High End Shaker Broom at Pieter van Tuyl
'Tis a gift to be simple.... See the lovely Shaker broom above? Guess how much it costs....
How about $4? How about $40?
Ok, now move the decimal a little more right...
How abut $480? Yes, $480.
I was at Karkula yesterday and saw this beautiful thing and then had sticker shock. Marketed by Pieter van Tuyl and made by the Berea College Crafts in Kentucky, it is all that it says it is: "Individually braided and rolled, this classic straw broom is fitted with a spoke-shaved walnut handle and leather storage loop." What's not to like?
Brooms on pegs at Hancock Village
I loved it so much we went looking for regular priced ones and learned that Shakers invented the flat broom: "The [flat] broom originates with the Shakers and was first made in 1787. When Sister Ann Lee told her followers “sweep,” she was referring not only to the floor of the home, but also the floor of the heart."
Last weekend we met the owner of Justamere Tree Farm in Great Barrington, who makes a whole line of his own and has been on Martha Stewart. I bought a Turkey Wing broom.
Then I dug a little deeper and found out that Berea College Crafts sells all their own brooms for a fraction of the Pieter van Tuyl price. This is a great direct resource.
Brooms by Berea College Crafts
Then I went further and found a nice assortment of small sellers and broom makers that it would be nice to give business to. There's a lot of nice stuff here. It just doesn't seem very Shaker-like to give someone sticker shock when buying a broom.
>> Berea College Crafts in Kentucky
>> Justamere Tree Farm
>> PIeter van Tuyl
>> Karkula
>> Brooms at Shaker Workshops in MA
>> Brooms by Chris
>> Brooms by Richard Moore
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Comments (16)
The NYT just had a piece about Berea College--the college with no tuition.
http://tiny.cc/0Ep0c
Wow, I think I just had a heart attack. I envy anyone who can afford to spend $480 on a broom. Thankfully there are less expensive options!
Wait a second. Are you telling me that Karkula marks the brooms up 1600% from the $30 dollars that Berea College Crafts charges for them? That's gross.
Ahh! Thank you for these sources, that's excellent!!
its a broom- it sweeps up dirt and hair and whatever else- and what is the dust pan? a chanel handbag? They are lovely and if i were able to fly on one that would definately be the broom for me! (that wasnt a stab at witches btw- i'm serious)
I, too, am confused as to why these Berea brooms are so much more than they are through the retailers in Berea, KY. Are these somehow different? I've seen the brooms in stores, and they're not cheap but are a fair price for what they are. $480 seems obscene -- am I missing something?
sweep "the floor of the heart"?
sheesh.
Pieter van Tuyl should be ashamed, that price is absolutely disgusting. I hope he is, at the very least, sharing his profits with Berea. I daresay that innovative college needs the money more than he does.
Here is a Canadian source for various types of handcrafted brooms located in the Kootenay's in beautiful British Columbia! http://www.northwovenbroom.com/index.php3
i have 15 of the 480 brooms
The Shakers would be shaking in their boots that that price. goes totally against their philosophy. disgraceful
The Shakers weren't anti-profit, as they sold many things of their manufacture. They lived communally, but they weren't renouncing the marketplace. Of course, the last Shakers today have formed a non-profit. Is Berea's workshop an non-profit? I rather think it must be.
Oneformybaby: "and what is the dust pan? a chanel handbag?"
I. can't. stop. laughing! Hilarious!
ApartmentTherapy: Let's have a contest: Who can find the most marked up item on the 'net... It would be cool to find those supposedly out of reach gems at bargain prices (and I don't mean via e-bay or craigslist) at low everyday prices.
my sister went to Berea for a while.
Its a beautiful place..
and DUH!!! dont look for shaker stuff in home/design boutiques.. of course its going to be marked way up.
if its something hand-made.. buy it from where it was made.
it all seems like common sense.
Yeeeuch, things like this make me think of that book The Handmaid's Tale... women pushed back into domestic slavery. I don't see an object of great beauty - I see back-breaking, never-ending labour!
Give me a vacuum cleaner and a 99p plastic dustpan/brush combo any day!
Thanks for this post. I just decided to get a broom for some friends for their wedding. There are lovely connotations to a broom as well -- apparently it is a traditional housewarming gift ('never take an old broom to a new house'), and in Wales the couple would step over a broom for luck when crossing the threshhold. Outside of folklore I think the idea of keeping your relationship fresh and free of cobwebs (I bought a Berea cobweb broom) can be modern and relevant. (Also my boyfriend is getting them a roomba. So-- two sides of one coin?!)