Table Upgrade with Marble

My roomie Lauren had the great idea to add marble to these otherwise plain, contemporary tables (from American Signature furniture). We picked out tiles from Lowe's that have a brown/black background with veins of white and pink. The pink was supposed to pick up the accent wall color which is a red shade. Irv, Model Maker and fine woodworker, inset the tiles. $5 for the marble tiles and additional labor, you can't go wrong.

Reception Desk, in Progress

Here you can see our finish engineer putting on the first coat of paint to our reception desk. We usually use the spray booth behind him for hardware and other small projects, but this piece was too large. It's nice to have a facility and know-how to be able to do the work in-house. Thanks Bob!

RMS Studio Jewelry

Check out the website of the same name (http://www.rmstudiojewelry.com/) for more extraordinary examples of fine craftsmanship. Her process involves anodizing silver and using a tiny drill to puncture through to the bright silver underneath. Precise, delicate, and unique.

Glowing Wood Sculptures

Turned wood glows from a light within. The booth was dark and these lights did not look like wood at first glance. I had never seen something like this. The website is ok, see for more examples: http://www.glowingwoodsculputres.com/

Printmaker Wroblewski

Another artist from the AA Art Fairs. Great compositions and a wide range of subject matters. The intricacy, number of colors, and the "white" space changes per piece. Refreshing to see such a collection of work from one artist. Check out more work on his website: http://www.nickwroblewski.com/

Sculptor Robbins

This artist was lacking the enthusiasm to talk with us about process (borderline rude), but his sculptures contain movement and grace and had beautiful finishes. The website stinks though you can see more works. http://www.robbierobins.com/

Paintings by Daniel J Barry

An artist we spotted at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs. He had nice compositions and great use of color: purple and lime green? Turns out he also does architecture. Check out his website for more: http://www.danieljbarry.com/

Stars of the A.A. Art Fairs

Our design group took a day trip out to the Ann Arbor Art Fairs. Artists travel from across the country to show their works and the quality of their work is HIGH. We enjoyed seeing a variety of mediums: woodworking, sculpture, 2D paintings, prints, etc, and jewelry. (Most) people we talked with were nice, thoughtful, and willing to share their tips and tricks. See following posts for individual artists . . .

Corporate Entry Update (during)

The painting is done! Engineer Jeff stayed late Friday to help prime and we came back Saturday A.M. to put on the top coats. The accent wall is as close to our Belwith red color as I could match with paint chips at the hardware store. A designer here suggested that I could have gotten paint that was the Pantone color . . . perhaps next time. Has anyone done that?

After painting, my friend Lauren and I took off to see what furnishings were available within the budget. A new sofa and cocktail tables are on order! Her creative idea to use marble will bring texture to the tables, for which I've signed up the model makers to help realize her vision. I love working with creative and skilled people - so much is possible!

Now, to figure out what material to use for the logo . . . It's going on the red wall. We've discussed brass, gold leafing, and sandblasting mirror. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment. -Thanks!

Corporate Entry Update (before)

I have a small budget and free reign to update our entry area. For a design (and delivery) centric company, our environment has been pretty boring and, as you can see from the pictures, it leaves much to be desired. It probably hasn't been touched in 20 years. The plan includes paint, more modern furnishings, revamping the receptionist's desk, and artwork that shows our company history and new Belwith logo.

I hope to have everything done within 2 weeks. Stay tuned for the during (and after) photos!