Sponsor Our New Space
Grub Street will have a new home in 2012, just steps from our current location! As of late winter 2012, we’ll be scribbling in our notebooks at 162 Boylston Street, the beautiful and iconic Steinway building. Adjoining the recently-christened “Edgar Allan Poe’s Square,” this landmark Boston building is filled with literary history and once hosted Charles Dickens’ reading of A Christmas Carol. Grub Street will have twice the space, and we're already dreaming up ways to fill our new classrooms with workshops and events guaranteed to challenge and inspire you.
While we are thrilled to be moving, the increased rent and the costs of furnishing and renovating the space are—in a word—daunting. This is a crucial moment in our history and we need your support as we take on this new financial burden. Help us create an inspiring and innovative haven for writers in our nation’s most literary city.
How to sponsor
Make a tangible donation by “sponsoring” some of the many supplies we need for our new home. You’ll have the opportunity to name your item after yourself, and then you can stop by and visit it any time you like. Each named item will have a classy engraved plaque affixed on (or near) it for the duration of our five-year lease at 162 Boylston. Sponsoring an item is a great way to show your support of Grub Street, and donations like these are crucial to the ongoing success of our small non-profit organization.
Take a look at the items below, and sponsor an item online today. When you checkout, be sure to include your item's new name in the COMMENTS field on the checkout screen. For example:
The Anastasia Krupnik ChairThe Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe Faucet
If you'd like your donation to be anonymous, please specify this information as well. Have fun browsing through the items below, and please know that we are truly grateful for your support.
Cabinet Pulls
Like books, our cabinets have a pretty cover, but it's what's inside that counts. No way of finding out without a cabinet pull. It's the little extra details that make all the difference. These pulls have a decorative and practical design. (15 needed.)
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Elevator Button
In our new Steinway location, this elevator button will be pressed by every single member of Grub Street. The importance of the button cannot be denied, and we are delighted to announce that it will be modeled after the rarest of finds: the elevator button to the Stationers' Company of the old Grub Street in London — a guild often visited by the writers William Hogarth, Jon Wolcot, and Oliver Goldsmith. Said Hogarth of the button, "When strait I might'st descry, ne're a button oft presst by wrytrs extraordinaire as the 'vator button at Stationers' Company." A true gem of Old London, and now Grub Street's new home!(1 needed.)
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Caper Chairs
There's something sleekly stylish about this caper chair. Maybe it's the front-bowed seat, face arced toward the carpet. Or the freckled plastic back, which scoops slightly toward reclination. We think it's the way the chair resembles the writer in thought. The body moved back as the writer ponders a sentence. Or a push forward, the writer leaning in, working frantically at the desk. (73 needed.)
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Delta Classic Faucet
The Most Interesting Man In The World doesn't always drink beer, but when he does, he washes his glass using the Delta Classic Faucet. With it's smooth, stainless steel curves and shiny, polished finish, this faucet is nonpareil. With options for both hot and cold water (and of course a variety of degrees in between) and the option to stop up the drain, the Delta Classic couldn't give you more. The Most Interesting Man In The World doesn't always wash his hands, but when he does, he is sure to use the Delta Classic Faucet (wait...eww!)
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Sense Double Desks
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Look at your desk. Now back to this desk. Now back at yours. And finally, back to this one. Sadly your desk isn't this desk, but you could be responsible for giving it a name. And that's better than nothing. Look, this desk is basically two desks. Think about it. Double desks! (3 needed.)
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Versteel Conference Table
This Versteel Conference Table is a hero among office furniture. Once, during an office fire, it saved the lives of three Grubbies. After gently placing them on the sidewalk, what did it do? It went back into the fire to save important documents. This conference table doesn’t understand weakness, it only knows one word: courage.
