Wishing you all a very Happy and Well Thanksgiving. We have created a collage of festive leaves using our Vine cabinet pull and have created a new font from our Orchid pulls, a creative pleasure to celebrate this time of year.
Orchid cabinet pulls nickel plated over solid bronze
While the seasons may appear elusive in this sun- shine state, the slight chill in the air reminds us that autumn has arrived and with it our sense of color naturally drifts to the rich colors of autumn.
Visitors to the wine country in Paso Robles will now be able to see the wide variety of reds, yellows and brown that color the vines of their favorite varietal.
For the less fortunate we hope that our custom hot patinas when applied to our plant pulls will provide a reminder of what this season brings.
For our vine cabinet pull we used green, red and brown dye oxides applied as liquid patinas to create a gradation of colors to the hot surface of our bronze pull. To ensure that the pigmented liquid adhered to the surface we sand blasted the casting prior to heating. As the patina is translucent the golden hues of the bronze still shine through.
The dye-oxides we use are available through SculptNouveau who also offer a full range of sealants suitable for most metals.With our pear and oak leaf cabinet pulls we omitted the pea green dye oxide.
In our earlier career as furniture makers we used a similar technique when creating our japanned vine leaves. The iridescent quality of the leaves was achieved by applying gold leaf to the motif before adding successive layers of translucent color.
Cabinet Pulls for smaller spaces – latest addition to the Grapevine Collection
Our holistic approach to door hardware is one of the reasons we like to design complete collections that allow the consumer to continue a theme from entry door, to interior door to cabinet pulls and bathroom accessories. It also means that we are constantly adapting designs to give the designer a more complete range of hardware to chose from.
Our collection of wine cellar door handles led us to design a vine leaf cabinet pull which at 6"W x 3"H x 1 1/2"D works well as a drawer or cabinet door pull. However, for smaller confined spaces we saw a need for a smaller piece and have just added a new complimentary vine loop pull. The loop pull measures 2 ¼”W x 1 1/4”Hx x and projects 1 ½”x making it easy to grip. The pattern for this petite piece was carved by hand from a block of blue wax which is typically used by jewelry artists to sculpt ring patterns. A simple rubber mold was made and then used to create red wax replicas which went through the casting process from shelling to pouring to chasing and were finally finished with a light antique oil rubbed patina.
We mounted the larger vine leaf and the new loop pulls on cabinet drawers that were made using a cherry wood for the frame and myrtle burl cross hatched with wenge for the panels.
Wine cellar cabinet hardware
These images below show the fine hand- carved details of the wax pattern. For smaller pieces blue wax is a good sculpting option and you can achieve quick results with good eye hand coordination.
Investing in wine is a serious venture and one that works best for those able to exercise self-control in the interest of deferred gratification.
Once the long-term commitment to wine collecting has been made the connoisseur then has to plan how to house the collection and this is where the creative challenge begins. When I think of wine collections I tend to think of lofty cellars deep in the basements of grand chateaus or perhaps grandiose Sonoma wineries and indeed our grapevine collection fits well in either setting. What I am less likely to think of is the modest interior of a hallway closet.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Faye Montgomery, a Los Angeles homeowner who was in the process of renovating a home that she and her husband had bought in West Los Angeles. When I first heard that Faye was creating a wine closet, I instinctively thought of our smaller scale vine door handle which at a more modest height of 14” works well for smaller wine rooms. However, on looking at the 30” x 80” glass door I understood why Faye was leaning toward the Ergo extended door pull a dramatic 3’ tall contemporary door grip. While the Ergo handle may not be an obvious choice, I think it is clear from the photos that this 2-toned sculptural piece works beautifully with the ceramic wall tiles that mimic hexagonal metal studs and a ceramic floor that looks like weathered walnut. Although the wine closet is small the sleek handle appears to be floating and in so doing does not over-power the wine collection which also appears air born. Taken together the 3-dimensional tiles, the angled ceramic floor and the handle create a clever illusion of timeless space.
Photo Courtesy of Faye Montgomery
Tiles from Spain available through Emser Tile, West Hollywood.
Intricately detailed bronze door handles cast in investment caliber bronze are our hallmark but often these details go un-noticed.
