Gifts and other items

We're always honored when asked to create custom gifts, whether for an anniversary, birthday, holiday, or any other reason. Here's a selection of gifts and related items we made last fall. 

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A set of custom shelves for showing off a gorgeous pyrex collection! Kyle created forged steel shelf brackets and reclaimed heart pine shelves to house these classic dishes. 

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This is the fourth trophy we've created for the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce annual Impact Awards. You can see versions from previous years here and here. This project just gets more fun every year!

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These last two projects prove the furniture designer & blacksmith's family DO have furniture and handforged items! Kyle made the loft bed for our daughter, who helped design it. The photo on the left shows the bed in process, and the photo on the right is the finished bed waiting to surprise her!

The fire poker, below, was a gift for Johannah who's been known to complain that "we really need a poker for this fireplace!" There's no more complaining now that this beauty is hanging at our house.

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You can see gift items in our shop available year round!

Custom Coat Racks

Time for another round of some of our latest custom mosaic coat racks! Scroll down to read more about the ideas that inspire our custom coat racks and see the resulting artwork.

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This piece in ocean colors was for a family that lives near the beach.

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A few process shots, clockwise from top left: sorting colors, a blue and white piece inspired by an earlier coat rack, a gradient of cool colors on the worktable, and a finished shot of the cool colors piece. Would you be surprised to learn that greens and blues are by far the most popular colors for custom coat racks?

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This red and tan piece was a special request for a coat rack with three hooks.

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Grouting a silver, blue, and purple mosaic in a white frame. This was our first request for a painted frame.

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Saving the best for last.... this special piece stars the Chicago skyline. Several landmarks in particular were requested (from left to right): the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, Cloud Gate (aka, the Bean), the Navy Pier ferris wheel, and the Cubs logo. We used found materials to set these points apart from the rest of the cityscape. All in all, a fun and satisfying piece to create!

Want to see more?? You can see the previous group of custom mosaic coat racks here.

To order your own custom mosaic coat rack, stop by our online shop. Have questions or something unique in mind? Use our contact form or email Johannah at johannah@phoenixhandcraft.com.

Making a Mosaic Coat Rack

In a post on social media a few months ago, we commented that there are a lot of steps to making a mosaic coat rack. So we thought it would be fun to expand on that and share each and every step along the way!

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Kyle starts it off by creating molding from reclaimed wood. We use a few different varieties, with walnut and heart pine showing up most often. Kyle gives the frame an oil finish, creates a backer for the mosaic (also from reclaimed material), and passes it on to Johannah.

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Johannah's first step is to seal the backer and mark the outline of the frame to make sure the mosaic stays within the frame boundaries.

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Next it's time to select and sort the mosaic material. Johannah likes to combine new and reclaimed material in a way that highlights the reclaimed material.

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Once the material is sorted, we finally get to the  mosaic!

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After the mosaic has had at least a day to dry, we glue it into the frame.

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Once it's glued in the frame, Johannah grouts the mosaic. After the grout is dry, it goes back to Kyle to install his hand-forged hooks, then we stamp the back with the Phoenix Handcraft logo and Johannah signs and dates each piece. Kyle attaches hanging hardware, and at long last, it's ready to go!