There’s no way around it. If you want to build for your future with bricks you need to put them in place, one brick at a time. Brick by brick by brick – so it goes, and so it has gone at North House Folk School on the harbor in Grand Marais, MN. The new Outdoor Commons features quite literally 15,000+ rustic bricks designed to be longlasting, beautiful, and permeable. Small ridges on the side of the bricks lock them together and keep them separated just over a quarter inch, allowing rainwater to be slowly absorbed rather than running off too quickly into Lake Superior. Your investment will underwrite the materials cost of ten paving bricks.

North House’s Outdoor Commons project was launched in September 2011, literally days after last year’s "Unplugged" music festival and fundraising event. A year later, the result of our collective efforts is clear. The campus is even more welcoming, with lots of human-focused space adjacent to Lake Superior for visitors and students alike to enjoy and necessities – like abundant parking moved out of the way up by the highway. perennial gardens, timbered benches, permeable paving bricks to absorb stormwater runoff, a new wood-fired brick bread oven. A perfect place to celebrate community and immerse in the world of northern craft. Five years of steady “Raise The Roof” effort have yielded inspiring returns.