Introducing my collab with Fellow Products! We’re raffling off this hand-painted Stagg Kettle to raise money for Girls Inc. of Alameda County. This collab fundraiser is in honor of Women’s History Month (aka #BossLadies Month). Raffle tickets are only a few bucks, and you can get them here: go.rallyup.com/fellow. Raffle closes March 31st, 2018.
Here are some behind-the-scenes videos of me working on this piece:
This set of triangular nesting tables was a fun collaboration with woodworker Nicole Sweeney, and I think it might actually be the coolest thing I've ever made. Nicole and I designed the piece together, she made the rad geometric tops out of wood, and I welded steel bases for each of the three tables. We'll be debuting it tonight at the FUTURES show at 1015 Folsom in SF! And if you love it as much as I do, it can be yours!
Nicole and I actually only met a month ago, which seems crazy, given how close we've become since then! We were both selected to show our work at the FUTURES show, and we met at the walk-through for the event in mid-December. We struck up a conversation, took a quick look at each other's Instagrams (see here and here), and fell in love. As we were leaving, Nicole casually asked, "Hey, wanna collaborate on a project sometime?"
Over the next few weeks, we texted ideas and sketches back and forth. Nicole's specialty is making beautiful, geometric wall hangings out of wood, and we thought it would be fun to turn her signature triangular pieces into a set of nesting tables. She came up with a striking pattern for the table tops, and I designed a simple set of bases that would complement the bold tops.
Working with Nicole was magical. Not only did we work well together, but we also became fast friends -- we shared meals and coffees, met each other's partners, and discovered that we had a lot of the same passions (road biking, camping, yoga).
We're also in similar stages in our careers. It's been so helpful to talk through business and creative challenges together. Turning one's art into a business is an emotional roller coaster, and having someone who both inspires and coaches you is such a gift! My studio mate Jeff from Krakatoa Design has played this role in my life for the last year, and I'm so grateful to now have two buddies who are going through the same things that I am! The three of us are already fantasizing about the kickass metal and wood shop we're going to share one day...
Come see our Nesting Tables in person tonight at the FUTURES show! We'll be at 1015 Folsom in SF from 7-11pm tonight. Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 at the door. And if you'd like to buy the set of tables, we're selling it for $1500!
Let me know what you think of our nesting tables! I have a feeling that this won't be the last Elektra Steel x Nicole Sweeney collab, so if you have ideas for what we should make next, leave me a note in the comments section!
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce to you the Claro Cart! This nifty rolling bar cart, made of stainless steel and shimmery Claro walnut, is a collaboration with my good friend and talented woodworker Caty Moniz!
I first became friends with Caty because we worked together at Box headquarters in Los Altos. On our commute home one day about a year ago, we realized that we both loved making furniture. We had a good laugh when we discovered that she had finished wood slabs lying around her garage that didn't have table bases; meanwhile, I had a steel table base in my studio without a top. We joked about collaborating on a piece of furniture one day -- I'd do the metal, and she'd do the wood.
And then a few months ago, we decided to go for it! We came up with a simple, elegant design for a rolling bar cart that would show off the contrast of dark wood against bright stainless steel.
Caty hunted down a gorgeously marbled piece of solid Claro walnut while visiting family just outside of Jefferson, Oregon. Claro walnut is known for its striking figuring, often showing subtle intermixed colors of reds, browns, yellows, purples, and blacks in its grain. The piece chosen for the bar cart was no exception, with a lovely blond streak running through one of the pieces. Caty cut and sanded the walnut, increasing the grit until achieving a silky finish. In order to bring out the natural colors in the figuring of the wood, she finished the pieces with a few coats of ProFin, an oil-based finish -- no staining for this beauty!
Meanwhile, I picked up a some stainless steel flatbar from my favorite woman-owned steel supplier. I cut the bar down to smaller lengths, ground down the ends a bit to create channels for welding, and then TIG welded the frame together. I sanded the entire surface with an angle grinder to create a lightly-textured satin finish. Finally, I welded the locking stainless steel casters to the frame, careful to not melt the rubber wheels.
After working on our respective pieces, Caty and I met up for dinner to join the metal and the wood. It was magical seeing it finally come together!
Here are some behind-the-scenes photos Caty and I took throughout the process of designing and building the cart:
Caty and I had so much fun making the Claro Cart together, and we hope you like it. It's available for purchase in the Elektra Steel shop for $1800. It will also be on display at The Crucible's Spring Open House this Saturday, April 11, 2015, from 12-5pm. Cheers!
