Color by Light or Powder - the different types of colored door handles

We have a variety of door handles that are illuminated, and these are often ordered by those in the hospitality industry looking for accent piece for public areas. This was the case when we were commissioned to create custom large door handles based on our Morphic door pull design.
The client chose a very specific shade of blue which was their brand color, and which reflected the watery environment of their resort. Sea creatures were the inspirational basis for the custom Serpentine and Scroll pulls we designed and fabricated for the resort. The blue background of this piece is created by skillfully powder coating just the interior and by careful masking the face.

Our Coral and Fish illuminated pulls are colored by color diodes that are contained inside the LED light strips that are housed behind the face of the design. The advantage of this form of color is that the different color diodes allow the panel to be programmed for a variety of different color cycles. While the LED panels offer a wide range of color the door must be one that has been constructed with a hollow channel so that wire can be passed along the channel and connected to the panels wiring.

The photos below show these two methods for adding color. The Scroll pulls on the left were treated with an adhesive on the inside only, the face of the handle was masked with a releasing agent and the powdered handle was baked at a high temperature. The coral and fish pulls have color changing diodes and can be set for a specific color or programmed to go through color cycles.

.

Post Oak Hotel -Custom Door Handles from Design to Casting

In an earlier piece we described how we were commissioned to make custom door handles for the landmark Post Oak Hotel. Here we give a brief preview of what is discussed in our newly created News section.

We were contacted by Gensler Architects to design handles for the shower doors for the luxury suites for the new Post Oak Hotel in downtown Houston. The handle needed to be 12” in height, round in shape, comfortable to grip and made in a durable alloy. As inspiration we were sent a photograph of a chain bracelet and Martin Pierce reinvented this as a metal braid which he sketched and used to create the first maquette.

As alternative design he sketched a piece which loosely resembled a chain of vertebrae or building blocks which he named “Segment”.

These drawings became the basis for the first patterns, molds and ultimately the prototype handles which were cast in stainless steel. For the braid handle he made 2 alternative ends, a soft rounded crown and a more contemporary flat version and it was the latter that went into full production.

Pattern making –

To create the Braid pattern Martin wove 3 stands of electrical wire into a tight braid which he used to create a simple mold so that the braid could be reproduced in resin. Seven sections of resin braid were made and individually fitted to the surface of a wooden dowel. The pattern was then tooled by hand to remove imperfections and to fill any small voids. The round ends were turned on a wood lathe. The Segment handle was assembled from different diameter dowels that Pierce cut at varying angles and then jointed to form a continuous length.

Too read and see more of this process please check out our News page.

New Directions in Custom Door Hardware, Lighting and Art

Starting a new year always provides impetus for new designs for our wide range of door hardware, lighting and now art. While the creative process lacks boundaries, the demands of work place requires that we treat these 3 areas differently, with “art” still being relegated to third position almost as an indulgence. This year we intend to indulge ourselves.

Art

Bronze Stag Beetle 20”W 15”D 6”H Limited Edition

Over the last few years when time permitted Martin Pierce has been sculpting and painting large scale insects and what he sees as their small-scale humanoid companions, the scale is deliberate and focuses attention on the species that matters. Sculpting insects began when Martin sculpted his first “Hornet on Apple” sculpture which was carved in Yew- wood in England in 1977. His most recent insect sculptures are stag beetles rendered in bronze or steel and available as single freestanding pieces or as dueling pairs mounted on tree bark cast in bronze

Tall Door Handles

Perhaps another indulgence but the scale of large door grips provides the opportunity to create some beautiful pieces. The brand of a hotel or resort can at once both inspire and restrain a design and that challenge is what makes custom commercial door handles fun to conceive and cast.

Morphic Serpentine Long Door Pull

Lighting

As our door grips become longer so too do the illuminated Morphic door handles. These organic lace- like handles will be customized in 2019 to offer a range of lengths from 16” to 64” and we are experimenting with a version of this handle that would have alternating sections of steel and bronze.

Shown 16” to 32”H but new taller sizes in development

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Martin Pierce Custom Door Hardware

It has been quite a bustling creative year making door handles and creating a wide range of custom door hardware. Our work took center stage at the Gensler designed Post Oak Hotel in Houston with large lace and oak styled handles for the public areas and braid inspired handles for all of the suites and we will be sharing more of this project’s highlights in early January.

Martin’s raven has taken a back-seat to the demands of these large projects but I am pleased to report that the raven mold has been created and his first red wax replica has emerged.

We look forward to a creative 2019 and wish you all well.

Anne and Martin Pierce