Support Chukk's Journey to Rebuild

Chukk Bruursema is organizing this fundraiser.

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Dear friends and family,

Hurricane Helene, a 1000 year flood, hit all of us in Western North Carolina and beyond. So many have lost so much, and we are all navigating a beloved landscape that has been torn apart. It is surreal, it is dystopian. However, we are all looking after each other, and the response has been awe inspiring. We are at the infancy of reshaping our lives, and culture, in these beautiful blue mountains.

On a personal level, both my wife, Marlowe, and I are oddly lucky, as our house that we finished building three years ago, was untouched. Though we lost power and water for eleven days, we are privileged to have the comfort of home. There were a few near miss tree falls, and several days of hazard tree removal await us, but that will have to wait for awhile.

In our neighborhood, along the Ivy Creek, which lives inside its banks of about 15-20’, easily tripled in size. After the hurricane quieted, we went down to the river and saw what we wish we hadn’t. Houses lifted off their foundations, floated down the roaring waters and smashed into splinters. There were cars, trucks, shipping containers, thousands of old growth trees, history, lives…..that were rushed away in an unimaginable flood of dirty water that smelled of toxins. For those of us watching, we were silent, absolutely speechless.

Once the waters receded on the banks of the Ivy, which our land runs along, in place of Sycamores, Maples, and Walnuts, there are slash piles of twisted trees, a neighbors SUV, endless trash, and hundreds of dead fish. Our hearts break for the river, the life, the loss. What a mess, an absolute mess. This is just one river, in one neighborhood.

Both of our businesses are along rivers as well. For the past 14 years my metal shop has occupied a 2000 sq ft warehouse on the Swannanoa River. While my wife had just celebrated ten years in her hair studio, in a historic building, in the River Arts District, on the French Broad River. These spaces have been our private worlds, our homes away from home. In the span of a few hours, they were gone, along with our ability to work, for the time being.

On a personal level, I have been gathering and investing in tools, machinery and materials for 20 years. The loss of my creative space has impacted me deeply, and in many ways. The building was flooded to the ceiling, with all my treasures inside. Old photographs, instruments, sculptures, and memorabilia, all gone, lost to mold and toxic mud.

In my efforts to recoup, I have had many friends show up to help remove my belongings, and begin the process of pressure washing every last clamp, drill and welder. My future costs are entirely unknown. I have potentially lost $75,000+ in tools and equipment. All I do know is that my welders, band saws, chop saws, bending machines, and a vast amount of my electric hand tools, are covered in mud and dust. I may or may not be able to recover these tools and machinery, but I am trying everything to see if I can recover what I have.

Meanwhile, I am looking for a temporary shop space, but because so much inventory has been destroyed, rentals are in short supply and high demand. I keep looking, as I would like to continue with the projects I had secured before the floods came.

Perhaps needless to say, my needs are a bit daunting, but achievable. It isn’t easy asking for help, especially in the form of capital, but here I am. If you empathize with my cause, and are feeling generous, I am deeply grateful for your donation.

Funds will directly go towards these goals