A HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL.

If you are guessing how we created the banner then look no further than to our Willow sprig cabinet pulls. These are available as left or right pulls and are scaled for use as appliance pulls or cabinet door pulls. While typically finished in a light or dark patina they can be custom finished with a hot patina with blue or verdigris tones. If you are looking for more autumnal tones then we offer a red brown patina. In the above banner I have created a more dramatic statement in Photoshop.

Bonsai and other small trees in nature and art

As international travel is still an arduous undertaking we decided to take a virtual tour to Asia and visited the Chinese and Japanese gardens at the Huntington gardens. Other gardens include the Shakespeare, Australian and Subtropical which provide virtual  tours of exotic places and different eras.

The Chinese garden is now complete and offers visitors a15 acre garden that combines architecture with water ways, rock sculptures, plants and a tea room. Modeled on the gardens of Suzhou near Shanghai, the Huntington’s Liu Fang Yuan is a tranquil beautiful space to sit and contemplate nature. The garden was built using materials and craftsmen from China to create an authentic landscape. Calligraphy and nature scenes have been expertly hand carved into the namu wood paneling of the pavilions using traditional chisels, gouges and planes. The tile pathways are equally meticulous and pieces are individually placed in intricate squares using traditional and symmetrical designs. By adhering to old skills and traditional designs the Huntington have succeeded in creating a small taste of China which feels real and not faux.

In both the Chinese and Japanese gardens there are wonderful bonsai trees to view including a miniature pine forest, elm trees and a California juniper that is 500 years old.  

The first bonsai trees were nurtured in China and later introduced to Japan in the 13th century by travelling Buddhist monks. If you do visit these gardens don’t be shy but strike up a conversation with one of the docents, as we did, when we spoke to Bob Maronde who gave us invaluable details of the development of the Chinese gardens to their present grandeur.

While Martin and I really appreciate the skills of arborists who can successfully grow bonsai trees as we lack their talent we content ourselves with other smaller trees, cast in bronze and suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

Palm Desert Loving All Animals Annual Event

We are pleased to share details of the annual  Spay-ghetti & No Balls event taking place this Saturday November 13th in Palm Desert and sponsored by Loving All Animals. The non-profit’s mission is to maximize the success of programs within the Coachella Valley dedicated to finding homes for homeless pets. Pet Companion Magazine have kindly donated one of our Siamese cat door coat hooks to the silent auction at this event. For more details about this event or for donations to this wonderful group please visit lovingallanimals.org or call 760-834-7000.

Brief Profile of the Siamese Cat:

The Siamese cat is thought to originate from Thailand formerly known as Siam*. The modern Siamese has, through selective breeding, become less rounded than it’s predecessor and is noted for it’s pointed large ears, long narrow neck and almost triangular shaped head with almond shaped eyes. The breed is short haired, and lacking an undercoat, its silky hair clings tightly to it’s body thereby accentuating it’s svelte musculature. The face has distinctive markings or points around the nose and eyes that develop as the kittens mature with colors ranging from grey to grey-brown to light grey and blue grey in tone.

The Siamese cat in our cat accessory collection is cast in silicon bronze, an alloy that is light brown in tone and which we accentuate with a dark brown patina to simulate the distinctive face point area. Siamese cats are by temperament social, playful and very vocal companions and they enjoy prominence amongst cat owners being one of the top 5 cats amongst US cat owners.

*Interesting information about this cat breed can be found at wikipedia

Flexibility a key component to door hardware design

The first edition of any piece that we make is rarely the final version, rather it evolves as new versions are developed to enhance the piece for  stylistic or practical reasons. At our design atelier there are many examples of this evolutionary process.

 Evolution of Grapevine -

The original Grapevine entry lever set is a popular handle set and still available in its original design but for home owners who have a narrow door stile of 4” a new version with a 3 ½” wide back-plate was developed.A new pattern was carved to make the leaf edges on the back plate smaller and more contained without compromising the original design.

