Anatomy of a bronze door handle

We introduced the beginnings of our jay sculpture with a post back in August of 2014. After working on the piece we decided to offer it as a limited edition of 25 sculpture that can be hung on the wall or fitted for use as door pulls.  As with any bespoke item, the creative process involves many steps. As we have shared many times, all sculptures and our custom door hardware pieces begin with a detailed sketch of Martin's vision for the piece or, in this instance, many photographs of his inspiration i.e. the red tailed hawk we see flying above the skies of Los Angeles.

Red tailed Hawk Martin Pierce Hardware

martin pierce redtail hawk on utility pole

As mentioned, when Martin began the jay sculpture in wood it was always his intention to use this sculpture as a pattern to make bronze door handles.   Therefore, when designing the bird there were three very important considerations:

The first consideration was a) how would you, as a home or business owner,  be able to grip a section of the bird to pull open your door and b) how would you be able to mount the bird on your door?

These considerations affected the way Martin designed the wings.  The left wing has a flatter area which can be used to attach the bird to the door and the right wing is the area that would make it possible to grip and hold to open the door. The tail of the bird could also be used as a secondary spot to attach the bird to the door if necessary.

The second consideration was the casting process. In casting you have to think about ways that the molds can be made so that  first the wax,  and then  later the bronze, can flow easily. To do this you have to plan where you are going to create “gates” or funnels or paths for the wax and bronze to evenly flow.

The third consideration is weight.  In order to avoid having the "bird" weigh a ton, so to speak, the casting of the body must be hollow.

Once all these details were ironed out it was time to begin sculpting the mold.  Details to follow on that very interesting process as well as casting, pouring etc.  So stay tuned!

To view our entire collection of custom architectural hardware you can visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Dreams really do come true--a trip to the land of Gaudi

We are about to embark on the dream vacation of a life-time.  We are off to Spain where we will be paying homage to famed architect Antoni Gaudi.  This will include visits to as many of his avante-garde buildings as we can comfortably fit in during our stay.

Part of the Modernista movement, Gaudi's work was heavily influenced by his personal life that included a love of architecture, nature and his strong Catholic faith.  Unique crafts such as ceramics, wrought iron, stained glass and woodwork were integrated into his architecture, complimenting both gothic and art nouveau forms.  In my opinion, this gave his work a lovely, comic touch.  There are very few architects/designers who manage to make me smile, but his work certainly does.

As you may know the Art Nouveau movement has been, for Martin, one of his major sources of inspiration.  His fondness for the works of Hector Guimard, Emile Galle and Victor Horta have been mentioned over the years. That said, while Gaudi’s work is often described as being part of this movement it really stands alone as singularly daring in its artistic scope and complex execution.

The places we have chosen to visit are:

La Familia Sagrada -- seen in the photo above, this famous ongoing project is one that no one seems sure when it will be completed, although it is currently scheduled for completion in 2026 which will mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.

Colonia Guell and Crypt-- where we will see the crypt, church and research lab that is service to the craftsman working on La Familia Sagrada

Parc Guell – the site originally designed as a type of planned community for the wealthy 

Casa Batllo--  magnificent Battlo family residence that showcases Gaudi's use of the ornamental trades for both form and function.  For example, wrought iron was used to create stair railings that are also structurally supportive; whimsical stained glass windows filter the harsh sunlight and animal forms make an appearance and play a prominent role in the overall design of the building.  

From Barcelona we will be travelling southwest to Granada for a week and being treated to even more unusual architecture including the Alhambra.  Here we hope to spend quite a bit of our time being inspired by the ancient Arabic inscriptions and incredible details.  We look forward to sharing details of our trip with all of you.

You can view our entire collection of architectural and custom hardware at www.martinpierce.com.

Iris has a new friend- Part 4 and final reveal

Whew!  As you can tell from the previous posts, this is a time consuming project that requires quite a bit of detail to get it just right. When we last left you Martin had begun the process of carving the details of Iris' ears, head etc. and we shared the tools that he uses to create these details.

