Making it work

I started this piece back in September and then couldn't seem to finish it...until today!  I had some creative energy today and love the direction this went.  I wish I had a better background to shoot against besides white brick, very challenging. 

The challenge became how to suspend it without using chain because I wanted the chain to imitate a lamp shade.  The solution came to me to use steel plumbing pipe and run the wire through the pipe into the ceiling.  The black pipe gave it the industrial feel that I was going for and gives it a modern look.  I added the union between the two pipes to emphasize the pipe junction.  I used 1/2" black pipe and the chain is from a bunch of places I've been collecting it.

The wood is barnwood from Texas that was cut into a circle using a jigsaw and a router.  I stained it ebony and used the chain to drape it around the wood like a shade.

I chose the socket for this one to have the black tab-style key because I love how it brings together the modern yet vintage look.  So proud of this one, finally done!

Sandy didn't stop this Urban Chandy!

My last post was the day Sandy hit and changed our lives forever.  Little did I know that Build It Green NYC's Gowanus location would be flooded by 8 feet of water from the toxic canal nor that my own new minivan (pictured proudly in my last post hauling a 10-ft scaffolding plank with back door completely closed!) would be flooded in 5 feet of seawater from New York Harbor.  So life became a little complicated...


Both the Battery Tunnel (Hugh Carey Tunnel) and underpass to FDR flooded in 20 min when the tide surged.

I was finally able to get over to Build It Green the second week in November (no gas, no power, and my family still re-located to a temporary home in Bushwick) to learn that the door we chose for the chandy did not survive the flood waters from Hurricane Sandy.  So we found another one and decided this chandy was going TO HAPPEN come HELL or HIGH WATER!



This antique door survived the flood waters Sandy caused in 2012

I squeezed the door into my Mazda M5 rental car and managed to get it back to the studio where we went to work on it.  At one end there was a chunk of wood that rotted and had come off that we needed to mend and patch.  The door was stripped and planed to its original state which was still in good condition overall, not even compromised by the flood water.












One end had damage to the wood.

We used a wood filler to patch the broken end and sanded it down after removing the top layer of the wood with a planer.  We also patched the holes left by some remaining hardware and a hook.  The back was reinforced with pieces of ply wood to support the weight of the pendants.
It took us a couple of days but we managed to clean it up and stain it a beautiful ebony color and add over 80 pendants!!

We finished it and loaned it to Etsy for their Holiday Pop Up Shop in Soho, it hung above the bar and was a great source of light for shoppers.


Now it has finally made it's way back home to Build It Green NYC's Gowanus location, newly cleaned up and reopened after the storm.  It now hangs above the cash wrap in the store and we are so proud of its new home!

Urban Chandy at Build It Green NYC Gowanus