Morphic Cylinders - a case study in progress

 The Morphic cylindrical door pull is currently specified as a 16”,26”or  32” long pull with a 2” diameter. We choose these lengths to offer a suitable range of grips for doors varying in height from a standard 80” to a large 96”+. For each size an original pattern of non-repeating lace was designed and carved resulting in 3 unique pieces. When a designer wanted to specify a different length, this could only be achieved by adding length to the non-lace ends.

 The new version in development retains the organic design but certain sections have been changed to create a repeat pattern which will enable customers to special order the Morphic pull in lengths ranging from 18” to a possible 60”length.

Post Oak Hotel

It was critical that the new pull retain the fluidity and natural appearance of the original pattern so considerable care was taken to create irregular repeat lines that do not truncate the design.

Cats, bats and frogs as enchanting familiars – Happy Halloween

While cats were often celebrated as symbols of good luck and were revered in Egyptian and Asian cultures, in Europe they took on a sinister role as the companions or familiars of witches who cast malevolent spells. It seems that this undeserved reputation took hold with the advent of the black plaque that devastated Europe in the 1600’s. This is rather ironic given that cats are superb predators of rats and indirectly of the fleas they carry making them extremely useful companions that are good for one’s health.
Witches suffered a similar plight and while the verb bewitched is synonymous with “enchanted” “charmed” “beguiled” it is also used to suggest evil powers and malevolent spells.

The negative image of witches spread to other creatures with which they were associated such as frogs and bats. Frogs and bats are both nocturnal and often live-in swamps, muddy ponds and caves, facts that helped advance their negative place in folklore.
Like many we like all these creatures and have portrayed them more favorably in our animal cabinet pulls and cat themed door knobs.
The 3 cats shown in our banner are Persian, Rag Doll and Common cat. Cast in solid bronze and patinaed and then sealed with an oil rubbed finish.

Our frog and bat cabinet pulls are made as left or right facing which allows for a more creative placement on cabinet doors that open to the left and right.

A Trip to Borrego Springs - Art & Wildlife

ART

We recently returned to Borrego Springs, a destination known for the blooming cacti and wildflowers of spring and the always present big sky where stars are on display against a pitch-black sky. I feel that vacations are enhanced when they have a focal point so was delighted to attend an art show featuring Lisa Meldrum’s wonderful collection of mid-century miniature houses. The exhibition is on display till November 28th at the “House of Borrego Springs” a gallery run by Elizabeth Rodriguez at El Patio on Palm Canyon Drive. The gallery is fittingly located in a mid-century modern building designed by Richard M. Zerbe. If you are a fan of this period, then Borrego Springs is well worth a visit offering a more tranquil and less manicured desert retreat to the better-known neighboring Palm Springs.

Photo Courtesy of Lisa Meldrum - Exhibition of Mid-Century Miniature Houses at House of Borrego Springs

Photo Courtesy of Lisa Meldrum - Exhibition of Mid-Century Miniature Houses at House of Borrego Springs

WILDLIFE

Borrego Springs is also rich in wild-life and fall is the mating season for the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is a great place to hike, and you may see the bighorns at one of the watering holes.

Peninsular Bighorn Ram Photo by Martin Pierce

Using a zoom lens from a discreet distance we were able to capture their regal elegance and observed a family of bighorns grazing. The ram’s horns are remarkably sculptural with clearly defined ridges. While the ewes also have horns as you can see below, they are smaller and less defined. The Peninsular Bighorn is a sub-species of the Rocky Mountain big horn and the state park plays a critical role in the survival of this endangered animal. Disease, loss of habitat and habitat degradation all play a role in this animals decline. To find out more about the history and characteristics of this splendid mammal visit the Bighorn Institute a non-profit organization devoted to conserving the Bighorns dwindling population.

Top: Ewe Left: Ram Right: Ewe photos by Martin Pierce

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Bighorn Institute

Anza Borrego Desert State Park

House of Borrego Springs - Elizabeth Rodriquez:

Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce - useful guide to events, the park and dining and lodging spots

SCULPTURE

When observing the powerful beauty of Bighorn ram’s horns, we were reminded of a smaller set of horns used by the male stag beetle in a similar manner to attract mates and deter younger males. In one of Martin Pierce’s insect sculptures the stag beetle appears as an oversized steel warrior engaged in battle on a background of bronze bark. The sculpture measures 35”W x 15”D x 13”H is part of a limited edition of 30.