The next step is perhaps the most important, capturing the very essence of Iris in the uniqueness of her facial expressions, beauty marks etc.  As with all dogs, the brow is where we see a lot of their comical and quizzical expressions and Iris has quite lovely frown lines. Martin  began carving these with a fine gauge to create a deep furrow.  He then employed a “V” chisel to create acute sides to the frown furrow and, lastly, he used a reverse gouge to soften the tops of the frown lines.

Next came the pores where her whiskers were created with a fine veiner that was used to make shallow but well defined indentations. That left her beauty moles.  If you look closely you can see one of these moles just behind her "smile".  Martin approached these as if he were making a miniature “sand castle” i.e. the surrounding wood is scooped out leaving a raised mound.

Sanding the entire piece was the next step.  Martin began with an orbital sander using 120 grit paper and then sanding by hand with 120 and finer 150 grit paper.  Finally, he used medium and fine scotchbrite sheets to give her a really smooth appearance.

The bust was finished with oil and clear wax and no lacquer. The oil, especially, is responsible for bringing out the differences in grain color and in making the figuring of the walnut even more beautiful.

Over time and with exposure to the sun this bust will become a gorgeous golden brown and will look very close to Iris' actual color. We are probably going to cast this in bronze and, if so, will offer it in a limited edition.  Our only reservation is that we both like the effect in wood and want it to stay at home as we are all (including Iris who thinks it is a friend) enjoying it so much.

It all began with this photo:

And ended with this beautiful hand-carved sculpture:

What do you think?  Did we capture her?

If you would like to view our entire collection of architectural and custom hardware, visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Iris has a new friend-part 3 rough carving

The next step in this journey of the heart is the rough carving.  You can bring yourself up to date and review steps 1 and 2 by clicking here. Martin will typically draw bold lines on the surface of the wood he is carving to map out where to remove wood to create the desired shape and depth.  He gathers his carving tools together which includes a mallet and 2 scooped chisels, as well as a pencil.  You can see these tools in the photo below.

Carving is a reductive technique where you start with large, wide and deep gouging chisels to quickly  remove wood and then move to the smaller flat chisels.  The mallet is used to add power to the chisel.  Martin also uses the thick area of flesh on his palms to hit the chisel as you can achieve greater control in any tricky areas with this method.  The wood we chose for this sculpture, walnut, is a hard, dense wood so it takes a lot of force to  carve it.

Martin began this stage of carving by focusing on the ears.  He removed wood from underneath the ear to capture the delicacy and expressive quality of Iris’s ears.  This was tricky but he used fine veining chisels to create crevices and a small spoon gouge chisel to hollow out the ears.

In the final installment of this series we we will share with you how the defining details were created to capture the true essence of Iris' personality and debut the finished product.

To view our collection of architectural hardware and custom furniture, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com

Iris has a new friend Part 2-gluing

We last left you with the beginnings of a sculpture of our dog, Iris', head.  We shared the process of sketching an idea, deciding on a wood type and tracing the pattern onto the wood. The next step is the gluing and roughing out the actual shape of the bust.  To begin with Martin cut out the profile on 4 pieces of wood using the paper template from the originial sketch.

For this he used a bandsaw which, as any hobbyist will know, is a saw that uses a band of metal teeth to cut through the wood.  The "bands" vary with each machine and they also vary in terms of how course or fine the cut line needs to be.  For this bust we used a medium band that was 155" long, 3/4" wide and with 4 "teeth per inch.

We jointed the sections of wood with a polyurethane glue made in the Netherlands by Rectavit and sold in the United States as Structan.  We have used this glue for many years now as it is not as brittle as typical wood glue.  Since it is somewhat pliant it allows slight movement in the wood to take place.  Other glues may form a tough and brittle bond so that any movement in the wood can result in splitting or cracking.  You may be asking why wood moves.  The answer is that wood is actually a living thing and will expand with moisture and high humidity and contract with heat or very low humidity.

In this next photo you can see the rough sculpture all glued together.  Notice the paper template next to it which was used in the creation of this sculpture.

