Coverlet for a Preemie

Gotta start somewhere.  So I started small.
this is for a preemie,  chepo's niece had a 2.8 lb baby girl.  that's not a typo.

I had but the tiniest scrap of this girl fabric:

And used thrift store clothes for most of the rest of this:

The backside is a lilac colored baby flannel, cost 90 cents, thrift store buy.

Inspired by Debra, to get up and dance.

For me, to complete anything, in a timely manner,  that's the battle.

In my late twenties, I broke up with a guy by directing him back toward his former girlfriend/fiance with

the suggestion that "Anything worth doing, is worth doing wrong, until you get it right."

I think i read it in a Reader's Digest article about Anne Lindberg's marriage to that aviation fellow.*****

I'm reminded of that little quote, here, especially looking at the binding.!  

*****and much later, i learned that Mr Lindberg was a raving nazi supporter, and kept a secret, second

wife and children in Germany, while married to Anne, stateside.

Moral:  don't get your rules to live by from magazine articles.

The internet is faster.

Old Lockset for Barn Door

With the addition of the old lockset, the door and its sliding "barndoor" style hardware are ready to install.

Funny language mixup in the shop this morning:  

I asked Luis if he thought we should rub some oil on the rusted metal frame of the door.

He replied:  pues, aceite de lengua....

Tongue oil?  WHAT?  oh,  tung oil!  

Spanlish.

Also, he corrected my spanish.....i've been calling the lock (shown above) a "chapa".

but he says a chapa is similar to a KwikSet lock.

This type, he calls it "un candado".

i love learning spanish on the job.

Wine Rack Installation

Our guy is standing on a step stool, at counter height.

Miscellaneous Decorative Ironwork

A very large steel frame with a complex curved top.
Will be painted and installed by others,  mirror by others.
Custom size to fit into a wall niche in an entry.

Large Chandelier for Foyer: in Context

For a house all about the "rectangle", there sure are some curves in these shots!

Modern Iron Light Fixture for Dining Room

Dining Area, near front staircase.
This light fixture needs a table, in its photo, for context.
Wonder what type of table goes here.
By the furniture stage, we're usually gone, and onto another project.

Hanging Lamp for Rear Stairs

The newel post on the rear stairs, that reminded me of a little soldier, is such an attractive feature, that we
made a lamp in its image, to hang over that area.

Here's the installed shots:  notice that we did something different and unexpected where we mounted the glass globes.  Did not use the typical central column, but instead used the 4 sides.  Reads well from all sides, like a sculpture.

Return of the chandelier: final install

Hanging in place, for your review and comments:

maybe the electrician ran out of bulbs, because the lower set of three glass globes are

unlit in this photo.  

these shots are from our phone's camera, 

we are paying a photographer to photograph all of our work on this job

on site, in 2 weeks.  

Next up: the installed dining room light fixture, and 

the hanging light fixture over the rear stairs.

Reclaimed Old Door with Iron Accents

Update on the progress of the old door that will be installed in a home, using barn door style hardware, i.e. it will be hung from rollers and slide across its opening.

We will be making our own hardware, and buying the wheels/rollers.

Here's a shot of the door, a work in progress:

Interior Ironwork: Metal Pantry Cabinet

Installed.

Isaac: project

We think this would be a great project for you,  

deceptively simple, you must be able to fabricate in all 3 planes, and 

make it plum (vertical), level (horizontal), and square (perpendicular).

a good exercise in the essentials of fabrication.

If you need some wood for the boxes, which can be planters or storage, I have some

reclaimed wood at the shop.

Chandelier without the Guts

The chandelier has arrived at its destination, but lacks the 9 glass globes that are mounted on a central interior column.  We dropped that off, too, but glass is backordered and electricians aren't ready to hang all the fixtures.

More photos to come as the story unfolds.

Friends of the Chandelier

Friends of the Chandelier, here's more continuing saga in its construction.
We are all looking forward to the day this thing leaves the shop and hangs in that foyer.

It starts with a drawing.  We were given a couple of stipulations.
1.  Hexagonal shape......we found this limiting and annoying, but couldn't talk her out of it.
2.  Size:  30" dia x 54" tall
3.  Some repeat of the staircase railing's theme

Here's our drawing:

Today, the center column was fitted up and test driven in the middle of the structure.

First photo:  a shot of the top of the fixture, what you'd see as you descend the stairs:

And now, a long shot of the body:
one panel of the body will be removable to change out bulbs.

I was having serious doubts about my squared off loops at the bottom of the fixture, but

today Luis said he liked them,

I was going for squared off as opposed to rounded.......i like them, but don't love them.

But they make the bottom plane more interesting, and hanging in space,

maybe they'll have a yee-haw, Houston-style western stirrup effect on the whole she-bang.

Tomorrow the big reveal....or maybe Wednesday.

Styles Change

We can forge solid iron stock into scrollwork with our eyes closed and one hand behind our back.

After 10 years of this, we embrace the style shift that leans toward cleaner lines, and simple yet inventive

uses of metal.

Above, a project from a few months back.

We have more projects like this, which we will deliver and collect our pay.

But we get more excited about this:

which was a January 2013 project.

Which is not to say that we turn down work like this:

which was also a recent project.

Just saying, that while I may complain about those dam lamps that ate our lunch, we love the challenge of new territory.

Am I boring you yet?

The central curved staircase for this project has an unusual feature:  one side of the steps (left) has open treads, while the opposite side has a closed tread, or closed stringer.

Did an architect design it this way or did he drop the ball?

I'm thinking the latter.

It's challenging to fabricate stair railings, with the same pattern, applied to 2 different types of stringers.
Rise, pitch, and height of the newel post all have to be adjusted, and all the while we are fudging the dimensions and scale and trying to fool the eye into seeing matching features, when in fact, nothing is matching up.

Here's the result of our efforts.

Just a peek into the pitfalls of interior iron fabrication and installation.

For Reference: chandelier

For reference, the designer initially gave us this photo of a hanging light fixture that she kinda sorta liked,
but when the client accompanied her to the lighting showroom, she was unimpressed with the quality of the product.  Said it seemed very lightweight and cheap.  Asked why don't you have the iron guys make us something to go with the stair railings?

So, they picked out those glass globes, (shown in last blog post), and contacted me for design ideas, and

pricing.  Size is 30" diameter X 54" tall.

I think we left alot of money on the table.  Hindsight......

So, our chandelier will be nothing like the above photo.  

Large Chandelier for Foyer

this is the starting place:  the glass that was chosen by the client for her light fixtures.

the glass cup has a notch in it, and predrilled holes, but we had to configure a jig and make the metal holder and connection.

How to arrange the glass cups in an artful manner.  It starts with a rough idea, then a scaled drawing.

We are going for an irregular placement of the glass, up a central column.

Below, our first day of fabrication on the body of the chandelier.

Pattern mimics the staircase railings.

Below, a jig to make the squared off loops at bottom of chandelier.

Below, planning and laying out the placement of the glass globes.

Below, 3rd day of fabrication on the body of the chandelier

Work in progress.