Greywater the Experts Way

 If you need a 101 lesson in grey water and the storage of rainwater, then the experts at Greywater Corps (GWC)are where you need to go. We met Leigh Jerrard the founder of Greywater who shared his years of experience and valuable time to analyze and explain what was both feasible and affordable in our quest to use less water. 

 To recap we have maxed out ways to conserve water and are still using 112 gallons a day for 2 people and 2 canines. While we live in the hope of seeing rain, we are experiencing a state drought that shows no sign of abating. We also know that if we do receive rain it may be torrential but brief and not enough to sustain us for more than a few days even if stored.

Greywater is something we create on a daily basis and if carefully managed can be used to replace or supplement our intake of mains water. Living in Hollywood we are actually rewarded by DWP if we can keep our water usage to tier 1 which is charged at much lower rate than tier 2 making this good financial as well as ecological sense.

 Greywater in our home comes from 2 sources, our washing machine and our bathrooms shower, tub, and sink. The bathrooms that we use are located on one side of the house that is close to our front garden. Our laundry room is on the lower level and close to our back garden.

 The plan is to use our grey water to irrigate both front and back gardens and we began by focusing on the plants in the back garden and how to use the grey water from our washing machine.

Back Garden First Area for Greywater

Most of these are well established with minimal water needs but the recently planted Podocarpus and the fruit trees need more water than they are currently receiving.

 Washing Machine Grey Water versus kitchen sink black water

The distinction between these types of water in part depends on where you live and the irrigation codes in place but however defined, all black water is directed to the sewer line. Part of the concern with kitchen sink water is that bacteria and pathogens are created by food particles which are usually not present in washing machine or shower water. Kitchen sink water also contains cooking grease and even though we typically wipe off the excess oil with a paper towel a small residue is left. Unfortunately, oils and fats take a long time to decompose and their accumulated presence in garden soil makes sink water unsuitable for irrigation purposes.

Washing machine water although cleaner than sink water often contains bleach, boron, and salt all of which are harmful to plants.  These are found in consumer detergents and soaps and while their concentration is diluted in wet regions, the aridity of our soil coupled with the drought make these problematic. In California we are spoilt for choice and have plenty of soil friendly cleaning products available to choose from. I am currently looking into a dry sheet washing products as these have the added benefit of reducing our consumption of plastic bottles used to package liquid detergents.

 Low tech use of washing machine grey water

Grey water should not be stored but should be used directly. We do our washing twice a week and plan to use the grey water immediately on those days to irrigate the garden and either suspend using our mains supplied drip system water on those days or significantly reduce the amount we use.

GWC will add a diverter valve behind our top loader washing machine with a manually operated valve which will allow water to be diverted either to the garden or to the sewer. The valve is needed to stop excess watering occurring on those occasions when we receive torrential rain and when there is the risk of too much water spilling onto neighboring gardens. This is a low- tech system that will use the washing machine pump assisted by gravity to push the water downhill through pipes into 6 emitter outlets distributed across our 1,600 s.f. garden. Each of the outlets will distribute greywater to a mulch basin or trench that will be dug into the ground and filled with wood chips that will filter and absorb the greywater and distribute it to the root system of our plants by capillary action. The size of each mulch basin and shape will be designed by GWC according to the size, grouping and type of plants to be supplied by each of the 6 emitter outlets.

This post would not have been possible without the information freely given by the team at Greywater Corps and in particular Leigh Jerrard. Thank you.