The Willow heroic door knob is the signature piece in the Willow collection of bronze entry and interior door handles. Cast in bronze the entwined leaves are finely detailed to create a veritable vortex of swirling filigree. Made in 2 sections the backplate alone is 6.5 lbs. with the center a further 2.0 lbs. making a total of 8.5 lbs. of investment grade bronze. While bronze may not be as precious as gold it still holds its value over time especially when artistic value is added. This door knob is 11” tall by 7” wide and 4” deep (279 x178 x 102mm) and its scale deservedly gained it the title “heroic”.
The Grapevine large door is sizeable at 3"W x 4"D x 42 ½"H (76 x 102 x 1080mm) and contains 11 lbs. of bronze. There are some small difficult to spot details in this piece that remind me of Gringling Gibbons the legendary 17th century Royal wood carver whose works are world renowned for the amount and depth of his relief carvings. Gibbons is known for his 3-dimensional carved leaves, flowers and berries but he also carved more lurid hanging fowl and human skulls. While free of human bones the Grapevine pull does have the odd beetle so may not be suited to those with an insect phobia. For the collectors among us this statement piece is part of a limited edition of 100.
Fibrous gnarly tendrils of bronze cling to the center stem.
Hidden details
The grapevine door knob continues to evolve.
It started out as a pencil sketch and then was “fleshed out” in a series of perspective drawings so that its scale and appearance could be assessed. Once all the angles were mapped out Martin began carving the pattern in basswood, which as any wood carver knows is an easy to carve dense soft wood, perfect for carving fine detail and perfect for pattern making as it is a somewhat bland wood with almost no grain or color. The only real drawback to basswood comes from its lack of color which makes imperfections difficult to spot, so Martin sprays his patterns with grey primer thereby rendering them visible.
Once perfected, two rubber molds are created, one for the body of the door knob and one for the stem of the knob. Each mold is made in 2 halves that can be pulled apart after the wax has been poured into the cavity of the mold. The 2 halves of the mold are keyed to each other by creating a male and female rubber junction, that way the mold will continue to align properly over a long period of use.
The mold is then used to create a wax facsimile of the pattern. There are a large number of waxes to choose from and their pouring temperature, cooling time, density and pliancy are all factors that play a role in deciding which will work best for a given piece. The red wax shown here is a softer more pliant wax that has a low meting temperature and works well for gravity pouring but is less suited to molds where the wax is to be injected.
Red wax facsimile of wood pattern
The next stage will be to shell the wax and eventually we will invest the shell with molten bronze, so stay tuned for the next installment.
History has a way of repeating itself. Back in August of 2013 we wrote about the early grape harvest and the reasons for it (weather related) and it appears that the grape growers in California are experiencing yet another early harvest blamed, you guessed it, on the weather. KCRA better explains the situation but the lack of any real spring season this year has a lot to do with it and it is the earliest harvest the industry has seen in the past six years. The good news is that an early harvest can produce some delicious wines so we all have something to look forward to!
We often share our love of the Paso Robles wine region and the wines they produce. In fact, the beauty of this region is what originally inspired our Grapevine collection of custom hardware.
This collection includes two different styles of entry way hardware as well as interior levers and cabinet and door pulls. This versatile design can be utilized in both commercial and residential installations and will provide that all-important detail to any project.
To view the Grapevine group as well as our entire collection of architctural hardware, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.
Designers can visit the showroom located at:
5433 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
323 939 5929
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Iris is not the only one in our family who enjoys visits to Paso Robles. We are fortunate to have close friends in this area but on our most recent trip we decided to play tourist and give our friends a break from our company.
When you travel it can sometimes be difficult to find a really informative website that covers topics like where to stay, the best restaurants, hiking trails and other activities, but PasoRoblesWineries.net is just such a website. It is easy to navigate, is comprehensive and, better still, can be used on your smart phone, allowing you to make those spur of the moment changes. And, personally speaking, it allows me to deal with a husband who says he does not like to plan holidays but still expects them to be hassle free and fun! They also have a great blog where I was pleased to discover a recent post about wineries that welcomed dogs, making it possible to visit with Iris.
Here are a few highlights from our long weekend that may help you find places to sample and purchase wine, all the while enjoying the beautiful natural surroundings.
To view our beautifully detailed Grapevine series of bespoke hardware for your next wine cellar or winery project, as well as our entire collection of architectural hardware, visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.
Designers can visit the showroom located at:
5433 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
323 939 5929
