Author Archives: Jennifer

Accessories Are All The Rage

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One of the things we’re most proud of here at Hardwood Artisans is our talented craftsmen. They all feature an amazing capability for creativity, which is first and foremost shown in our line of products, but also in the magnificent accessories that we carry. Many accessories can be dwarfed when they’re near gorgeous pieces like our Waterfall Grand Mesa. However, our jewelry boxes and Suzy cubes hold their own, even when placed next to the most attractive furniture. These accessories are magnificent, not only with the beauty they exude but with the creativity that was put into them in the first place. They are the perfect gift for birthdays and the Holidays, and say something only a hand-crafted item could voice. So, instead of highlighting our wonderful selection of furniture, let’s shine the spotlight on these small, but gorgeous, accessories.

Various Accessories

One of our most treasured and recognized accessories are our Hillgren Jewelry boxes. Crafted by John Hillgren, one of our owners, in the early days of Hardwood Artisans, these stunning little gems are crafted of mainly scrap wood. Don’t let that fool you, lined with your choice of red, blue, or green velvet, these pieces might outshine the jewelry you place in them. Hillgren created the jewelry box after becoming frustrated with the amount of scrap wood going to waste. Nowadays, most, if not all of our scrap wood is used in the manufacturing of our accessories.

Not only is the wood cut in curved lines and traditional corners, but it features a mirror on the inside of the lid. One of our craftsmen even went as far as to have the top burned with romanticisms to give to his girlfriend. You can’t go wrong in giving this as a present, to someone else or to yourself.

That isn’t the only jewelry box we carry, however. Hardwood Artisans features two other boxes; Pepe’s Jewelry box and our Jewelry caddies. The Jewelry caddies showcase two or three drawers, each of which is velvet lined. They fit in perfect on top of any dresser or chest and make organization easy with the optimization of space.

Pepe’s box is a little smaller, but equally entertaining to look at. This is just one more piece that’s fashioned out of scrap wood. The inside is lined with velvet like Hillgren’s jewelry box, but instead of having an indent in the top, it lays flatter and doesn’t have any legs. Either way, I think you have a hard choice ahead of you if you plan to pick between these three!

If you’re looking for something small and practical to gift wrap, maybe instead you should consider our Suzy Cubes. These pieces, while not only being practical, are fun little cubes to give out. You can use them as chairs, stack them as bookcases, and place them as room dividers, anything your imagination can cook up. And if that isn’t wild enough for you, maybe you should consider snagging a couple of our striped Suzy cubes. If you don’t get them, I definitely will!

If you’ve been into any of our showrooms, there’s no doubt in my mind that you’ve seen our Plant Stands. Ranging from square to round, tall to short, these sustainable products were crafted with you in mind. You can use them as an end table or something to place your cactus on. The sharp curves of the legs will undoubtedly attract the eyes of your guests.

One of the cutest items on our in-stock list are Greg’s Stools. These cute little stools are perfect for any little ones you have running around. You can use them for seating or a step stool to reach the sink, but either way there’s no way anyone can pass by these little stools without admiring the handiwork.

If you’re looking for a more practical gift, maybe you should think about our Fold Up tables. With the Holidays just around the corner, these tables will come in handy when you need a little extra dining room. With a swift spin of the legs, this table can be pushed up against the wall to make room for any dancing and games you have in mind.

Last but not least, let’s consider our Cheval mirror. This tall standing mirror can rotate back and forth, adjusting to the height of whoever wants to use it. It’s a very attractive accent to any bedroom, modern or traditional. These pieces are always in-stock, so they’re a quick go to if you’re running out of time.

So, maybe you’re running a little late on your Holiday shopping or maybe you’ve never even thought of Hardwood Artisan’s as the perfect place to go for accessories. Either way, if you’re interested in any of these pieces, they’re available at all of our showrooms. Not only that, but there are several other accessories you can consider that aren’t featured on this list. This way you can enjoy the snow, festivities, and gorgeous accessories of the Holidays!

Trivets: The process behind making a gift for you!