Interior Door Knobs - Passageway and Privacy doors

A passage door knob also called passageway door knob is typically used as an interior door knob to open and close a door. While a passage way door knob can be used as an entry door handle, as it does not lock, it is obviously limited in use to doors that open on to secure area such as a walled courtyard or garden

A passage knob set has 2 knobs connected by a metal shaft or spindle that passes through the door and through the latch mechanism inside the door. The spindle is attached to each knob with a small set screw that is screwed into the side of the knob collar. We use an Allen style setscrew which is slightly recessed but effectively flush with the collar and unobtrusive. The spindle is typically an 8mm square rod though some manufacturers use a 7mm rod that they position at 45 degree which is why they are referred to as spindles “on the diamond”. The spindle passes through the door latch though a universal hole that is machined so that it can be used with a square 8mm or 7mm spindle.

 The spindle is one continuous rod for a passage latch but is split into 2 sections for a privacy latch.

How a door knob works with a passageway latch

When a passageway door is closed it is held in place by the tongue of the latch that extends into the strike plate on the door jamb. Turning the knob clockwise or anti-clockwise retracts the latch pulling it out of the strike plate and into face-plate of the door. New doors are usually manufactured with a 2” hole for the latch and a drilled round channel for the latch-tongue. The end of the channel is typically finished with a rectangular cut out which is capped by a metal face-plate that comes with the door latch. If the door is bought with the jamb, then the rectangular hole for the strike plate will also be pre-cut.

A passage way latch has just one functioning cog wheel with flat areas and small 1/16” protruding teeth. Either knob can turn the spindle and in so doing turn the cog to a flat or protruding tooth section. The cog teeth put pressure on the latch and throw it forward into the jamb. In reality the latch sits in a small metal box, and both have springs which make for a smooth action that requires little hand pressure. When the spindle turns the cog to a flat section the pressure on the latch and compressed springs is released and the latch moves back and is retracted.

How a door knob works with a privacy push pin latch

Privacy Interior Knob Set With Push-Pin Style of Lock (zoom to see pin head)

The spindle is now split and there are 2 cogs, one as described above functions to open and close the door by retracting and releasing the spring-loaded latch. The second cog also has a flat perimeter with one recessed section. When the cog is turned to the flat section the pin is pushed forward into back of the latch thereby fixing the tongue in an extended locked position. When the cog is turned to the recessed section, the pin is pulled back and the latch is released. Only the inner knob connects with the pin cog making the lock operative from only the inside. The door can be released either by pulling the pin out or by turning the knob.

There is a small hole in the rose of the outer door knob which can be used in an emergency to release the latch. In this event a small piece of metal can be inserted into the hole to push the pin out thus freeing the knob so that the door can be opened from the outside.

Water water everywhere .....

This week’s post will be focusing on grey water and the drought we are facing in most of the US.

When considering a title for this piece I had a flashback to childhood and remembered my English literature teacher who once a week read a poem to the class and one occasion she read “The rime (rhyme) of the Ancient Mariner” and for homework we had to memorize 3 verses. If you haven’t read this master piece written by by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798 it is worth struggling with it’s ballad format and use of old  English words but to get into the rhythm of the poem you may first need to re-fresh your understanding of iambic meters. The poem is a very imaginative layered piece that on the surface tells the story of mariners on the sea who befall calm windless waters and are cursed by the actions of one sailor. The imagery is powerful  and chilling and deals with issues of morality, punishment, loneliness and redemption and is poignantly pertinent to our current global nightmare.

Back to present day. In previous posts I have documented how we responded to the California drought by replacing our water sucking gardens at home with drought tolerant plants that are drip-fed rather than sprinkler fed. In recent months we have further reduced our consumption by using our dishwasher more often, showering less and relying more on bathing with sink water. I ran the calculations and for the pre-saving years in a 60 day period we consumed 4,700 cubic feet compared to the current amount of 900 cubic feet. Gallons are easier to understand (multiply by 7.48) so for a 60 day period the pre-daily gallons use was 586  compared with our current daily gallons use of 112 gallons per day (900x 7.481= 6,733 divided by 60 =  112 gallons) this is for a household of 2 humans and 2 canines. A report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office for 2016 showed that one person on average uses 85 gallons.

