A few custom coat racks

We first introduced our line of mosaic coat racks with hand-forged hooks and a reclaimed wood frame last fall, and they have turned out to be such a fun item!  We love that they bring together all three components of our work: metal, mosaics, and wood. They're a colorful, unique way to dress up a functional household item. And there's lots of room to make them personal, whether in color, theme, or material. Here are a few of our favorite custom coat racks so far:

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One of our very first custom coat racks was for our smaller two-hook version.

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This was our first coat rack with a frame in reclaimed walnut rather than pine. We loved it so much, we made it a standard part of our coat rack repertoire.

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Arranging the palette for a blue and white mosaic based on the very first one we made in green and white.

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This one incorporates personal objects collected by the client. It was a joy and an honor to put together such a meaningful piece.

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Here's a completed (non-custom) coat rack with hooks installed. For more customization fun, we have two styles of hooks: the V on this coat rack, and a more traditional U style.

Zoom: A working title for a work-in-progress

Johannah took a short creativity break from working on retail items like our mosaic coat racks and mirrors to create a series of images of our home base, Richmond, VA.

I've always loved maps. As a kid, I covered the walls of my room with poster-sized National Geographic maps. Today I love to discover hidden spots on maps to explore in real life, and track long trips with our kids. Maps offer a wide variety of information, and sometimes, a new way to look at the world around us.

Here are a few shots of the process so far in creating my new series of maps.

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The first piece in the series is a roadmap of the metropolitan Richmond region. I wanted to create a look somewhere between the Google map we know today, and a classic road map. The four tiles on the right are background color options. The top three are glass. I ended up going with the unglazed porcelain at the bottom.

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The second piece moves in a bit on the city of Richmond, focussing on the river and human development of the area. This image is based on a satellite image of the region. The river, downtown islands, and densest areas of development are completed here.

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The third and final piece is an aerial view of the heart of downtown Richmond. This is a map of historic transportation routes in the city: interstate (completed here), railroad, street roads, and water.

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The completed series (and my trusty tea mug) awaiting grout and frames.

A few projects

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Sneak peek of the award we made for RVA Creativity Awards.

This Thursday evening marks the first-ever RVA Creativity Awards. Many of the awards were created by members of RVA Makers. Everyone really let their imaginations fly on this project and the results are wonderful. You can see more sneak peeks of the awards on the RVA Creativity Awards Facebook page.

You can see some of the other projects we’ve been working on as we prepare for craft shows below, from bonfire pokers to mosaic mirrors and jewelry.

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Kyle forged these bonfire pokers from reclaimed steel. The pokers are extra long, designed to be used for those great spring evening outdoor fires.

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Check out the color & texture on these new mirror frames. Johannah used reclaimed concrete & glass for the mosaics, and the frames are reclaimed wood.

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Latest grouping of mosaic pendants before they were grouted. Come on out to the show to see the completed version!