in a new workshop in Okotoks, Alberta. However, they assure me that more standard items will soon be available for order through their website: http://www.twobirdsfurniture.ca.

We are eagerly following the story of Two Birds Furniture because we share the same values and we also have a passion and love for the history of this beautiful Province of Alberta. We will definitely be bringing you more from Two Birds Furniture in future.

Hendrik van Wyk
Birdwatching Cowboy

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Photos

Bird in the Hand

For Life

Character

Value

New with Old