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Sense Desks
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When you smooth your hands over the surface of this desk, you'll feel the inspiration that's built right into it. Inspiration that was imported from ancient writerly hubs the world over and pureed in a blender with the sweat of the real Beowulf, the blood of Shakespeare, and the tears of Norman Mailer. The materials for this desk were soaked in that wondrous goop for a fortnight before reaching optimal inspirationization. Go ahead. Smell this desk. Touch it with your eyes. Lay on it and absorb its unyielding power. Give it a good shake as you sit down, then pick up your pen and begin writing the Next Great American Blog Post. (3 needed.)
sponsor this item $750.00
Only 3 left!
Conference Room Chairs
Fashioned after a mold of the Queen's rump, these chairs are royally supportive and inherently superior to common office furniture. Complete with pearl armrests, gilded leaf frame, and an epic tapestry detailing the whole of humanity, your hindquarters will know no greater glory than our new conference chairs. (6 needed.)
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Flavia Coffee Machine and Supplies
Along the Bosphorus that day, the coffee was made tableside and served in battered copper mugs. You don’t know if it was the cup or the company, but you’ve never forgotten the taste of those richly roasted beans, the fine silt of grounds you left behind when you had drained your drink.
Grub’s Flavia machine will bring it all back for you, if by “bring it back” you mean “provide a bitter simulacrum of the best coffee you ever tasted.” Even if you prefer cream, we recommend you take it black. Grub Street often doesn’t have milk. Besides, isn’t it just so much more Turkish that way? (3 needed.)
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Hand Dryers
Are you sick of the mess, frustration and environmental compromise of plain old paper towels? Do you want to feel the wind on your hands and quite possibly in your hair each time you dry them off after a trip to the restroom? It is possible to have it all: clean hands, more oxygen for the earth and that breezy appeal with these top of the line hand dryers. (2 needed.)
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Hanging Desk Trays
For years, the Grub staff dreamed, nay, longed for a suspended filing system that also made efficient use of desk space. We looked high and low to no avail, and finally resorted to hiring a group of interns for the specific purpose of suspending our files 10 7/8" above our letter trays. They would look at us desperately as their arms began to shake, and we'd ask them politely not to breathe so loudly. Oh, and how obligated we felt to make small talk! The internal turmoil we experienced as we debated whether it was appropriate to ask them to face the wall until the files were actually needed! It wearied us so. Then while on a Babylonian expedition, I was brunching in the Hanging Gardens, and there! There they were. The hanging desk trays we thought could only be myth, so elusive were they. (11 needed.)
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Jason the Carpenter
Jason the carpenter: he's always looking down. Assessing faulty tack jobs and frayed corner tucks, judging the matchwork of carpeting and tile floor. It's an act similar to reading—head tilted in supplication, an attempt to find aesthetic between separate parts. Jason truly is an amazing carpenter, and an amazingly great guy. 100% man. 100% carpenter. $50 gets you an hour of his time—let's see what he can accomplish. (This donation buys an hour of Jason's time; 40 hours needed.)
sponsor this item $50.00
Only 7 left!
Joe the Electrician
By electrifying Grub Street's world, Joe the Electrician knows that with great power comes great responsibility. He keeps a careful balance between giving our space light and blowing a fuse. Like our favorite super hero he saves us from the dark side and scales city buildings. Hey, elevators and stairs count too! (This donation buys an hour of Joe's time; 40 hours needed).
sponsor this item $75.00
Only 30 left!
Lighting
What's in a light? A bulb by any other name would burn as bright... but seriously, we can't see. (14 needed.)
sponsor this item $150.00
Only 8 left!
Mark the Plumber
Here's to you, Mark the plumber. You fix our pipes so water and creativity may flow at Grub Street's new headquarters. All with pants that fit, which we appreciate. We salute your handiness. (This donation buys an hour of Mark's time; 20 hours needed.)
sponsor this item $75.00
Only 18 left!
Microwave
A Microwave Oven Haiku:
Invisible waves Add thirty seconds
Heat escaping
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Mobile Filing Cabinet
Before the technological revolution, information was stored in filing cabinets. Though capable of heavy-duty storage, these cabinets of yore were often difficult to carry in pockets. But the need to store information at all times was too great. What if you needed to reference the Johnson account, or last week's productivity report? Thus, the mobile filing cabinet was born. The same storage capacity and durability as your grandparents' file system, with the mobility and style of a smart phone. The mobile filing cabinet: ideal for the retro writer on the go. (6 needed.)
sponsor this item $250.00
Only 5 left!
