Following a week long summer school workshop at Boisbuchet’s French estate I was inspired to rebuild a lakeside fireplace on a Northern Canadian lake. The It Takes More Than One workshop led by mischer’traxler immersed me in the design and building of objects—and global design minds.

Armed with my partner, Jack-of-all trades, and a set of instructions on how-to build a dry stone wall, provided by my sister, the landscape architect, we began. It was a low-budget operation. We mustered the rocks, by hand from an abandoned quarry, gathered the gravel from beaches (it is a badge of pride in this community to not pay for these kinds of supplies). We heaved, chipped, dug, layered, sunk, debated, swam and drank over four weeks. The results were gratifying, and once again the two families that inhabit the cottage have a fireplace for more than one — for many in fact.