We have reduced our water use by 80% to 112 gallons or 66 gallons per person but how can we reduce this further? That is what we hope to find out in our meetings with grey water and rain water experts we are meeting at our home. As we cannot realistically consume less we are looking to see how we can recycle what we use from one area to another. Grey water is water that comes from water from showers, tubs, bathroom sinks and washing machines. Black water is what comes from toilets, dishwashers and kitchen sinks. I am assuming that the grease and meat scraps in the kitchen sink and dishwasher prevent these sources from being recycled but this is a question I will have for the experts. I also need to understand if grey water needs to be filtered and or treated with an organic compound before it can be safely used to water my trees and plants.

While we have not received much rain over the last 2 years, I am hoping that when we do I can store and filter it to a level suitable for drinking and if not to supplement our grey water system. Storing rain water will be a challenge as our home is on a small down hill slope and there are few flat areas to place storage tanks, yet another question for the experts.

The agave plants at the beginning of this post were on my morning hike and they reminded me of the agave candlestick holders we have made.

New Carp Fish Door Pull Takes Shape

The design for our illuminated fish handle was a cutout carp fish where sections were removed so that the LED light could shine through to create a colored fish.

We recently had an inquiry for a fish door pull, and suggested we modify the illuminated Carp to make a solid bronze Carp only to find that the client was a restaurateur whose menu included Chinook (King) salmon. As our creative minds were already charged, we went back to the drawing board and decided to designed a new non-illuminated Carp door handle to add to our door hardware collections. As the new handle will be a door pull, we had to redesign our existing carp to make it more 3 dimensional and without sharp fins. As the carp’s distinctive markings would no longer be lit by colored LED’s we had to capture these markings by creating recessed areas that when patinaed will be visible as markings. We are planning to cast the handle in bronze a medium that can be patinaed in dark and light tones through an oil rubbed finish or in a dramatic verdigris or red/brown hot patina.

As the new carp design is smooth and not textured, we may also cast it in stainless steel and powder coat the recessed areas black or powder coat the entire fish using 2 colors one for the recessed sections, the other for the upper surface. Stainless steel is a good alternative alloy to bronze but the 316 grade we use is extremely hard and very difficult to sand and polish. We use this grade as it contains molybdenum which makes the alloy corrosion resistant when exposed to sea air that contains chloride and thus the ideal medium for ocean properties. This medium is less suited to highly textured pieces and explains why our modern door handle designs with their cleaner lines are where we use this medium.

As the carp design was merely 12”in height and as Martin Pierce is a sculptor, he preferred to make this pattern from solid high-density foam.

French bulldog gifts for owners

Why did we include the French Bulldog in our line of door dog knobs and door hardware? Well, the breed is definitely cute and its round head is perfect for use as a door knob but the reason is a more commercial one as the breed is the second most common breed for dog owners in the US and UK and hopefully will be one of our best-selling dog themed products.

French Bulldog Suitable for most Interior Doors

Thanks to Wikipedia I learned that the French bulldog was the result of English Lace workers from Nottingham who emigrated to Normandy France after their industry was decimated by the English industrial revolution of the 1800’s. These displaced migrants brought with them their English bulldogs and the ones they took tended to be smaller. It would appear that the local population were especially attracted to those dogs that had upward pointing ears and this characteristic was selectively bred into the breed that became the French bulldog.

French Bulldogs are often kept as companions, they rarely bark, and the breed is known for being both patient and affectionate and good at living with other dog breeds. As they are very people oriented, they tend to be easier to train than many breeds and clearly their size makes them ideal for smaller homes.

We began the French Bulldog design with a free-hand pencil drawing as Martin found it easier to plan the sculpted head with a drawing that focused on the creases and lines that are part of this breeds character. The drawing was then traced onto vellum and the side view was outlined on a 3” x 3” block of high-density foam. The sculpture took a few days to carve and on completion was sealed with grey primer. The subsequent 2- part mold was used to create the red wax replica shown here.

Sculpted French Bulldog Head used for the mold from which the red wax head was poured. A wax block was added to the chin and will become the gate through which the molten bronze will flow.

