Non knitting craftiness!

Ha, yesterday I alluded to the return of political commentary and today I'm posting about crafts. Tricked ya didn't I? Whatever, it's my blog and I can do what I want to.

One of the bizarre things about Universities, especially large ones, is the ownership of stuff. Some stuff is purchased by the U, some stuff is purchased by individuals on grant money via the U, and the ownership rules get weird: the granting agency owns it and at the termination of the contract can ask for it back, although this is almost never enforced. Universities have systems to keep track of stuff, usually only the really expensive stuff, but sometimes all stuff. These systems are constantly changing, or are very inefficient at best. Bar codes and numbers should be scanned yearly, but what if no one knows where the item is, or it's out in the field, or it's moved, or the original faculty has left? Undergraduate workers sent to scan the tags will rarely track it down...so there is always stuff.

The stuff that tends to get lost the most: Office furniture. Buildings are renovated, faculty leave, offices are moved, etc. BUT, a U will never throw something out that could still have some value. Enter the wonder that is Surplus. Unwanted and unclaimed and outdated stuff goes to the magic place called surplus. It gets put in the hall, you call a phone number and it disappears...to the surplus, where is it either a) resold or given free to someone else in the U who wants it, or b) is available for sale to the public. Every university I've been associated with has the two versions, internal and external. Surplus stores are like thrift shops, populated with everything from old unused athletic uniforms to dining hall dishes to computer monitors to...office furniture, and public surplus stores have been decorating poor grad students apartments everywhere. If your looking for something a University might have once owned check out the public surplus store near you, they usually open once a month or so...

Occasionally, whole buildings and labs will be abandoned and before being reclaimed the poor graduate students end up cleaning it out, which of course gives them first dibs on the surplus destined stuff. This is exactly how I came to aquire this beauty (sorry for the blurry, I don't know what happened there):

A Do/More office task chair, I'm guessing circa 1950-60. (company still exists! www.domorelux.com)

The other bizarre thing about Universities, is that often, no one has consistant office furniture, so, depending on the current economic climate, a new faculty will make do with what's there, the surplus store, or spending start up funds. Personally, I salvaged a really cool l-desk setup that was destined for surplus, it's low to the ground desk, perfect for my short person. Chairs were another story, however. When I remembered the beauty above unearthed from the basement. Several hours, some old curtains and a can of spray paint later and voila:

I have the hippest chair in the building. Pretty comfy too. Just needs some new casters: I'm eying these, but they seem a bit pricey, any suggestions on where to get some neat ones for less dough?