Salvage – series trailer from HitPlay Productions on Vimeo.
In 2006, Artefacts was approached by no fewer than 5 production companies hoping to feature us in a TV show about the glamorous life that we lead. Three were discounted immediately for the over dramatized and “real life” experiences they proposed.
HitPlay Productions made what we thought was a fine piece on one of our salvage jobs. They planned to expand the trailer into 14 episodes that would follow us from the demolition, through the sorting, the restoration and the inevitable speculation of what the salvaged pieces might become. The viewer would watch as the finds were pulled out of one house and, reinvented, take their place in a new home.
While the trailer was never picked up, we consider it one of the finer pieces of television work ever produced. Below, you can read the proposal and having watched the trailer, decide for yourself if the world has missed out.
The Pitch
Chris and Scott have been tearing down buildings for the past 20 years – taking them apart piece by piece to salvage architectural gems. Their business, Artefacts, is Canada’s premier salvage company with a twist. These guys don’t just sell the materials they salvage, they turn demolition refuse into custom furniture and home decor.
Where most people see waste destined for the dump, Scott sees historical artefacts with the potential to become the centrepiece of a new cabinet, bookcase or storage bench. A self-taught furniture designer and builder, Scott is passionate about his work and irreverent in his approach. Chris brings the business savvy. He makes sure to keep Scott focused on the bottom line, and them both out of the red. Long-time friends and business partners, they bicker and finish each other’s sentences like an old married couple. It’s a recurring battle between making art and turning a profit.
Each demolition reveals new artefacts. Chris and Scott have no idea what they’ll find, or how they’ll use it. They only ask that you bring your imagination, and they’ll do the rest.
Format: 14 x half-hour
Developed by HitPlay Productions and Flametree Productions
