Coordinating Set of Home Accessories

This client reached out to us about making a set of custom coordinating items for their new home. They’d seen our work in our Etsy shop and on our social media, and it had set their wheels spinning imagining an address plaque, hall bench, and coat rack for the entrance of their house. What a dream it was for us to combine all our skills to create this special grouping!

Here you can see each of the pieces in progress in our studios. The bench and coat rack hooks are forged steel, with the seat and coat rack frame made from cherry wood. The mosaics are made from a variety of glass and ceramic.

Like many of our most successful projects, this couple gave us a few particulars to work with, and left the rest of the design up to us. They told us their colors, shared photos of the entrance to their home, and mentioned some of our work to which they were especially drawn. That balance of specifics and openness allows us as artisans the structure and freedom we need to create new and fresh custom work in our signature style.

Below are photos and details of each of the finished pieces in our studios. Johannah loves to photograph all our work in the metal studio. The west-facing side of the shop space is covered entirely in large, industrial-era windows allowing for the most beautiful filtered natural lighting.

Extra Large Dining Table

Last fall, we created a super-duper extra large custom dining table. This thing is seriously huge, and a great opportunity to show off some substantial forged table legs. We collaborated with our friend David Bohnhoff to create the top.

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Here Kyle and his assistant Kallen (in the first photo) are forging the table legs using the power hammer and a jig with clamps on the table.

Forged steel table bases ready for their tops. The table is designed in two sections that can be arranged side by side or end to end. Check out the rivet detailing in the second photo!

Extra large dining table PH2017.jpg

And here's the mighty 12-seater custom dining table installed. The top is quarter-sawn oak with a gorgeous grain. It's in two sections that match the base. To keep the fit nice and snug when the bases are arranged side by side, Kyle forged a bracket to lay across each end, as well as shorter brackets to use when the tables are end to end. The brackets store in a space under the top of the table. You can see some of David's process photos as he created the top and carved the dados to fit the brackets on his Instagram account. (Click through to see them all!) The feet feature oak bases as well.

Fixtures for Vasen Brewing Company

We were happy to help our friends and neighbors at Vasen Brewing Company out with a series of custom fixtures. Their beautiful new taproom features the fine work of many local Richmond companies and makers. Stop by to take it all in and grab a pint of one of their specialty farmhouse ales!

We worked with lighting designer Wendy Umanoff to create this large, forged steel chandelier that hangs in the entrance of the taproom. Scroll though the photos to see a few our process shots.

Forged steel chandelier by Umanoff Design and Phoenix Handcraft. Photo by Umanoff Design

When it came time to create a sign for the brewery, our signature folded steel bowls and wall sculptures provided just the right inspiration.

Forged sign on reclaimed wood at the Vasen tasting room

Our next project for the taproom was a foot rail for the bar. We forged the foot rail from heavily textured solid steel round bar, along with coordinating brackets to hold it in place.

Forged steel footrail at the Vasen tasting room bar

And last but certainly not least, we forged steel brackets to support the live-edge drink rails created by our friends at Surface Architectural. Bonus peek of the talented Emily Herr's mural in the background.

Forged bar brackets in the Vasen tasting room