A few custom table bases

Here are a few custom tables Kyle designed and created with his assistant Kallen over the last few months.

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This table was created for a couple that needed a base to go with their existing butcher block top. Kyle created a hefty design to visually and physically support the thick top. The feet rest on casters so it can be easily moved about the kitchen as needed. You can see the finished table with the top installed below.

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Next up are a pair of large coffee tables for a hotel in the Washington, DC area. The client for these tables requested designs inspired by gears. Kyle had a lot of fun creating these two coordinating tables. These are some seriously substantial tables! They weigh in at about 300 lbs each. Good thing the hotel won’t need to move them often once installed.

Below are a few work-in-process shots of each table, as well as photos of the finished tables and detail shots of each table.

If you have a custom table or base idea you’ve been wanting to bring to life, feel free to reach out to us! And if you’re new to custom work, never fear. We’ll walk you through each step of the process.

Endangered Native Virginia Flowers

Johannah’s latest mosaic series features endangered flowering plants native to our home state of Virginia as well as other parts of the eastern United States.

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Like the Nature series from last year, the Endangered Flowers series was inspired by the beauty of the natural world around us. This time, I wanted to speak more openly to the destruction and chaos we humans have inflicted on the world. And I wanted to stick close to home, explore my own backyard so to speak.

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As I researched native Virginia flowers, the same primary environmental threat kept popping up:  wetlands habitat loss. The four flowers I chose to represent are (L to R in photo) swamp pink, pitcher plant, American chaffseed, and Virginia sneezeweed. Each of these plants lives and grows in wetlands such as sandy coastal or boggy areas. There were many other plants to chose from, and most of them thrive in similar ecosystems.

As our built environment spreads ever outward and we continue to pave more of the earth’s surface, we both destroy natural wetlands and create ever-worsening flooding issues. Further, the retention ponds we create to replace wetlands are no true substitute for the plants and animals that live in those wetlands. We may have built ourselves a place to store the water we’ve displaced, but in the process we’ve destroyed an important part of the ecosystem. Even the current Environmental Protection Agency agrees that wetlands, like those other crucial but fragile systems, rainforests and coral reefs, are vital to life on earth due in great part to their tremendous biodiversity.

Like all our mosaics, the Endangered Flowers series is created with 100% reclaimed or environmentally sustainable and stable materials. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this series will be donated to the Flora of Virginia Project.  Take a look below at a few work in progress shots as well as photos of the flowers themselves that inspired this series!

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Swamp Pink photo by US Fish & Wildlife Service

Pitcher Plant photo by Noah Elhardt

American Chaffseed by April Punsalan

Virginia Sneezeweed photo by Steve Croy

You can find the Endangered Flowers mosaic series as well as some of our other work in metal and mosaic in our shop.

Some things for the wall

A few recent projects designed to hang on the wall!

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Kyle created this custom wall sculpture as a retirement gift. The design is based on his Entangled wall series, customized for the line “steel sharpens steel,” an important guiding principle to the recipient of this piece.

Johannah created this mosaic address plaque for a local 1920s bungalow. She worked with the client to choose an Art Deco, Mission-style font and colors that go with the period and style of the house.

We’re always happy to work with folks to create one-of-a-kind items to fit their needs. Wondering if we can help with that special project? We’d love to hear from you! Send us a message or give us a call at 804-888-9778.