We are getting closer to sharing the final sculpture with you and we are sure you will be as delighted as we are with the beauty of the wood and the fine detail of Iris' impressive profile.  Iris still thinks it is a new friend and wags her tail when she sees it.

To view our entire collection of architectural hardware or to discuss custom pieces for your next hospitality project, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Iris has a new friend-Part 1

We recently shared a post about a dog sculpture we made as a birthday gift for a dear friend of ours that represented her amazing three legged dog.  At the same time we mentioned that we had been contemplating doing a bust of our beloved Iris for our own enjoyment.  Well, one thought led to another and the design process began: As with all of our custom hardware pieces, the design process begins with a drawing. Unlike her predecessor, Brie, Iris is not want to sit still and pose so Martin was able to create a video and, along with the photographs, he was able to capture her sweet nature in his detailed drawing of Iris' impressive head.

This was done on tracing paper which allowed Martin to roughly mark up the outline on each of the 4 pieces of walnut that would become the main section of her head.

The other decision we had to make was what type of wood would best suit this sculpture. We decided on walnut as we found a nice board.  We cut it up and essentially created a rough block with 4 major joints and 2 very small additional joints for the ears. The ears were made from one block of wood cut in half so basically 5 pieces of walnut. The walnut was 8/4 walnut or 2" thick.  As many of our readers know, raw wood used in furniture is bought and measured by the board foot and the thickness of wood is expressed as a fraction e.g. 6/4 being 1 ½”.  The board thickness is calculated by the width and length of board e.g. 8/4 x1’ x 8’ = 16  board feet.  If the thickness was 4/4 (i.e. 1”)  the calculation would be 4/4 x 1’ x 8’ = 8 bd ft.  Welcome back to algebra class!

We have been referring to this piece as "Iris' brother", in part because the sculpture is a tad larger than life size.  Oddly enough, Iris seems to recognize it as a dog's head as she wags her tail and sniffs it every time she walks by.

Join us for part 2 of the story of Iris' bust to see how five blocks of wood become a life-like version of our dog's head.

To discuss your own custom piece or to view our entire collection of custom architectural hardware, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Custom hardware Hawaiian style

I have just one question for you---does this look like some place you would like to be right now?

This photo was sent to us by Deborah Zylstra of Zylstra Interiors.  You may recall from previous posts, we worked with her on selecting and developing just the right custom hardware that enhanced the design and style of the residence but also celebrated the incredible natural surroundings and Hawaiian culture.

In this close-up of the impressive entry doors you can see the cylindrical door pull from our Morphic collection, made even more special cast, per Debbie's request, in white bronze.  When we saw this picture we initially thought the gardens beyond had been photoshopped into the photo when, in actuality, they are real.  That is a view I would never tire of!

This door is obviously custom made but what makes it even more amazing is that if you look closely you will see that there is some lovely mahogany burl in the panels.  Simply beautiful!

You can view the Morphic collection or our entire selection of architectural hardware by visiting our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Leaves are falling at Martin Pierce

Even in sunny southern California we can feel subtle seasonal changes, especially during the fall season.  The days get shorter and the return of the marine layer adds a slight chill to the air.  We never tire of witnessing Mother Nature's changes as fall flowers bloom and the trees begin to drop their leaves.  It provides the perfect opportunity for us to showcase our elegant and finely detailed leaf hardware that will add just a hint of nature to your residential and hospitality design projects. From sycamore to oak to a delicate pear leaf, our Flora collection offers many nature inspired cabinet and drawer pulls.

and unusual or unique leaf shapes from other collections:

You can view our entire collection of nature inspired architectural hardware at www.martinpierce.com.