Bumble bee cabinet knobs and bumble bee door knobs

We have completed casting our new bumble bee cabinet pull which was developed in response to the popular demand shown for our much larger bumble bee door knob. In an earlier post we documented how the original pattern and molds were created and now we are pleased to share photos of our first pieces which were patinaed in a dark finish and then sealed with oil and wax. As with all of our cabinet hardware the patina and how it is applied is an artistic process and one where we spend a lot of time deciding how best to bring out the details of each piece, where to add and remove color to create shadows and highlights, which parts to burnish which to make dull.

Bumble bees unlike honey bees do not produce a surplus of honey that can be harvested, and they do not live-in large colonies in symmetric organized hives. The bumble bee instead creates its nest opportunistically by using tree holes, rodent nests, leaf litter to form a seemingly disheveled dwelling. The nests may be easy to miss as they use leaves, animal hair and grass to create a layer of insulation to regulate the temperature of their dwelling and prevent it from overheating.

We chose the bumble bee over the honey bee for our hardware designs as its rotund shape makes it easy to grip. The honey bee, by comparison has a slender abdomen and pointed wings and a body shape that is closer to that of many wasps. Not surprisingly as insect lovers we also have 2 styles of wasp which for the non-purist can be paired with the bee to make a cabinet hardware  statement.

Inspiration for cabinet pulls from insects and animals

Browsing the Pinterest site I came across a word that I didn’t know the meaning of and this took me down the wonderland path to the origins and meaning of “memes” and how it differs but can be a source of inspiration. On that journey I found the term was coined by an evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins to describe a cultural element analogous to a biological gene. The word meme can mean any idea, fashion, picture, song, etc. that is propagated and communicated and in so doing takes on a life of it’s own. As it spreads people often will change it by putting on their own spin it. Think of the spins made on joke cartoon memes where in the telling of the joke a different animal or ethnic group is creatively substituted by another person to make a different audience laugh. Like biological genes the cultural meme will mutate as it spreads.

Hawk moth imitated in cabinet hardware - nature as inspiration

If memes are the social equivalent of biological genes where does nature as a source of inspiration fit in? Our finely detailed cabinet pulls with few exceptions have in some way been directly influenced by our appreciation of nature. Plants, animals, insects and other physical entities when taken collectively are how we define nature. In our new website’s cabinet hardware section we have grouped our pieces accordingly into natural categories:
Animals
Flying creatures
Plants
Flowers
Textures
Hedges

Nature imitated in bronze - dragonfly cabinet pull

If you look at the different categories the influence of nature as a source for these creative designs should be apparent. While customers like our work we can not describe the pieces or the pictures as memes as they appeal to a select small audience. Given that our work including our photographs are all copyrighted and original we also hope that it will not be propagated without our permission to do so.

Gifts for Dog Lovers - Door Knockers for Staffy Dog Owners

Our Dog Door Knobs have been on our web site for a couple of months now and include eight breeds of dog and 4 cat breeds. The dog collection is being expanded to include a Yorkshire Terrier and a Pug.

Our marketing is mainly by word of mouth through our blog as the collection develops with new pieces being added.We will also be sharing news on Jackson our new Staffy dog and companion to Iris, our current Staffy who has been featured many times on our blog.

We have announced our new collection through press releases and through Pet Companion Magazine which is well known locally in Southern California and neighboring states, and which is an excellent read in print at news-stands and on line at www.petcompanionmag.com.

We are very pleased that our dog themed accessories are receiving a good response from dog owners and orders are starting to arrive. Our first order for door knockers was surprisingly for six Staffordshire bull terriers. While we concur with the customer that the Staffy head is quite exceptional and warrants an order for six it did raise the question “who needs six door knockers?” We have concluded that the customer must have some very worthy friends and that the season for gifts is only 5 months away.

We took a few pictures of the patinaed door knockers, and the pack makes an interesting artistic statement.

Tree Canopies – Creating Shade through Trees

A Los Angeles friend introduced us to Tree People a non-profit organization headquartered off Mulholland Dr and dedicated to long term solutions to the heat and drought crisis we are facing here and globally. With their help our boulevard now has a thriving population of trees that bring beauty and shade to our neighborhood. Tree People is one of several local groups affiliated with City Plants a non-profit group that coordinates tree planting and care throughout Los Angeles.