File Cabinets
Before suggesting these file cabinets to Grub Street, I asked a friend to test them out for me. I can't tell you where he works—that's classified. But he's been to Cuba six times in the last year, and never reveals where he stays. Top secret. Hush hush. All you need to know is that his test was successful. The files move with ease on steel ball-bearing suspensions. Perfect for organizing student evaluations, or the secrets of foreign nations. Finally, we'll look forward to filing. (2 needed.)
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Dishes and Mugs
This fabulous set of mugs and dishware allows for full stimulation of the senses. Imagine sipping a steaming cup of coffee while nuking the meal of your choice on these durable microwave-safe plates. What you cook up is your own plot point. Although, the wafts of that sweet or savory delight might attract some new characters. (2 sets needed.)
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Water Purifier
She first catches his eye in the hallway. She's wearing a hat. He doesn't know why. He likes the way she squints at him from under the brim, like Neve Campbell might if she were still famous. He follows her into the kitchen. Neve on the brain, he looks for an opening. "Shame about Ashton and Demi," he says, staring at her over the water purification system. Isn't this what water breaks are for? The flirtatious glance, the tabloid banter, the prelude to illicit trysts in the supply closet? "I wouldn't know," she says. "I'm reading In Search Of Lost Time." "Me too," he whispers, but she is already gone.
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Reception Chairs
Time, uncertainty, boredom, silence. The waiting room offers many opportunities for existential contemplation. One would be hard pressed to contemplate meaninglessness in these cozy reception chairs, though. Suddenly, indifference feels so much more relaxing. (2 needed.)
sponsor this item $800.00
Only 2 left!
Refrigerator
What is that? That monolith in the corner of the room? It's huge! It's a robot! It's a time machine! No, it's a refrigerator! First debuting in the late 2000's (Volume 4, issue 38) this super-cooler was quickly inducted into the Justice Appliance League as one of the key members. Heading the fight against Mold Man, Jinx the Stink and of course, the evil Doctor Strange Green Fuzz, this LG Top Mount (fondly dubbed Captain Cold by his associate heros) is here to stay, fighting the good fight against temperatures above 34 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Silestone Counter Top
When you pause for a lunch break you can put your meal on just any counter top, but nothing speaks to a satisfied appetite—both physical and emotional—like the smooth, sleek, appealing lines of the Silestone. The surface that proves your eyes are bigger than your stomach. For those looking to build the bulk: it's recommended that you line the Silestone with food; as your eyes hungrily scan the surface, you will be encouraged to eat more. Looking to shed a few pounds? That's easy: next to the beauty of the Silestone, nothing is quite so appetizing.
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Silverware
Why limit ourselves to finger foods when there is a world of flatware fare waiting to be discovered? One day, man put his steak on a plate, stuck it with a fork, cut it with a knife, and that has made all the difference. (2 needed.)
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Snack Tables
Grub Street, until the early 19th century, was a street in London where hack writers published poetry and print on the margins of London's literary scene. It calls to mind snack-time. Not quite a meal, yet deserving of a table. These flat-surfaced rectangles exist solely on the margins of lunchtime and hunger. A hand-assembled wood and metal blend, these tables come perfectly proportional to the ground. Complete with four legs, evenly spaced.
(2 needed.)
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Square Undermount Sink
This sink swims against the current by being square in a world of round. Slowly, it beats on, a sink against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
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Thermofoil Buttercup Maple Cabinets
What exactly is Thermofoil? We don't really know, but it's affordable, seamless, impervious to staining, and loyal: the perfect backdrop and the finest friend you could ask for in Grub's new student lounge. With Thermofoil, you'll feel comfortable admitting to crushes, cursing your teacher or reading Cosmopolitan cover to cover. Mum's the word.
sponsor this item $5000.00
Only 1 left!