Bigger is sometimes better with our newly sized cabinet pull

If you checked out our Latest News Section on the website then you already know that we are now offering a new edition to our Ergo collection---the 6" wide Wave pull. Those designers who are familiar with this line are already aware of the 2" and 3" pull but there has been a real need for a bigger pieces that are scaled for larger cabinet doors and drawers. I recently had the pleasure of working on a project in New York where we were being specified for many of our Ergo and Morphic pieces but the cabinet drawers simply cried out for a more robust, yet still elegant, Ergo wave. We considered a few possible sizes but decided on a 6”W x 1 1/2”D x 1”H.  Scaling a piece is not an easy task which may explain why it has taken us so long to bring out this piece but we think the wait has been worthwhile.  Designers and architects can now specify this piece that is being cast in either bronze or stainless steel, offering a good color range to suit their clients specific needs.

We have had a lot of fun photographing all the wave pieces that went into this upscale and delightful kitchen project and credit needs to be given to our wonderful photographer Doug Hill for having the imagination to arrange and photograph these pieces to show off their fluid and organic quality.

We would love to hear your comments on this new addition to our Ergo collection or, to view our entire collection of architectural hardware please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

A feast for the eyes:

Martin Pierce has gone to the birds with our new sculpture

We recently teased you a bit with an introduction to a project Martin is working on that involves the design of a blue jay.

To catch up you can view that introductory post here.

We are very happy to say that the jay wing carvings have now made it into wax, shown as the brown wing in the photo below. The wax wing was created by pouring wax into a rubber mold that we made around the grey pattern (carvings) that Martin sculpted. The pattern or carving in the photo above is beige in color, the natural color of basswood, but we then "paint" the pattern with a grey primer to fill in the grains and pores of the wood, giving us a smooth grey pattern and one without the distraction of wood grain. If we didn't fill in the grain the end result would be a bronze casting with a visible and distracting wood grain.

As with all of our pieces, we will use  the lost wax method when creating the eventual bronze castings as this method allows us to capture the intricate details of the wings and bird.

This particular sculpture was not commissioned.  Rather, it is just a bird we see often and one that Martin really likes as they have a lot of character and are fun to watch.  We had originally thought of just having the wings as door pulls but decided to turn it into a complete sculpture that can be used as wall art, yet still offer the option of mounting it on the door as a pull.  We are also happy to announce that it will be available in a limited edition of 25 and we will keep you posted on the progress with future posts.

If you are interested in other architectural hardware pieces modeled after birds or would like to discuss a custom order for your next hospitality or residential project, please contact us or visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

A new home for our iguana pull

It is always a thrill for us to see our pieces in place in their new home.  Such was the case when we received this photo of both our Iguana and Hawaiian Bird pulls in use on a custom armoire. When we were contacted by Debbie Zylstra of Zylstra Interiors (in Kona Hawaii at the time but has since relocated her business to South Carolina) the challenge was to design a custom pull that was reflective of the native culture and tropical surroundings.  We chose to create a pull in the likeness of the whimsical Laysan Finch for the lower section of the built-ins.

Our Iguana pulls would be used to open the double doors in the upper portion.  Below is a rendering of Martin's showing how he envisioned the pulls in use

and here is an actual picture of the completed project.

The Hawaiian bird pulls are used on the drawers and lower doors.  The polished bronze finish is the perfect compliment to the amazingly beautiful Koa wood that is accented with an ebony filet.

If you  have a residential or hospitality project that would be made more beautiful through the use of custom hardware or you would like to view our entire collection, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Gardens and hardware and family...oh my!

It is often a good thing and we are very fortunate to work with family members, especially when they live in the picturesque village of Pembridge, Herefordshire  which is where Martin’s brother Bob and his wife Carrie live. Bob is an extremely talented graphic designer and a website designer.  He is the talent behind all three of the websites that have evolved into our current site. Thankfully, he not only has a fantastic eye for stylish and clear web design but he is technically savvy as well. This makes it possible for him to keep pace with the constant changes and updates we make to the web site so that it reflects all of our current pieces.

Carrie and Bob also happen to have a beautiful home and, lucky for us, a guest house, in this picturesque village which is where we often spend our summer holidays. Theirs is the perfect English garden complete with wall enclosure and pond.  Therefore, not surprisingly we thought it only fitting that they chose something from our hardware line for their new oak garden gate.

Do you recognize this piece?

