Falling Into Wonderland at Silver Fox Salvage

Monday, February 22, 2016
So who doesn't like a treasure hunt?  And who doesn't like beautiful things?  Well if you were wandering around the warehouse district in Albany, NY and say, fell into Alice's Rabbit Hole, you might find yourself smack in the middle of the most enchanting wonderland filled with beautiful and inspiring things.  That's exactly what happened to us yesterday........well, maybe it wasn't an accidental fall, but it was definitely a visit to wonderland!  The "Alice" of this wonderland, Camille Gibeau (co-owner) was gracious, warm and welcoming and most definitely an enthusiastic hostess of her magical kingdom.....a kingdom otherwise known as Silver Fox Salvage.


Almost immediately as soon as I published my post about Second Chance Barn in Granville, people began to tell me about Silver Fox Salvage.  We'd never heard of it.  In fact as I've said before, whenever we've watched HGTV and have seen cool salvage stores, we've always expressed disappointment that it was too bad we didn't have any locally - WRONG!!!  Boy were we wrong!!  I did a little research and pretty immediately contacted Camille asking if we could feature Silver Fox in the blog and luckily she was thrilled to accommodate us.  Before I show you the photos, let me give you a little background into Silver Fox's history........

Silver Fox Salvage was the brainchild of Dr. Fred Shapiro.  Dr. Shapiro loved antiques and salvage since he was in his early 20's when he began collecting and repurposing objects into new pieces.  He began Silver Fox Salvage in 2005 and around 2007 he partnered with long-time friend, Camille, and together they grew the business into the 10,000 sq ft. warehouse where it makes its home today. Named after Fred's father, Silver Fox has grown and evolved over time, at one time it even housed a coffee shop and other small vendors until it eventually settled into its current state -  one huge warehouse of antiques, reclaimed wood, parts and pieces of everything, and beautiful creations of re-purposed items.  Dr. Shapiro passed away in 2013 but Silver Fox continues in business thanks to Camille and her partner Jaime Walton, along with a team of talented craftsmen.

Silver Fox specializes in architectural salvage, extraordinary lighting, and antiques.   Although Silver Fox Salvage is a warehouse full of old treasures, one of their main claims to fame is their talent for creating custom pieces from reclaimed material.  Here's a few examples of such pieces...



Look closely - this table base is an old stove!
The trumpet above has been crafted into a floor lamp!  I'm pretty sure you won't see another one like it anywhere!
Silver Fox not only custom creates beautiful furniture, like the round table in the photo below....
Yes....that is a live cat sitting on the table.
they do much bigger projects as well - all using reclaimed wood.  For instance, they crafted the tables at the City Beer Hall in Albany, the display shelving at the Troy Ace Hardware, the wooden cafe enclosure at Fred the Butcher in Clifton Park, and a whole list of commercial properties too long to mention here, including Druther's, the Twisted Vine, Placid Baker and many, many more.  Be sure to check out their website later under Past Projects - you've probably seen their work and didn't even realize it!  Camille even gave us a tour of behind the scenes where all the magic happens (and raw talent and hard work) to create these gorgeous pieces.......
Notice the custom-made barn doors......I wish you could have seen them in person!! If you're a big HGTV viewer and have been wanting barn doors that are all the rage...now you know where to find them!

Here's a tiny peek at just a few of the treasures you'll see when you visit.......















Need a hinge, a doorknob?  You name it, Silver Fox has it!


If industrial lighting is your thing - you're in luck....this is just a minute fraction of their selection.



One of Silver Fox's other specialties is custom lighting.  In addition to the hundreds of 'use-as-is' lights all around the warehouse, Silver Fox specializes in creating you a custom lighting fixture.  In addition, they carry a gigantic assortment of glass globes to match any lighting fixture ever made (at least that's what it seems).

Silver Fox Salvage is truly an adventure in an antique and salvage wonderland.  I promise you can spend the afternoon, browsing every nook and cranny, and every lap around will reveal something you missed on your first go 'round.  In fact....just before we were about to leave, after several times through the warehouse, John spotted this.....
This is for a fireplace...it's a heat plate, used to absorb and reflect the heat from the fireplace.  This particular heat plate actually belonged to John's mom and dad.  It was given to them by John's brother.  When John's mom passed this summer, no one in the family had use for this piece, so somehow it ended up here at Silver Fox!  What a coincidence!

If you love antiques and have a Pinterest board filled with ideas just waiting to be implemented using salvage pieces, you must make a trip to Silver Fox Salvage soon!  I promise you'll feel like you've stepped into a wonderland from long, long ago.    To help you complete your project, Silver Fox also houses Victoria's Corner which carries Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.

 If you have something you've been dreaming of but can't quite put it on paper.....let the folks at Silver Fox help make your dream a reality - first on paper and then in the perfect piece you could only dream about.  They have the vision, the talent and the material to make all your ideas come to life.

Silver Fox Salvage is located at 20 Learned Street, in Albany's warehouse district, off Erie Boulevard.  They are open Tues-Sat, 10:00-6:00 and Sunday 10:00-4:00.  Be sure to check out their website for more information including photos of more of their beautiful custom pieces!


Thank you Camille for your hospitality and for sharing so many stories and details about Silver Fox.  I know I haven't included them all in this post, but hopefully I've highlighted most!  Besides....we've got to leave the readers some surprises, right?   

Thanks for reading and be sure to share this with all the antique lovers you know.  And come back soon to Life As I See It where you never know where life will take you!

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