Ironworks In North America

Why, yes, that baroque staircase leads upstairs (really cool stickers to fake it)

Paris is famous for its romantic wrought ironwork, metro signs and Eiffel Tower — and now Montreal’s Voilà Stickers makes it possible to bring a little French flair home with its fetching trompe-l’œil designer decals. Or if you’re feeling patriotic, check out the stickers inspired by North America including Montreal’s outdoor staircases and the skylines of Toronto and New York City. There are more than 500 models: from Salvador Dalí to Madonna and fun graphics for children (we love the “stuffed animal takeoff” that features a kid being lifted by balloons). Made of fine vinyl, the stickers easily wrap around corners, baseboards and windows and can be applied indoors or outdoors. The Bastille sticker, pictured, is $47. There’s also a really nice  Champs-Élysées Clémenceau sticker. The decals range from $9 to $225 and can be ordered at voilastickers.com .

Saturday June 11 « ericboston2011

Today was about witches and iron.  No kidding…..  The morning was spent in class discussing the fact that Salem was the last in a long line of episodes in North America, and especially Europe.  The expert on witch trials is Dr. Tad Baker who is  guiding us around the Boston area.  His book “The Devil of Great Island” made me understand that witch accusations had been going on for a long time before the kids in Salem started acting up.  It was great to see the foundation of the house where it all started.  It is hard to find, unless you are looking for it, and the Rebecca Nurse House would be nearly impossible to find if you

 weren’t trying. The Salem cemetary in town was great.  I can’t wait to get to a decent internet connection so I can upload some photos of the headstones.  I have always liked cemeteries, and this one is very cool.  There is a lot to be learned by looking at gravestones. 

For me the highlight of the day was the Saugus Iron Works.  This place was producing iron in the 1640′s, at a time when most people here were barely surviving.  Not far from Salem is the first iron works in North America.  We got a demonstration of the waterwheels, blast furnace forge, and mill.  This was my first expolsure to a foundry of any kind, and I must say that this place was fantastic.  I now have an understanding of what it takes to make steel.  (It takes a great deal of manpower, resources, and tremendous planning.  These guys knew a lot.  After watching the proceedure that was needed to make a single nail, it is no longer a mystery to me why when people moved they would burn their

Fascinating about the nails…. guess that might have much to reason of so many cabins, homes, barns, etc., that were built with wooden dowels instead of nails. Once again, it’s so easy to take things like iron nails for granted on our journey of becoming a nation. I too would love to visit Salem (and so much more on the east coast)….. course I still sincerely feel much of any ‘witch trial’ is the fact that men have simply had control – and have been determined not to lose it — at any costs. It’s a wonder suffrage wasn’t squelched as more proof of witches and witchcraft! HA!

You know what Eric, this is day five, and I am still looking for nails in things and checking to see it they are authentic to the time period, I would never have done that if we had not visited Saugus. I was also surprised to know that cast iron pots were made from the first stage of the process and that if a cast iron pot was broke it could not be mended. I was surprised!

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