Why move or demolish the boulder when you can incorporate it into your living room?
“Since he was a boy, John Carson, a New York City builder and real estate developer, dreamed of building a house around a giant stone. He and his wife, Sharon Slowik, estimate that they looked at 75 properties before finding this one in Margaretville, N.Y. At left, the boulder in its pre-construction surroundings. The 250-ton bluestone boulder, measuring 8 feet high, 15 feet wide, 22 feet deep, dominates the living space in the two-level glass-and-copper house that the couple built around it. When searching for the right boulder, Mr. Carson, at left, said that he told a broker: “I want something massive — I want something the size of a train car. I want something bigger than would ever be appropriate.” A rock ledge stood 20 feet to the side of the boulder, which meant the house would have to be built on two levels. So Mr. Carson designed a home that was essentially two interconnected boxes on two separate foundations. Mr. Carson and Ms. Slowik wanted a home that was not only airy and open, but also was, as Ms. Slowik puts it, a collaboration with nature. They created a glass-walled “light well” — essentially a three-foot-square courtyard open to the sky — between the master bath and a hallway, from which they can watch the snow and rain. New York City subway grating is used as a bridge from the second-level dining room to the living room and an outdoor deck. “There’s just something inviting about being able to rub against nature in your living room,” said Mr. Carson.
Our Boulder store associate Connor has been exploring the trails of Argentina this summer. He shot us a quick note and a shot from the top of peak Cerro Colorado (ie Mt. Colorado) outside of San Martin, Patagonia.
Just got back to Buenos Aires after a massive roadtrip throughout patagonia. 5,000 kilometers over the span of 11 days, thats 50 hours in the car! The weather has been beautiful and the peaks are endless and luckily the only clothes I needed were my Sonora pants, Prevail Tech Ts, Derringer (perfect time of year for that bad boy) and the always comfortable Axiom jeans. Turns out I needed every piece for the constantly changing environment.
We camped in the desert, drove through the Andes and saw breathtaking mountain lakes that seemed to go on forever, went whale watching, bought a lot of handmade crafts and goodies at the local markets, got in a little bouldering near Bariloche, kicked back on the beach for a few days on the East Coast and wrapped it all up with a couple of days in friendly Uruguay. This country is going to be hard to leave as I´m sure anyone who has been here will tell you.
Catch you on the flipside (hemispherically speaking) ~ Connor
Argentinian Sunset
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Have you had any travel adventures and stories? We’d love to hear them!
A few days ago, this furry friend ran into the prAna Boulder store. He decided to scare our staff and customers by jumping from rack to rack and scurrying up and down our stairs!
We decided our friend would be better suited for a natural home outside. Nuts and berries inside a live trap lured our friend into his cage behind bars for a few hours, until we set him free near the creek at lunch. Goodbye friend and thanks for your visit!
It’s always exciting to see our athletes compete, and very exciting to see them stand on the podium!
At the ABS 10 Nationals in Boulder, CO this week, congratulations to Alex Johnson for taking 1st place in the women’s division! Alex joined our team at the age of 14, and we love seeing her send. Paul took 2nd in men’s, which we’re darn proud of since he only got out of his boot a month ago, protecting his broken ankle.
All pictures courtesy of Matt Kennedy and The Spot Bouldering Gym!
prAna Boulder Opening Day, before the doors were untied for the public!
February 13, 2009: One year ago this week the prAna Flagship Store opened on Pearl Street!
Thank you to our local community, prAna family, friends and customers for welcoming us into the community! We have just a little celebration this week in honor of our 1 year anniversary:
Thursday -
- Steph Davis “High Places” Slideshow @ Neptune Mountaineering, 8pm!
Saturday -
- Free hot dogs from our local friendly street vendor from noon-4pm
- Free beer from our friends at Oskar Blues Brewery
- Free drinks from Izze !
- Reduce your “footprint” – add your print to our community display and receive a $10 gift card from prAna!
- Join us for free classes on Saturday:
* 10:00 – 11:30 am – Partner Massage Class with Amee
* 12:00 – 1:30 pm – Partner Yoga Class with Meghan and Jonathan
* 4:00 – 7:00 pm – UR Love Seminar: Yoga, dance, and meditation celebration with Daniel and Catrina