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We are excited about our upcoming Lemonade Social and looking forward to seeing all of you there.  We are working hard making a gift to give you at the Lemonade Social.  This year, the owners have designed a special trivet we think you will enjoy.  The best part about the trivet is that it uses up scrap wood which saves wood from being wasted.  The project begins with a can full of scrap wood.  Our scrap wood comes from projects which used larger pieces of wood.  If you look closely enough at this photo you can see pieces of wood that were used to make drawers:

Scrap Wood

Scrap Wood

There are a lot of tree huggers here at Hardwood Artisans, and we try as hard as we can to reduce waste and energy.  Have you ever seen our striped Suzy Cubes?  They are made of scrap wood as well.

Here is a walk through on how the trivets are made, at the Lemonade Social you can see it happen right in front of you.  You can even take home the one you watched being made!

It all starts with one of our talented craftsmen.  He or she places a piece of scrap wood onto our CNC router.  CNC stands for Computer Numerically Controlled.  You can learn more about them here.  The machine makes cuts into the wood just the right size of the trivet, as well as the holes in the trivet.  Here is an image of one of our craftsmen with the piece of wood.  He will place it onto the orange machine right behind him:

Craftsman picking out the right piece of scrap wood to place on the CNC router behind him

Craftsman picking out the right piece of scrap wood to place on the CNC router behind him

The piece of wood comes out with the proper holes in it, as well as the shape cut out.

When it comes out of the CNC router it looks like this

When it comes out of the CNC router it looks like this

The craftsman will then bring it over to an area set up with a drill bit.  He will run the drill bit along the edge where the trivet has been cut.  This cuts it free from the rest of the wood and rounds the edges over, making them smooth.  We built a box overtop the drill bit to ensure the proper height for rounding the edges of the trivet, it looks just like this:

Cutting the trivet from the block of wood and rounding the edges

Cutting the trivet from the block of wood and rounding the edges

The trivet will get sanded down and will be ready for you to take home and use!  Join us for the Lemonade Social, Saturday and Sunday June 26th and 27th and see the process for yourself!  We are planning to make about 400 trivets and staying busy doing it!  Here are a few we have already done:

The trivets we have compeleted thus far, only 350 more to go!

The trivets we have compeleted thus far, only 350 more to go!

For more information about the Lemonade Social click here.  We hope to see you there!

Stunning Art – Created by Fire in a Trash Can

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Yes, you can light your trash can on fire.  That is if you are creating a piece of Raku pottery. 

What a fun job!  We love local artists and have three new artists displaying their work in our Fairfax showroom.  One is a Raku potter and sculptor, Stephanie Firestone.  Here is one of her Raku fired pieces title “Triangle Tower.”

Stephanie Firestone's Triangle Tower

Stephanie Firestone's Triangle Tower

Stephanie grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland and knew art was going to be her destiny from a young age.  She is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.  She uses color and form in a unique way that represents truth and essence.  She has featured her work in many juried shows including Sculpture Now 2006, the annual show of the WSG.  Ocassionally she works with the techniques of Raku pottery and creates stunning pieces.  Including this one:

Stephanie Firestone's Raku Pottery piece, Fossilized

Stephanie Firestone's Raku Pottery piece, Fossilized

Stephanie will be doing a demonstration on how she makes her own unique pieces at our Local Artists Demonstrations Event on May 15th at 12pm in Fairfax.  She will bring in one of her trash cans and other materials used to fire Raku pottery.  What do you know about Raku Pottery?  Here is a little bit of information that might spark you into starting a new hobby.

Raku is a pottery technique that began in Japan during the 16th century.  Its unique colors mostly come from the techiques used during its firing process.  Here are a few images to help you understand a little bit about the process…

You need a heated piece of pottery:

Pottery being pulled out of the kiln

Pottery being pulled out of the kiln

And a trash can filled with straw or other materials to obtain the effect you want to show on your pottery:

Trash can ready for the pottery to go inside of it

Trash can ready for the pottery to go inside of it

You place the heated pottery into the trash can with straw or other materials and it lights on fire:

Once you place the pottery inside of the trashcan it will light on fire!

Once you place the pottery inside of the trashcan it will light on fire!

