Craftsman Style tells the story of Dave Muylle, a veteran contractor turned citizen-filmmaker, and his two-year journey to restore a former drug house into a new home for his family. Best described as “This Old House” for regular people, this documentary provides a detailed account of the rebuilding work done by Dave and his fellow craftsmen. The film also explores how this type of renovation provides a new model for home construction in urban America, one in which wonderful old houses are not simply torn down and replaced but are restored to their former glory, a practice that saves valuable natural resources while also honoring the past. While not intended as an indictment of urban sprawl, the film does offer this important insight: “Craftsmanship, restoration, and community—this is true sustainability.”
PEOPLE
David Muylle (Producer, writer, editor)
Dave is 53 years old and lives in Lansing, Michigan with his wife and two boys. A licensed builder since 1985, Dave has done a variety of remodeling and restoration projects. He is a past president of his neighborhood organization and serves as a housing advisor to the Allen Neighborhood Center, a local non-profit organization. Since 2000 Dave has received three historic preservation awards from the city of Lansing for his work.
Shane Hagadorn (Co-producer, director, writer, editor, graphic designer)
Shane is accomplished both in front of and behind the camera. In the late 1990s the acting bug hit and Shane enrolled in the theatre program at Lansing Community College. In 2008 he premiered his first feature film, “The Model Father” (writer, director, producer), and in 2009 “Fairview Street” was released, in which he acted and served as co-producer and assistant director.
Jonathan Ritz (Original music, music supervisor, co-writer)
Jonathan Ritz is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He works out of the Joyland Studio, a creative recording space where he serves as engineer and producer. He lives in East Lansing, Michigan with his wife and son and teaches writing at Michigan State University.
Stuart Poltrock and Sean Wetherell – SoundPost (Sound Design)
SoundPost, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is an audio post-production facility specializing in voice, music, and sound design for film, TV, radio, advertising, and software. They also produce creative projects for recording artists, children’s books, and educational software.
Shane Hagadorn and David Muylle
THE MAKING of CRAFTSMAN STYLE
In 1999 I was working on a building directly across the street from the house featured in Craftsman Style. Looking across the street, I saw all the signs of a drug house (many different people making brief visits was the best clue). With the help of the Lansing Police the house was shut down and deemed uninhabitable due to its terrible condition. Since I had a financial interest in the neighborhood I thought the best thing to do was to buy the house myself, so I contacted the owner and made a deal on it.
In 2003 I finally got started on the restoration of the house at, 124 Regent Street in Lansing, Michigan.
About this time a nice young couple, Shane and Stacy Hagadorn, moved in next door. Besides having a real job as a security officer for Sparrow Hospital, Shane is also an independent filmmaker. The more we talked the more excited we got about making a documentary film about the work I was doing on 124 Regent Street.
We decided to portray the restoration of the house in close detail, including the work done by a number of skilled local craftsmen. We also set out to explore the theme of sustainability, an idea that I break it into three components:
Craftsmanship. Using the best quality materials installed in the best way possible creates a level of quality that is easy to maintain and will outlast the cheap stuff. Craftsmanship also includes careful design and thinking about how material selections impact the environment.
Restoration. When it comes to our homes, fashion and style often dictate that we throw out the old and install the new. When this happens the original energy it took to build the old part, a window for instance, is tossed in the dump. The energy it took to cut down the tree, transport it to the mill, run the saw, and then transport the window to the site is known as embedded energy. Restoration saves this embedded energy by refurbishing and reusing the original parts.
Community. When we think of sustainability we typically think of buildings, land, solar panels, and so on. Sustainability also relies on the interest and energy of people who together value buildings and places enough to properly care for them so future generations can use them.
As a longtime contractor and first-time filmmaker, it was interesting to compare the work of making this film to the actual work involved in the restoration of the house. They are alike in many ways. Both are a step-by-step process. Each has the ultimate aim of producing a product that people will enjoy and perhaps buy. Color, proportion, rhythm, and flow are concepts important to both efforts. Planning is important. Scheduling people to show up at a certain place with the right tools at a certain time to do a certain thing is critical to both activities. Both are creative efforts. In the end neither a restored house nor a film are perfect. Many hours were spent on both of these projects, trying to get everything just right. Finally, in both endeavors we eventually had to say, “That’s our best, we’re done.”
– David Muylle, Producer
Lansing, Michigan
2009
CREDITS
Producer: David Muylle
Director: Shane Hagadorn
Writers: David Muylle and Shane Hagadorn
Co-writer: Jonathan Ritz
Editors: David Muylle and Shane Hagadorn
Additional camera work: Mike McCullum
Original music and music supervisor: Jonathan Ritz
Trumpet: Andrew Muylle
Violin: Susan Fawcett
Consultants: Robert Morris, Dr, Lisa Fine, Dave Votta
CONTACT
David Muylle, Producer
E-mail Dave
craftsmanstyle-themovie.com
Shane Hagadorn, Director
hagadornshane@hotmail.com
Jonathan Ritz, Original music
ritzjonathan@gmail.com
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
David Muylle and his father, Louis Muylle, in a scene from Craftsman Style
David
David Muylle and Kate Koskenin, in a scene from Craftsman Style
