Super fast, incredibly cheap gold backdrop! ​

If you're like me, you don't have six weeks to glue thousands of sequins onto canvas to make a backdrop. You also don't want to spend a ton of money either. So here's a great backdrop for less than $10 and takes less than a day to make! 

All you need is gold or silver spray paint (I HIGHLY recommend Rustoleum Bright Metallics) ​and thin plastic drop cloth (I used a .7 mil thickness 9'x12'). 

​Open the plastic drop cloth all the way, shaking it out thoroughly. Then ball it up tight. You want a lot of wrinkles and creases in the plastic. 

Then lay out your drop cloth or hang it on a big enough wall. Make sure it won't roll into itself and ruin the paint job. Tape it down or use rocks to keep it in place. ​

Then start you spray painting! Make sure its a good even coat, holding the can roughly 8-10" away from the canvas. ​

I worked in rough sections, from top to bottom. Avoid making visible lines by going back over your work in 'camo' like patches. 

Once your drop cloth is covered, let it dry for a little while. Rustoleum is a great brand because it dries so quick with great coverage. ​If you need to store your backdrop, roll it instead of folding. Paint can flake a little, or stick to itself if it's not fully dried. 

Install is just as easy! Use rope, chain, nails, whatever you'd like! The more depth and swag the better. The folds show the strong contrast and brilliance of the paint. ​

Easy as that, you're done! Less than $10 and a few hours later you have a beautiful back drop! 

Copper Table Base

There's nothing better than when a client gives me a blank canvas. Give me a single idea, and let me run with it, and I guarantee you'll have something incredible. That's why I was so excited when a good friend of mine said she wanted a table. She was open for almost anything, as long as it looked good and had a story to it. My specialty. 

As a rule of thumb with any tabula rasa project, I always start with my materials. As many of you know, I'm a materials buff. I prefer a mix of old/reclaimed with new/modern. I instantly thought about a stock of wood that I was holding onto for a special occasion. Reclaimed heart of pine (from a type of tree that's since gone the way of the Dodo) two inch flooring that was pulled up from the floor of Al Gore Sr's tobacco barn. Absolutely stunning. And absolutely filthy. 

Years of tobacco being smushed into tongue and groove meant a LOT of gunk. I thought about the best way to clean it out, and had an idea. It's like gum. I waited for a pretty cold day, left the wood out overnight, and started into it the next morning. The tar like substance had hardened in the cold, and chipped out pretty easily. Then, four hours with steel brush got out most of the rest. Then, I got to work. 

I assembled the boards into 3'x6' slab, using pocket screws underneath that were then covered over by two brace planks. I did a little rough hand planing (with the grain, for once....fancy that) and sanded the slab into scuffed and marred perfection. Then I coated it with several layers of matte Rustoleum polyurethane, and called it a day. 

But then I needed a base. I wasn't too happy about pairing something pedestrian with then historic lumber, it needed something amazing. Soon after, I found my answer. An image of an incredible table. Marble top. Copper legs. Made for Garde in LA. 

Photo by David John

And I had my answer! 

I used 1" copper pipe for the legs, and 3/4" for the brace in the middle. I decided that since the table top was inherently rough, I wanted the base to juxtapose. Instead of letting the pipe verdigris, I sealed it with a gloss coat to keep it nice and shiny. 

The end product was awesome...probably one of the best tables I've ever made. I finished it off with a single initial of the client who commissioned the blank slate table and called it a day. 

Miriam Designs Jewelry Display

I always love problem solving. Figuring out ways to showcase an item in a way that is beautiful, but doesn't detract from what's being shown. Complementary. It also has to be ultimately useful and utilitarian. I also love the idea of a display being versatile and easy to adapt to a changing line of products. These are my favorite challenges. 

I met Gracie Moakler at Porter Flea (an incredible maker's market) this past holiday season. She purchased one of my vases, and we got to talking. Turns out the vase is for her new studio, which happens to be in the same building as mine. After talking for a few moments, she asked if I'd be interested in designing a display for her jewelry. I leapt at the opportunity. I'd always loved designing and building fixtures while working for Anthropologie, and I missed that part of the job immensely. Here was a chance to do it again, but for another company with great style and an inspirational drive. 

The end product was awesome. The entire unit is wall-mounted, sitting on a bracket so that it can be easily moved or travelled with. The half inch birch plywood features a shelf at the bottom and is riddled with very small holes to accommodate copper nails. Essentially, it's an upscale pegboard with barely-there holes. 

From there, I designed geometric walnut busts that could be mounted in several different ways. The busts featured similar holes, allowing the copper pegs to support necklaces of different lengths and styles in different ways. 

My favorite part is what sits on the shelf. Eight inch lengths of dark walnut are drilled with 2"x2" grid of more holes, though larger than those on the plywood. These hold mixed lengths of copper pipe, which support shelves of varied sizes. These are designed to hold bracelets, earrings or necklaces and can be arranged in so many ways. Additionally, the 8" pieces can be removed from the shelf and used as a table top display! 

I was so excited to work on this project, and Gracie was a great client! Here work is stunning, and I'm glad I got to help showcase it. Check out her site here: www.miriam-designs.com/

If you or anyone you know needs help with a retail design or display, let us know! 

I think it's important to keep your eyes open and aware at all times. I know that sounds sort of stupid, but it's rather heartfelt. This afternoon, while on the plane, I made one of many peaks at the swiftly passing landscape 10k below me. Lo and behold, the skies below looked almost like an opal or multihued tiger's eye. I did a double take, raked the earth below with my eyes, and found a fire far below.
The smoke, dispersed over whatever winds over however many miles had created a semi-reflective surface for the sun's rays. The dappled clouds created infinite and sporadic sunbeams that then bounced back into space.
It was stunning.
I looked around, rather excited, to see if anyone else was being a wonderstruck 7 year old like I was. Nope. The magic was either lost or unnoticed on most of the other passengers.
I guess I should have shared...but I doubt anyone would have been as excited as I was. Alas, I settled for snapping a barely decent photo, that doesn't do anything bear justice. Oh well.
Keep your eyes peeled people. You never know what's in store :-)

An introduction and statement of intent

Well hello there. Sick of me yet? Good. 

Here's a brief idea of what you'll see from this blog...eventually. I'll be sharing my how to's, tips and tricks that I've stumbled upon for the last ten years of making stuff. 

Images will be shared of works I'm proud of, where they came from, what inspired them and why I think they're pretty freakin' cool. 

I'll also show you and talk about some of the things and people that get me really geeked. Gotta share the love! 

If you have any requests, I'd love to hear 'em, and I'll do my best to provide! 

Until next time, have a great day! 

-James