Art Underfoot

We’re just wrapping up another facet of the studio relocation to the Book Press building: the new office/showroom space. A 14 x 20 area was partitioned out of the 4800 sq. ft. shop to create a dust-free and “quieter” administrative workspace and display area for our concrete countertops and other cast architectural elements. We approached the project with an intention of honoring the hard-working past by giving it a new task: providing a textural counterpoint to the displays of finely finished artisan concrete which we will showcase there in the coming months.

The pre-existing  40 year old concrete slab floor was in pretty rough shape from its former life as a printing factory – gouges, drilled holes, layers of grease, ink, solvents, oil, and other nastiness had left their industrial mark. We scraped and scrubbed off the topmost layers, then rented a diamond floor grinder to get down to the raw concrete in preparation for staining it with a wash of transparent colors. We removedabout 60 pounds of concrete dust with the machine and an attached vacuum, exposing the aggregate to varying degrees in the process. Then multiple washes and wet-vaccing to clean up all residue before we spray applied 5 shades of water-based stain to create a vivid organic land/waterscape, sealed with a satin floor sealer. The result is a walkable canvas – what we call “Art Underfoot” – which will set the space apart as befits its purpose and “wow” our visitors with implications of concrete possibilities. Stop in and check it out!

A long absence from concrete countertop blogging, engendered by a protracted business relocation, is nearly over. No new posts since early December – wow! But now, six or seven weeks later, the shop is fully shifted and is now morphing back into production as we unpack boxes and crates and attempt to get the office/showroom into the same condition. We have been working the customer relations end from the old location at the Cotton Mill, waiting for the new office build-out to be completed – with mixed success; apologies to our clients and contacts who have been caught in the fallout. The new showroom plans include an overlayed and acid-stained floor!

Several concrete countertop projects have transpired in the interim and pictures and descriptions are long overdue. I hope to remedy that soon with updated posts and accompanying photos showcasing our latest work, including two more kitchens, a couple of vanity tops, a fireplace surround ensemble, restaurant tabletops and countertops, and others. Many more are in the wings as we begin to enjoy our new space and settle into a more efficient and productive studio workspace at the Book Press building in Brattleboro’s north end. Stay tuned, please!

Concrete countertops epitomize customization – and that’s the truth. No other material can be manipulated and personalized to the same degree. It’s the almost-magical phase change from liquid to solid that enables this opportunity; the artisan can work with and through the material to accomplish their design goals, be they straightforward or fantastical. Add to that the endless combinations of particular aspects such as color, shape, texture, dimension, amalgamation and the possibilities become limitless.

One example of the chameleon properties of artisan concrete countertops is the ability to coax several surface appearances from the same base. When concrete is turned out of the form, it has a solid, somewhat homogenous appearnance characterized by pigmented “cream”, the pure binder paste of cement and fines that line the face of the mold upon compaction in the pouring process. Lurking just below the surface are the aggregates that lend their strength to the matrix: first the sand grains and then the coarser particles, such as crushed stone or glass. The fabricator artist can reveal these at will, by varying the amount of grinding and polishing on the various faces of the piece. We have had a run lately (instigated by my friends in Putney) of what we term a light sand finish on the working countertop face, contrasted with a heavy grind on the vertical front edges. The subtle mottling and sparkle of the filled and polished worktop is set off by the multi-colored diamond ground profile of the counter’s edge, accented by a thin bevel where they meet. No other material can match this striking combination. Which is why we love what we do…

Concrete Detail has planning a move to new quarters in a different area of Brattleboro, Vermont which is our base of operations. We are in a 1700 sq.ft. shop right now, part of an old textile mill near the Connecticut River on the south end of town. The property is owned and administered by BDCC as an incubator space to encourage new and growing businesses. They are great landlords and friends.

They also own a former printing facility on the north end of town which we have had our eyes on for awhile. A very large complex, there is a plethora of wonderful space there just begging to be used for cool creative businesses. We are beginning the buildout of our new space, taking 2400 sq.ft. for now (a 30% expansion) and an option for 2400 more, down the road. We will be moving into  true industrial space, 16 ft. ceilings, no obstructions, concrete floors (we’re on wood flors currently, which is a problem for water management),  and lots of very nice access. The slab is being cut in the next couple days to install drainage for our wet processes. Then wiring, some more walls, doors and windows and we can move in (and pay for it!). A little nerve-wracking, but very exciting. The future’s so bright…

Concrete Sink Demolded

We just demolded the latest concrete countertop creation – a large shallow sink  to be used as an iced beverage display in a full remodel at a well-known eatery in Manchester, Vermont: Works Bakery Cafe. We are creating all the worktops and service counters, as well as the cafe tables and the aforementioned ice bin display. Half of the new tops are wetcast and the other half are hand-pressed for a tone-on-tone effect (a la my good friend Buddy Rhodes. There is a total of about 20 pieces in the whole project, a big job for us, but worthwhile.