It is from our Grapevine collection of architectural hardware and blends in perfectly with this beautiful English garden.

Now sit back and enjoy these beautiful pictures of the garden and quintessential English village.

A chilly Christmas Eve in Pembridge.

This village is beautiful in all seasons as you can see from this photo with red geraniums in full bloom.

Market Hall

To view our entire collection of custom hardware, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

How Iris enjoys the dog days of summer

August is one of those interesting months in which summertime activities come to a screeching halt yet work activities have not picked up the pace.  I think people must be hesitant to let summer go so, even though school is back in session in many areas and lazy days are over, we just can't seem to get in the mood to go back to work. Iris, our pit bull, certainly agrees with the idea of enjoying one final month of summer.  Although, if truth be told her days are really the same all year round--eat, sleep, play, rinse and repeat.  Oh to be able to enjoy the dog days of summer for just a few more weeks!

Here is Iris barely able to keep her eyes open while she naps in the warm southern California sun.

As you can see, her days never really change as here is Iris trying to stay awake in August of 2013!

One of her favorite past times is to play with her boyfriend Hoyt the corgi.  She is looking longingly for  him from the front steps of the warehouse, their favorite spot to meet.

And, finally, Iris whiling away a sunny afternoon.

Martin is making progress on the bust of Iris that he has been working on.  He decided to carve it out of walnut and it should be beautiful.  I will share details as the work progresses.

In the meantime, if you would like to view our entire collection of custom hardware, please visit our website at www.martinpierce.com.

Live La dolce vita with our new hardware finish

Life is too short not to step out of the comfort box occasionally.  So, while we like the colors that we can achieve with both simple oil rubbed bronze finishes and with colored hot patinas, occasionally a client will have a specific location or project that warrants a different finish. The most common request I receive is for a client who wants some of our bronze pieces but would like them cast in steel. If the design is relatively smooth with few hollows and undercuts then we simply cast the piece in stainless steel. However if the piece is, for example, a bamboo or orchid pull then we cannot readily cast and finish this in steel.  Steel is a harder metal and one that is not easily polished so trying to polish inside hollow or recessed areas is all but impossible. By contrast bronze is a softer metal and one that we can polish very well, even inside grooves and dips.

So, when faced with this request we turn to our friends at Boyles Snyder who have a wealth of experience in plating in both nickel and silver.  When I asked James at Boyles Snyder what exactly is plating or, more accurately electroplating, he put it this way “ It is the art of bonding metal, utilizing chemistry with electrical energy.”

As with steel so to with nickel.  Some clients prefer a very highly polished finish while others prefer a more muted brushed luster. The desired luster is achieved by preparing the bronze before it is plated.  For example, if you want a highly polished nickel frog pull as recently requested by a client you first polish the bronze and, likewise, if you want a brushed bamboo or orchid pull you brush the bronze before plating.

This all brings me to Biagio Forino Interiors, a wonderful and inventive design group in Milan Italy.  They chose this interesting finish for their client’s home and will be receiving quite a few pieces in a shipment due to arrive this Friday including both the bamboo and orchid pull in the satiny brushed nickel finish.

These door and cabinet hardware pieces represent true customization and show how any one of our pieces of architectural hardware can be customized to meet your client's exact specifications.

Contact us to discuss your special project or view our entire collection of bespoke hardware at www.martinpierce.com.

Gone to the dogs!

The past couple of weeks have found us taking a respite from the mountains of work and sharing with you photos and recaps of some of our "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer". But, sadly, it is time to get back to work.  Before that we wanted to share with you another fun project: We recently celebrated a birthday (but I will not say which birthday as we do value our friendship) with our very dear friend Tracy.  As our gift to her Martin carved a sculpture of her dog Dale, who is a 3 legged wonder and her loving companion.  The gift  was a very pleasant surprise for her and one that I know she cherishes.

If you knew Dale you would understand what a spunky and funny and loving dog he is.  And while he may be a tad challenged by having 3 legs he is an extremely agile canine and could give us two-legged humans a run for our money any day. Dale was started from one large block of wood although Martin did have to add a separate piece for the tail for, if it had it been from the same block the end grain would have made this section too fragile. The wood he chose was Alder as it is a reasonable wood to carve and it has little grain allowing Martin to paint on Dale's coloring.

