Olde Good Things transforms salvaged copper roofing into stunning collage mirrors, each handcrafted with unique patina, rivet details, and historic charm. Born from reclaimed architectural materials, these mirrors blend artistry and sustainability—bringing a touch of timeless elegance and conversation-worthy history to any space. Discover how OGT artisans turn preservation into beauty.
A couple months ago, we talked about copper window casings—particularly our McAlpin Hotel mirror collection. Today, we’re talking about copper and mirrors again: this time, for our OGT-original copper collage mirrors, handcrafted at our Scranton warehouse from reclaimed copper roofing.
Copper roofing has the same anti-rust, highly durable qualities that made copper so effective as window cladding. The average asphalt roof lasts 30 years and will need to be replaced several times throughout a building’s lifetime. A tile roof is more durable than asphalt but is also more brittle and therefore prone to breaking. By comparison, centuries-old copper roofs remain in use across Europe, we even have some here in North America.
IDing Landmark Copper Roofings
An iconic example—despite not coming to mind as “roofing” exactly—is the Statue of Liberty: 31 tons of hand-hammered copper sheets, oxidized to form a natural protective barrier. The barrier is only 0.005 inch thick but critical to her preservation, standing in the middle of New York Harbor.
Similar copper sheets were used on the Philadelphia Civic Center’s Convention Hall. A 1930 Art Deco design, the hall was in active use through most of the 20th century until it stood empty for a decade before being demolished in 2005. Olde Good Things was onsite to salvage the copper sheet roofing. We connected with Bob, one of the founders on site for that project and the mastermind behind the copper collage mirrors, for more information.
He pointed us back to NYC, turns out the Statue of Liberty and window casings weren’t the only uses for copper in the city. Several NYC buildings were finished with copper roofs, including Park Avenue and 58th Street and 385 Madison Avenue—two more buildings we’ve salvaged our copper materials from.
He also shared a unique detail of copper materials: the cornices. Cornices serve as the transition from a roof to the exterior walls. When the roof is copper, the cornices often are as well and these are where OGT gathers some of the special elements we use on mirrors. Most notable: the lion heads. Copper lion heads are rare; we’ve worked with only a handful over the years, notably from Times Square and Park Avenue. So, when they come to our workshop, it’s thrilling. Just last month, our artisans made a special pair of two lion head mirrors.
Bob put together a video to show us the copper collage mirror construction process in real time.
OGT Makes Mirrors Out of Roofing
The copper collage mirrors, sans lions, are a mainstay of Olde Good Things’ Altered Antiques department. The project started in 1997 when Bob took on the challenge of repurposing OGT’s growing collection of salvaged tin pieces. Utilizing copper over tin was a specialty feature during the original building efforts, so tin was and is more readily salvageable. When OGT started salvaging copper, Bob was ready and the mirror collection expanded. Today, OGT has been producing copper collage mirrors for over twenty-five years.
Every design features a range of patina shadings and shapes to create aesthetic frames, each one 100% unique. Details like rivet holes, shingle patterning, and even a pull handle from an access panel can be seen on these mirrors, making them a fantastic way to add a touch of salvaged history to your space. We followed up with a couple of customers who had just that to find out more …
Barbara shared pictures of two OGT copper mirror in her home, explaining, “The smaller piece is in my hallway. The larger mirror is the artwork on the wall of the living room. I love these pieces especially since they are copper and old copper to boot! Your artisans have done beautiful work. Copper for me is very comforting and I have a piece of copper in every room.”
Ashley shared, “We bought this from your store on the Upper West Side in NYC where we lived as a young couple in the early 90s. My now husband worked in copper and precious metals trading (briefly) so we loved the patina and the re-use story. It fits perfectly in our dream house in Colorado designed by my now-architect husband. We love that it has a historic reuse story too as I am an environmental planner.”
We adore getting to see where our salvaged and altered pieces end up, these two were fantastic! Whether you love the texture and verdigris of copper, or it has significant meaning in your life, or salvaging appeals for its environmentally friendly qualities (if that’s your reason, you might be interested in our partnership with Parsons HML)–we have the perfect copper mirror in store for you. Be sure to visit our collection today to see what copper collage mirrors our artisans have worked on recently.