Works Bakery Cafe has a strong affirmation to utilize sustainable building practices and materials in all of its retail outlets, as part of its corporate commitment to environmental and social responsibility. Cast elements created by Concrete Detail and used in the Manchester store are a part of that philosophy; they are locally hand-crafted using regionally obtained raw materials, they are naturally inert surfaces which incorporate recycled content in their makeup, they are formed and cast specifically for the restaurant’s applications with no wasted material in fabrication, and they are custom designed especially for the task, so they are an environmentally sound, appropriate solution for the project.

More to come!

E-correspondence is amazing and terrifying, all at once. We’ve been working at forging connections and expanding our presence, amateur SEO-types that we are, and the effect is palpable. Talk about ripple effect!  We are aiming to connect with other concrete countertop artisans and anyone interested in the same: designers, architects, specifiers, kindred craftsmen, and the like. Dilettantes and hoi polloi need not apply. We are Twittering and we are LinkedIn; we are blogging and we are surfing; and we check our e-mail like nobody’s business. Let’s hook up!

We are well underway with another local kitchen remodel project: concrete countertops and a concrete farm sink, fully integrated with a cool branching drainboard and soap recess. We performed another first with this undertaking – a simultaneous layered wet pour in two different colors: our “Night” and “Cayenne” shades. As expected, there is bleeding at the freeform interface where the pigments meet, in a very dynamic and organic manner. This is another example of the design possibilities of artisan concrete countertops and elements, made by hand and heart for the individual.  The photos above show the freshly demolded piece, ready for curing and processing in a few days…

Hand-pressed in gray and blue

Sorry folks – I haven’t been able to steal a minute and post lately… the phone’s ringing off the hook. With the launch of Concrete Detail’s website almost three months ago, the news is spreading and the interest is growing. A recent client (the Vermont Verde Antique-inspiration project) was just relating to me a story about their recent trip down South: nearly everywhere they turned, they saw concrete countertops – at a resort, a hotel, in several homes… And now they will have  one of their own in Brattleboro, Vermont! We have calls coming in from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and of course Vermont. Concrete countertops have caught the conservative eye of New England and made a good impression; and why not? Concrete is a reflection of the owner and the artisan, a collaboration of art-formed. Always original, always extraordinary.

PS   Final install pictures of the marbled top coming soon…

We are working up our official sample sets, comprised of 15 beautiful earthy colors of concrete, showcased by 3 1/2 inch square “chips”  labelled and housed in a very nice wooden box with a hinged lid. These sets will be available for showrooms and designers to show prospective clients the range of expression possible in an artisan concrete countertop; of course, there is always the custom color option, since with concrete there are no limits! The colors were cast in small sheets at 3/4 inch thick, polished and sealed, then diamond sawn into squares, the cut edges eased for handling,  and each variety labelled with the color name for identification.

These are our fifteen colors (which will probably evolve over time – change is inevitable!):Night, Thunder, Fog, Bone, Stone, Fossil, Sage, Saffron, Slate, Moss, Mocha, Cayenne, Terra, Caramel, and Wine. And that’s just for starters.

The next concrete countertop project we are forming involves a molded edge along the entire perimeter in an ogee pattern; one of the countertop sections, a peninsula, has an overhanging end rounded to a 48 inch radius. Certainly, there are many ways to achieve a given effect – inthis case we opted to use a strip of flexible 1/4″ acrylic sheet, ripped on the table saw with a fine tooth hollow ground blade to the 1 1/2 inch desired thickness. The radius pattern is traced on to the form base sheet and a series of backer blocks are placed along the arc, set back just enough to accomodate the acrylic strip. Then the strip is sprung into place and held in compression by two squeeze blocks at the ends.

The ogee edge is formed with 3/4″ wooden cove or scotia molding, waterproofed with several coats of polyurethane and tacked into place with a brad nailer. In order to make the sweep of the arched peninsula end, the molding is very carefully relieved on the back side with a series of saw kerfs and again sprung into place and brad-nailed. Everything is circumspectly caulked to maintain watertightness and smooth transitions and then set aside ready for the pour. It’s all in the details.