Colonial Metalcrafts

There are tables and then there are THESE tables...

2010-04-28T10:40:00.002-04:00

It's been quite the educational experience but we have the steel table project licked. There have lots of dos, redos, don't ever agains, mechanical breakdowns, finish snafus, and headaches but the final product looks superb! Better than the original in my opinion. Take a look:

All good intentions....

2010-04-19T13:09:00.002-04:00

don't always work out the way we hoped. We ran into a major glitch with the steel tables which will delay their delivery for a few days. Worrying and wishing won't help so lets focus on more positive things. We had a great weekend weather-wise and I was able to take my youngest on a walk. Lo and behold what do we come across? Why it was a Colonial Metalcrafts original sitting beautifully on a pillar surrounded by Azaleas.

Good thing my daughter can't talk yet or else it would have sounded like this; "C'mon, Dad. Another light? Let's get this show on the road. . . this stroller won't push itself!!"

It's been a while...

2010-04-16T11:17:00.001-04:00

....so, I thought I'd clue everyone in on what we are doing. As always, our customers bring new challenges to us and we are excited to dig in and see if we can make their vision become a reality. I can say that more often than not our customers leave happy! Take a look at a new Foyer light we were commissioned to build.

Next week I'll post more as we will be up to our eyes in steel tables that we will be finishing for delivery later in the week. I'll give a little insight into the finish process and what it looks like in the shop when we are under a strict deadline!!

Give us your tired. . .

2010-03-18T11:42:00.001-04:00

It's time to rehab those old rickety lights! Got a socket that won't work? A hinge that has come loose? A cracked piece of glass? You get the idea. Mention that you saw our Facebook, Twitter, or Blog and we'll take 15% off of the repair bill!

Since we build 'em we certainly can fix 'em. Have a look at some candidates for repair that we currently have in line:

How does a light come to life?

2010-03-02T14:00:00.001-05:00

Good question. We can take several approaches to this conundrum. Let's discuss the tried and true method of pen and ink. Since we are fortunate enough to have some excellent artists on staff we are able to generate drawings for our customers who are seeking something totally unique or something just slightly different from what we currently offer. Some may prefer the sterile and cold product of an Auto Cad program but I prefer the old school pen and graph paper method.

The 3 Rs

2010-03-02T11:47:00.002-05:00

I'm sure every one by now know the new 3 Rs. The 3 Rs are even topics in my daughters' favorite TV shows! To be sure we are on the same page, I am referring to the 3 Rs being Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Being a shop that predominately deals in metal we have found that it is fairly easy to reduce our waste. First, we try to use all of our scrap. If we can't use the scrap we take it to be recycled. Below is a look into one of our scrap bins that is beginning to fill up:

Other ways we try to be both friendly to the environment and our customers' wallets is by rewiring and reusing light fixtures when at all possible. If structurally sound, a light can easily be refurbished with some new sockets, new wiring, a bath in the utility sink, maybe a coat of fresh paint. Pictured below is a batch of fixtures that just arrived for some TLC (aka The Spa Treatment). When they are done they will be reinstalled and put to use for many years to come.

How about some Monogrammed Sconces?

2010-02-25T11:14:00.002-05:00

We have a designer client who recently asked us if we could make some "Manly" sconces for a customer of hers. What we came up with were some monogrammed sconces that would perfectly accentuate a smoking/poker room. These sconces feature a hand-cut Monogram that is backed by honey glass.The following photo is from a camera phone. . . .

you get the idea!

Furniture? Yes, even furniture!

2010-02-24T10:14:00.000-05:00

As the company grows and evolves, I strive to take on new projects that will force us to learn new techniques and skills thus making us more useful to our customers both new and old. Our latest adventure came to us from a longtime client who was looking for some steel tables. . . Have a look at something similar to what they requested:

Our version will be similar but will feature a aged bronze/verdi faux finish. I will post pictures of our version as we get closer to completion.

Another Custom Project. . .

2010-02-22T09:36:00.001-05:00

Just cleaning out the camera this morning and thought I would post some photos from a recent project we did. It is not often that we get to follow our fixtures from the shop to their new homes but I just had to go over and take a look at this place!

What's new?

2010-02-22T09:27:00.000-05:00

Even though the weather has been frightful, we've been busy here in the shop building some custom items for our customers. As I always tell our designer friends and customers, we can do anything! Whether it be different metals, custom finishes, art glass, or special sizes we can handle it and bring your ideas to life.

Mysterious Illnesses Be Damned. . . .

2009-11-23T14:01:00.000-05:00

Why is it when we are slow everyone insists on coming in to work and when we are getting rocked the most mysterious illnesses pop up. Web MD hasn't even heard of some of these things. Onward! Reinforcements from Joisey will be here soon as well as a couple of other folks if I have it my way.

Finally!

2009-11-13T11:15:00.002-05:00

We have plodded through this year until this week. . . when all of the sudden Boom! We're slammed and need to get some extra hands in here.

We're doing our part to employ folks and stimulate the local economy! I think it is actually good to have to hire right now as I am sure there are plenty of capable and willing folks ready to step in and get their hands dirty.

Hello

2009-05-09T14:55:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Colonial Metalcrafts’ new blog. In future posts we’ll be keeping you posted on order progress, interesting projects, shop news and other good stuff.

Stay tuned, we’re just getting started.