As we mentioned in an earlier post, Martin is thinking about sculpting our dog Iris.  Iris' sculpture will focus only on her head.  But just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with her body (unlike her human companions, Martin and I) as she has beautifully defined muscles and a generally athletic physique.  To begin the process Martin studies photographs that will become drawings that are then properly scaled so that they can be traced onto a block of wood.

We were wondering if any of our readers have any suggestions for a suitable wood.  We are thinking of walnut, which carves beautifully but the dark brown color will fade to a golden color over time.  Or perhaps white oak that, despite its name, is light brown in tone. We hope you enjoy our sculptures.  As you may be aware, the process of creating a sculpture and a bespoke piece of architectural hardware is quite similar.  To view our entire collection of custom hardware please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Summer getaway recap--Part 3

We wanted to give you one last opportunity to take a look at all that Santa Barbara County and the Simpson House Inn have to offer so you can plan your own trip. As we mentioned in Part I and 2 of our vacation recap, the Simpson House Inn is a great choice for a weekend getaway, especially when you live in nearby busy and noisy Hollywood as we do.  We enjoyed relaxing and enjoying the beautiful gardens but we were also able to get out and hike the many trails that are nearby and even enjoyed a solitary day on Carpinteria State Beach.

We also found time to visit a spot we often come to when we are in Santa Barbara, the Botanic Gardens.  The historic man made dam which is the life spring of these gardens was created back in 1807 to supply the local mission with water.  It remains as part of the gardens, which were developed in the 1930's.

We have visited these gardens twice before over the last 15 years but have never seen them as dry as we did on this visit due to the drought in California.  However, the one watering hole we did find was home to a turtle who obligingly posed for a portrait shot.

Alas, as you can see in the photo below, water was not present in the creek and this poor tree was left suffering from soil erosion and exposed roots.

However, there is still plenty of plant and wildlife to enjoy as this little sparrow proves; offering Martin plenty of enjoyment as well as design inspiration.

We were also able to take a longish hike along the Cold Springs Trail that takes one high into the local Santa Ynez Mountains.  We had escaped the heat of LA and exchanged it for the cooler climate of Santa Barabara.  But even this terrain is showing the effects of the drought as we found boulders and exposed tree roots in areas where the creeks should be flowing.

The trail was almost empty on the eastern ascent and we saw few hikers.  Predictably , after our 90 minute hike we returned to Simpson House Inn for their cold lemonade.  The perfect finish to a perfect day!

To view our entire collection of architectural hardware, many pieces inspired by trips like this, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

An opportunity to find some design inspiration right here in southern California-Part 2

During our recent stay at the Simpson House Inn we were able to take advantage of all the opportunities to view and enjoy the natural areas that surround Santa Barbara in the form of hiking trails, state beaches and botanical gardens. Our fascination and interest in birds was certainly satisfied on our daily nature trips.  One such outing found us on the nearby Carpinteria State Beach.  We actually had the place all to ourselves for most of our visit.  With the exception of one lone human being,

the only other living creatures we saw were those with wings, pincers or fins.  For example, the ever-present seagull.  Have you ever noticed how they always seem to strike a pose?

Curlews flying in formation near the ocean's surface--no doubt hunting for a tasty morsel

and the prehistoric looking and always fascinating to watch Brown Pelican

This part of the California coast features outcroppings of rocks that are home to many species including this little crab Martin found in one of the rock mounds.

We certainly came back with plenty of design inspiration as well as an appreciation of this beautiful country and state we live in.

To view our entire collection of architectural hardware that includes birds, lizards and other creatures from nature, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.  We can also design a bespoke piece that will personalize and customize your next project.

