Sunday, June 7, 2015

Clean Sweep


Years ago, Gerry and I put up a climbing route at Saurtown Mountain on a rainy Christmas eve. It was a great day, I was probably as strong on that day as I have ever been. We called the route Clean Sweep since our last name was Broome and the climb went so smoothly.

When we were in Asheville last week, we went y the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is usually an artist or two doing demos at the entrance, tables set up and wares being sold. The day we went in, Peter Werner was there making hand made brooms. I bought this little one for Gerry for an anniversary gift. Peter's company just happens to be called Clean Sweep!



Every time we see these hand made brooms, we consider buying one, but always hesitate because they seem too beautiful and costly to actually use. Since Peter was there, I was able to speak with him about his brooms and he explained the proper use and storage and he has a life time offer to replace the straw once it is worn out. I simply ship him back the handle. So we got one for our anniversary. A bit extravegant for sweeping a floor, but it is a pleasure to use and it will always remind us of our time in Asheville on our 30th anniversary. 



 Peter gives a free pot scrubber to customers that purchase a long handle broom, so I now have the perfect tool to scrub out my cast iron tea pot. If you ever see these hand made brooms and consider using one, I highly recommend the splurge. It makes sweeping the floor a much more pleasant chore.

Hand made is always better! God bless artists......

9 comments:

littlemancat said...

It's a pleasure to use something so beautiful, isn't it? We've bought homemade/handmade brooms several times and love them. The broom-maker told us that if we have any old brooms that we don't use, bring him the handles for new ones. We bought one called a snow broom,perfect for clearing away a light snow off the walks.
I find sweeping almost a Zen -sorry for the cliche- process.
Happy belated anniversary!
Mary

Dennis Allen said...

These are really beautiful. These days, a tool is just a tool, until you see some made by people who take pride in their work.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful brooms. I posted about our handmade broom back in January. I love it & now I want to sweep - worth every penny.

Michèle Hastings said...

and when your not using it, it can be left out and looking beautiful... you would never want to leave your ugly store bought broom leaning in a corner of the room!

Laurie said...

Lovely brooms. I've wanted a pretty handmade one for a few years... even put it on my Christmas wish list. For now, I make do with a Lions Club broom, which is the nicest of the store bought ones I've seen. Happy Anniversary!

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Mary, I lov sweeping snow, how perfect to have a broom just for that! Not cliche at all, it is very zen, sweeping.
Dennis, having handmade pottery tools really taught me an appreciation for well made tools, such a pleasure to use them!
Cindy, definitely worth the investment, it will be interesting to see how long it lasts, we are pretty rough on the cheap store bought ones :)
Michele, you are so right, I have the new long broom hanging in the kitchen and it looks like it has always been there. New wall art!
Laurie, I used to try and get the lions club brooms too, but they got hard to find around here. When we lived in Greensboro, there was an industries for the blind that made really nice brooms and we bought theirs. Seems now, everyone just settles for cheap stuff that falls apart and has to be replaced...... ugh.

Lori Buff said...

I imagine that by using a work of art to sweep your floor you might be very mindful in the task. It seems perfect for someone that has such close ties with monks.

Claudia from Idiot's Kitchen said...

Those brooms are gorgeous! I love the idea of a tiny broom/scrubber for my cast iron pots. I'll definitely keep my eye out for one of those!

Delbert Powers said...

We have to keep our hospital floor spotless each day, so we call in the experts to do the job right. There is no amount of money when it comes to a professional looking floor, and we are amazed each time how they transform it even after the worst damage we do to it every single day. We love the way they work and recommend this type of service if you need shiny looking floors.

Delbert Powers @ Minute Man Intl