Piece of pottery inside of the fire which gives it such unique colors

Piece of pottery inside of the fire which gives it such unique colors

You can learn more about the process of Raku pottery from this video or a further explanation about it from Art Ed.  Perhaps you will love it as much as we do!

Interior Design, Anyone?

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Designer Katie Grech finished grad school at the Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Mich., less than a year ago, and she has something very few of her former classmates have: a job. “I feel really lucky to be here,” Katie says. Those of her friends who do have jobs, she adds, are mostly making copies and doing research; “I’m just kind of lucky to be doing design now.”

Katie built this rocking chair at home last summer.

Katie built this rocking chair at home last summer.

Katie earned an undergraduate degree in interior design, and focused on furniture making in grad school. She came our way through her mother-in-law, who she says had always admired our work (thanks, Mrs. Grech!). Her mother-in-law told her – maybe half joking? – that she should work here after graduating, and sure enough, Katie called Alison, our former marketing director.

We recognized her talent immediately and made space for her. She’s spent the past six months learning about our lines and how they are built, and she’s now our go-to person for interior design when customers ask for the service.

Katie sketched an early version of our Waterfall mirror.

Katie sketched an early version of our Waterfall mirror.

“We started noticing there was a niche for interior design” after a few customers inquired, Katie says. “It just kind of fell into our laps.”

One client, who had bought a house full of furniture from us, asked for help picking fabrics and colors that would coordinate, so Katie spent several hours helping him.

Another client is building a new house and needs help blending his new furniture from Hardwood Artisans with his existing furniture, in addition to choosing paint, windows, and flooring.

Katie’s been able to assist both those clients, and is also working on a kitchen project where the client presented intricately carved panels, and wanted them incorporated into the cabinetry.

Kitchen design- We just installed a kitchen to view in our Fairfax showroom

Kitchen design- We just installed a kitchen to view in our Fairfax showroom

She’s also sketched ideas for new additions to our collections, such as the Waterfall mirror above, and the Linnaea desk, below.

Linnaea desk drawing

Linnaea desk drawing

Although the sketch of the desk never came to fruition, she says, “I’m learning a ton from them – not only do I get to see the design, I get to see it built.”

Going Green

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We’ve just found an incredible local partner to produce sustainable home accessories.

The DC-based Grant Dawson Collections has a Silver rating with the Sustainable Furnishings Council for its eco-friendly practices, such as using recycled and sustainable materials whenever possible.

You can find their Endangered Species collection at Neiman Marcus in Friendship Heights, MD.  The collection celebrates endangered species such as these little dart frogs:

Dart Frog Bottle Stoppers by Grant Dawson Collections

Dart Frog Bottle Stoppers by Grant Dawson Collections

 

And these endangered African orchids:

Orchid Vase by Grant Dawson Collections

Orchid Vase by Grant Dawson Collections

 

They also source sustainable wood, which you can see in the vase above and in this handsome cheese tray:

Claw foot tray by Grant Dawson Collections

Claw foot tray by Grant Dawson Collections

 

That’s where we come in.  CEO Sheri Gorsen and COO Cindy Testa recently asked us to produce the wood components for its products, which include chess boxes, single and triple bud vases, and sea-glass votive holders.

First, we had to do some prototypes, based on models they sent us.

They sent us the chess board and the orchid vase. We fabricated the models in the foreground, including the blocks that hold the “Endangered Species” wine stoppers.

They sent us the chess board and the orchid vase. We fabricated the models in the foreground, including the blocks that hold the “Endangered Species” wine stoppers.

 

A closeup of the woodworking on the prototypes.

A closeup of the woodworking on the prototypes.

 

Even though everybody talks about going green these days, companies like Grant Dawson are hard to come by, because everything they do has to meet standards set by the SFC.  We are of like minds here – we use SFC-certified mahogany and other kinds of sustainable wood whenever we can.

Sheri sent over this nice testimonial:

“We chose Hardwood Artisans to make our wood products because they are local, skilled artisans with a conscience.  They are handmade in the USA and use SFC certified or equivalent wood from sustainable sources in North America.  Their workmanship is impeccable and they meet the very tough standards both socially and environmentally that we want.”

We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.