Recap of our summer getaway--Part 1

While the details of our stay at the lovely Simpson House Inn are still fresh in my mind I wanted to share them with you. As we mentioned in an earlier post, we decided to treat ourselves to a short getaway in Santa Barbara.  The days were heating up in Los Angeles and a trip up the coast would allow us to escape not only our current workload but the heat that sometimes strikes southern California.  We were not to be disappointed!

Simpson House Inn dates back to 1874 and went through many years of decline before being totally and lovingly restored to its original glory by Glyn and Linda Davies.  It opened its doors as a refined B&B in 1985 and can boast being the winner of the prestigious City of Santa Barbara Structure of Merit award.  The low key charm of the staff make you feel like you are spending the weekend as very welcome guests in a dear friend's home.  We began each day with a breakfast of roast potatoes and scrambled eggs with asparagus served on dainty Victorian China.

We enjoyed this breakfast on the veranda every morning and were entertained by the California towhee birds bathing in the garden's water fountain turned birdbath.  The gardens have received the same level of restoration attention as the house and other structures on the property.

After this hearty breakfast we set out for a daily hike on one of the nearby nature trails, only to return to homemade lemonade and freshly baked cookies each afternoon.

We certainly learned that there is no need to travel far and fight the crowds in order to get away from your daily routine and relax.  Communities across the country offer opportunities for those who live nearby to enjoy a day or two away from the daily "grind".

You can view our entire collection of custom hardware, often inspired by nature, by visiting our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Summer travel

Summer is about many things, including the enjoyment of a slower pace and an occasional overnight trip.  We have decided to take advantage of both and head just 90 minutes north of Hollywood to what is often called the American Riviera, Santa Barbara. We have decided to treat ourselves with a three night stay at the Simpson House Inn. With unique accommodations and lovely gardens, we should be able to unwind just a bit.  And Santa Barbara has so much to offer in the way of hiking trails, ocean vistas and historical buildings that are sure to provide us with plenty of inspiration for future hardware and art projects.

Speaking of inspiration, Iris will not be joining us on this trip but Martin is "thinking" about sculpting a bust of her to display in our home.  Before Iris joined our family I would never have believed that I would want a pit bull head sculpture adorning our dining room!

As we prepare for our miniature vacation we hope that you are finding the time to unplug for even a short while and enjoy the lazy days of summer, as the fall and winter will be upon us before we know it.

To view our collection of custom architectural hardware, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

ADA compliance refresher

 

"Bush signs in ADA of 1990" by Unknown - http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_pictures/presidentshouse_bush-06.html. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bush_signs_in_ADA_of_1990.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Bush_signs_in_ADA_of_1990.jpg

A responsible architect, designer or homeowner is already aware of the importance of designing a space that is not only aesthetically pleasing but is also safe and easily accessible for all who enter.

The President of the United States signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) back in 1990 ( updated in 2010) that, in part,  set standards for accessible design that must be adhered to in government and other public and commercial buildings. However, many designers and architects are designing private buildings and homes with these standards in mind in order to accommodate an aging or disabled population.

Along with very specific requirements for specifics like elevators, moving stairways, automatic doors, required space between beds and dining tables in detention facilities, school and restaurants, placement of ramps, etc., many elements of accessible or universal design can also be applied to private spaces and include:

• No threshold doorways that allow wheelchair access as well as eliminate the need to step-up to enter a room or building.
• Wider doorways and hallways that make it possible to move from room to room and turn around with a walker or wheelchair.
• Rocker light switches that are easier to operate than a standard switch.
• Lever hardware that eliminates the need to grasp and turn a knob to open a door or window.
• Roll-in showers and tubs that also provide a seating area.
• Slip resistant flooring and/or carpet pile and pad that allows for easy maneuverability of a wheelchair.
• Grab bars in appropriate areas, particularly in the shower/tub and water closet.

This is a very abbreviated list of regulations and ideas.  You can view the entire list of ADA Regulations by visiting the government site here.  While compliance is a must in public and government buildings, any of these features can be customized to meet the needs of a client in a private residence, thereby making their life a bit easier and safer.

Many of our custom hardware pieces comply with ADA requirements.  To view these, or to view our entire collection of architectural hardware, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.