Toilet Paper Holders
Ah, the days of old where only a single, modest fig-leaf could suffice. But no longer. The basic human need for relief in the bathroom has evolved from plant life to a higher form of being: the processed tree. Oh, and we also have the need not to keep our toilet paper on the floor. (2 needed.)
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Toilet Seats
This shiny toilet seat will take you from the confines of the public restroom to a world of glitz and glam. Alice went through the looking glass, the boxcar children turned their treehouse into a train, and you can turn this toilet seat into a porthole to other worlds. (2 needed.)
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Classroom Training Tables
Rumor has it, these tables trained Brad Pitt for his role in Burn After Reading, as well as Denzel Washington for Training Day and Mark Wahlberg for his Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch video, "Feel the Vibration." Richard Simmons, the fitness master himself, trained with these tables. Yes, Grub Street's new training tables will cut the fat from your novels, strengthen your poetic sensibilities, and make even your pens sweat. Feel the burn! (19 needed.)
sponsor this item $300.00
Only 13 left!
White Boards
Heli-skiing in Chamonix. What exactly were you thinking? When you vaulted yourself out of the ‘copter and saw that expanse of white beneath you, you’d never felt so scared—or so alive. White, he always told you, signifies rebirth. And that’s how you felt when you schussed down that slope for the first time, your skis cutting serpentine ribbons behind you in the untouched knee-deep powder. Months later, back in reality, you contemplate a different expanse: Grub Street’s new white boards. Lost in recollection, you can almost hear the whine of the helicopter’s engine again, the sound of metal on snow. Your skis are packed up for the season, but with a dry erase marker in your hand, there's no telling what you'll accomplish now. (6 needed.)
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Staplers
A simple device but, really, it means so much to us. Scattered pages firmly lock into place. Signs and banners, which find stasis at the horizontal, are tacked to the walls. Let's get down on our knees and praise the stapler! Mirror the way it's been done for thousands of years. Arms straight, palms flat, bodies lowered then raised from the floor. It seems that even in our praise we can't help but emulate. (5 needed.)
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Office Paper
With every push into the future comes a desire to return to the past. So it is with paper. In today's world, we hang out on g-space and scatter hashtags across the web. Still, paper remains with us. It is sent flying into the trees of our neighbors' houses, thrown into the trash can after we wipe our hands. At Grub we also use it for workthings: member letters, invoices, expense reports. (3 cases needed.)
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Flip Top Nesting Seminar Room Tables
Space, the final frontier...saving space, a never-ending quest. With these flip top nesting tables, Grub Street will be able to do all that, and maybe a little more. These amazing tables (vintage; starship USS Enterprise) fold and easily move around to stack against each other. Handy, especially when you need a lot of elbow room for heated poetry slams or alien drama. To save on postage and to increase safety, we neglected to purchase the models with the Phasers. (6 needed.)
sponsor this item $500.00
Only 6 left!
Water Purifier Refills
A Buddhist monk once told me it would take years of constant meditation to make my mind “pure like water,” but we at Grub Street have just discovered a short cut. Three words: water purifier refills. (4 needed.)
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Mystery Item
Want to sponsor something not on this list? A light switch, a coffeemaker, the third stair with the creaky board? Name your price and the item you'd like to name!
Office Chairs
The Grub Street staff has often been called passionate. Putting in countless hours of brainpower and creative energy, dedicating every facet of their lives to all things Grub, our staff is hardworking to the point of lower lumbar injury. Fortunately, Grub Street’s new office chairs combine futuristic chair technology with a mother’s devotion to comfort. These chairs alleviate common office stress with a warm-hearted hug. (6 needed.)
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Bathroom Mirrors
Our new bathroom mirrors won’t respond if you ask them who’s the fairest writer of them all, but they will accurately reflect your radiant beauty and natural talents. (2 needed.)