Drought, old age and pests are an ever-present threat to the size of our tree population which needs to be continually replenished by new drought resistant saplings. The cooling canopy that trees provide is only one of the benefits of tree development. Trees also filter the air through their leaves that pull in carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis and release much needed oxygen back into the air. In so doing they also help pull and remove pollutants from the air. Trees capture rainwater that percolates down to the surrounding soil thus adding to the ground water. As much as 1/3 to 1/2 of the surface of Los Angles is covered by concrete and tarmac which prevents the rain water from reaching the ground water and instead washes it unfiltered into the ocean from storm drains.

If you considering planting a tree, there are many varieties available for free through programs offered by City Plants. Their site lists the type of trees available according to size, water use, canopy size, flower type, leaf color and whether the shape and height of the tree are a potential problem near power lines.

On our boulevard City Plants planted a row of “Tree of Heaven” which when mature have a very impressive canopy that gives shade to our building. On other adjacent streets the lovely Golden medallion trees were planted with their magnificent yellow orb flowers and Silk trees with their delicate coral pink flowers.

As a side note, the canopy of the Hedgerow tree was an imaginative creation and while not based on any tree is similar in shape to some of acacia trees found in Hawaii that also grow well here as they are drought tolerant.

Resources:

City Plant :https://www.cityplants.org/

Tree People: https://www.cityplants.org

Bull terrier - a new dog and new collection of dog themed hardware

The Staffordshire bull terrier in our Dog Door Knob collection, was based on the good looks of our American Staffy Iris when she was in her prime. Now she is in her later years still looking good, still healthy, just moving slower, ring any human bells?

Iris at 12 what a beauty

We felt she could do with a pick me up and some company, so…. we rescued a three-month-old male Pitbull mix, we have named Jackson, who is now seven months.

Action Jackson full of energy -

He is a lot of energy and fun, and although he torments Iris to play with him, she likes him, tolerates him, and often chases him around the house.

He is a lovely character but is about to start some serious training as he will be a strong muscular dog who at this point seems unaware of his own powerful body.

Jackson doesn’t have the same type of face as Iris, but they are both staffordshire terrier mixes and are loosely defined as Pit bulls. The Pit Bulls in our neighborhood are primarily rescue dogs and they vary considerably as to height, weight and litheness. The registered American Pit Bull is recognized by the United Kennel Club and is described as typically between 17 to 21 inches across the shoulders with a weight ranging from 30 to 60 lbs. It is too early to know how big and heavy Jackson will become and seeing him daily we don’t notice his incremental changes which is why we are keeping a family photo album. Iris in her prime years weighed 50 lbs. and was extremely muscular and well-toned. At present Jackson clocks in at 45lbs and still has a lot of skin to fill with muscle.

Our dog knob collection is being well received by dog lovers and we will be adding a Pug and Yorkshire terrier to this collection of dog door knobs, door hooks, door pulls and door knockers.

A bumble bee cabinet knob takes shape at Martin Pierce studios

We are adding a bumble bee to our cabinet pull collection of insect pulls. We receive a lot of inquiries from homeowners who want to continue using our bee door knob on kitchen and bathroom cabinetry but at a hefty 3”high  the scale simply does not work. So, starting with our rotund bee knob we have scaled this detailed casting down and made a few other changes to create a modest but hefty 1 ¼” cabinet knob. The original pattern shown here was carved by Martin Pierce in solid blue jewelers wax and a one part mold was used to create red wax replicas. Once shelled the wax copies will be melted and lost to create a vessel for molten bronze.

Bumble bees, contrary to the way we have portrayed the bee door knob, do not produce honey and do not have a honey comb. The bumble bee does create a nest with a small number of chambers for the queen bees eggs and another chamber or pot to store nectar for the developing bees.

Using considerable artistic license to show case our bumble bee door knob

Only the queen bee and female workers have the ability to sting and this occurs rarely unless the bees are antagonized.  The typical life span for a worker bee is 28 days or less but the Queen and hive have an annual life span with the Queen laying eggs throughout the year. During the summer months the Queen will lay Queen eggs which when they emerge will mate with the male drones who will develop a new hive and bee colony.