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Floor Lamp
Did you know that Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” was inspired by his lack of a lamp? Perhaps if he had a reliable light source, he wouldn’t have had to “Rage, rage against the dying of light.” Fortunately, Grub Street’s new lamps will be beacons of, well…light, so that no grubby has to go gentle into anything but their own masterpiece. (2 needed.)
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Toilet Lever
Perusing an Italian antique store one afternoon, I came across the most remarkable piece resting on a red velvet pillow behind a display case. I asked the shopkeeper, "Vorresti per favore aprire la vetrina?" and he kindly unlocked the display case so I could examine the piece more closely. Could it be what I thought? A circa 1852 Napoleonic toilet lever? Why, yes! I would recognize that arm anywhere! Passed from Napoleon I to his nephew, Napoleon III, the Napoleonic bicep was the model for this gold leva de acqua armadio, which I promptly bought to have replicated for the Grub Street toilettes. (2 needed.)
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Office Phone
Made from the finest coffee cans in the world, these phones are regal and fully functional. Each polished can is connected to another polished can by a thread of silk, which was obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori), which is widely considered the best silk known to man. The mulberry silkworm's thread provides amazing auditory clarity at the optimal volume for all your writerly questions. (7 needed.)
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Fax Machine
An unsung hero of the Grub Street office, this fax machine sends and receives only the most important of electronic signatures. No random beeping from this piece of office equipment, instead it signals a fax by beeping in iambic pentameter — the rhythm of the human heartbeat. With every fax, we hear it's electronic love pulsing for the written word. (1 needed.)
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Coffee Table
What is a writer without coffee? What is coffee without a table? Thanks to this stunning coffee table, you'll never have to know. (1 needed.)
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Door Knob
They say that when one door closes, another one opens. As anyone who has over-pondered this saying knows, the doorknob is the determining factor in where you end up in life. The quintessential symbol of opportunity. Whether you turn them left or right, these doorknobs will grant you access not only to Grub Street's new HQ, but also to your untapped writerly potential. (5 needed.)
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Copier Area
At Grub Street, we use feng shui to place our copier area so that writers feel comfortable duplicating work. We recognize the challenge in sharing writing with others, and we're dedicated to making that experience easier. Whether it be rotating the copier an inch in whatever direction creates positive energy or placing extra paper in a spiritually satisfying location, consider this copier area your safe haven. (1 needed.)
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Recycling Center
Mr. Kermit the Frog once eloquently sang the tough reality of life: "It's not that easy bein' green." Here at Grub Street, we go through a lot of drafts and a lot of paper. Help sponsor our recycling center and make bein' green a littler easier. (1 needed.)
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Trash Can
Have you ever seen a trash can cry? No? Well, just wait until you try to throw away a "failed" manuscript in this feelings-fortified steel bin. This trashcan will weep as it ruffles its trash bag and beg you not to give up on that stage adaptation of War and Peace. "Fill me with food waste," it'll say, "packaging materials, anything else! But don’t fill me with your dreams!" Just like the Grub Street community, this trashcan will never stop believing in you. (5 needed.)
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Tape Dispenser
Soap dispensers, cash dispensers, toothpick dispensers. There are many objects that dispense, but none so elegant as Grub Street’s tape dispensers. Like the writing wisdom our instructors dispense to students, these tape dispensers give us an invisible but completely necessary adhesion to our work. (3 needed.)
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Bookshelves
Frank Lloyd Wright once said, "A fine bookshelf is like one of my houses: structurally sound and completely necessary to self-betterment." On Grub Street's new bookshelves, every Grubbie-written book will have a stylish home in which to achieve literary nirvana. As you peruse our collection, take note of the mature organic style of the wood. Listen closely—is that water you hear? Or could it be the sound of your soul, finally alive? (6 needed.)
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Rubber Band Ball
Look deeply at the patterns the rubber bands create, which in their masterfully woven complexity recall the Polish Wawel Tapestries. What mysteries lie at the center of this modern office masterpiece? We'll never tell. (Only one rubber band ball available.)