Happy July 4th

We are celebrating the 4th with a long weekend and hope you are able to do the same. Ours will be spent comforting our older dog Iris, who like many dogs finds the noise of fireworks nerve racking. This year she is a little more fortunate as one of the advantages to her mature years is her diminished hearing and with a lot of ambient grey noise from electrical appliances we hope she will not hear the booms from city’s fireworks. For all the dog owners out there we wish you and your dogs a safe stress-free holiday.

To see other dog and cat themed door knobs visit our dog and cat pages.

Scaly breasted munia and Bulbul Sightings Hollywood Hills

In April 2020 we posted our sightings of the Black crested Red-whiskered Bulbul in our garden and this wonderful bird continues to flourish. To our delight this year flowers from our guava tree have been feeding a couple as they build a nest in a fellow birder neighbors tree. One of the few upsides to the pandemic was the time we and other neighbors compared sightings and notes on birds in our Hollywood Hills neighborhood and thanks to one neighbor we have now spotted the Scaly-breasted Munia. The Munia also known as the Spice Finch or Nutmeg Mannikin is a pretty chestnut colored bird with scale like breast feathers and is a gregarious one that tends to be seen in small groups. While we have not noticed this bird until now, it is a well-established non-indigenous species that thrives in sufficient numbers as to be counted on the California State Bird’s List.
As can be seen from the photos here, the Munia is more than happy to eat seeds from a bird feeder and the seed level drops significantly when the flock stop by.

Animal themed door or grand cabinet handle

When we replaced our water starved grass garden with drought resistant vegetation we were concerned that this would reduce the birds who frequent it but the contrary has proven true.
Our prolific honeysuckle and Kangaroo paw plant attracts countless Rufus and Anna Hummingbirds and the magnificent flower of our variegated Agaves attract yellow rumped warblers.
While not as striking in color, our feathered double headed bird door pull does possess drama and texture and is a central piece in our cabinet hardware collection.

Designing for Function - Part 3 Making A Custom Door Handle

In previous posts we have used a stationary pull to illustrate how a custom piece of door hardware is designed for lost wax casting, but what impact does a functional handle with moving parts have? The answer depends on the function and varies depending on whether the design is for a door- knob or lever and whether it is to be used as an entry door set or as a handle set for an interior passageway or privacy (think bathroom) door.

In this post we will use the set lizard passageway set to answer the question.

The passageway set is made up of several components, some are cast but others are either machined in metal or custom made to order by fastener manufacturers like Seastrom.

While the back-plate is a relatively straightforward piece to cast, the levers (left and right) need to be cast with a square hole for the ferrule and spindle which are the components that connect the levers together and that will connect with the latch that depresses and returns the lever. The 2 patterns, one for each lever, need to be machined for a square hole and how you accomplish this will depend on the medium used for the pattern. A ferrule is then added either to the pattern or to the subsequent wax replica. For bronze castings we machine our own proprietary custom ferrules in stainless steel an alloy that bonds with the molten bronze but as it melts at a much higher temperature than bronze does not distort or melt in the process. For steel castings, as a metal ferule would melt, we incorporate the ferrule into the pattern. The ferrule acts like a sleeve to hold the square 8mm spindle and it is machined with a tolerance that allows the spindle to fit tightly. A “C” spring clip is added under pressure to the outer rim of the ferrule, and this holds the lever to the back-plate.

The lever set must also be designed to function with a tubular latch. The spindle passes through a square hole in the latch, a component made by another manufacturer and that has an internal spring that enables the lever to be depressed to retract the latch tongue and which returns the lever to throw the tongue.

Depending on the weight of the lever, an auxiliary spring can be added to the ferrule to assist the latch and help prevent any sagging. The auxiliary spring is made in spring steel and as part of the design process the back-plate pattern is made with a stop which limits the motion of the spring to a 33 to 45 range.

The mechanical demands and therefore cost to create a new one-of-a-kind piece for a client are inherently expensive.