Port Royal Sconces Make An Appearance At Winterthur

Another successful Heritage Metalworks – Winterthur collaboration has made its way onto the Winterthur Estate. The two sconces that frame the doorway featured below are Port Royal Sconce reproductions, exclusively done by Heritage Metalworks for placement on the Winterthur Estate.

As we are licensed to reproduce Winterthur designs, Heritage offers a wide selection of authentic replicas of the Port Royal sconce and many other iconic antique reproduction lighting, hardware and ornamental metal objects from the Winterthur Museum and Garden.

For more information about Winterthur designs and our antique lighting reproduction capabilities, please visit our website www.heritage-metalworks.com. You can also find more historic light fixtures in our catalog of our Heritage Classic antique chandeliers, available upon request.

Rod Iron, Rot iron, Wrought Iron…but probably not.

Wrought Iron Detail

Rod Iron, Rot iron, Wrought Iron…but probably not.

The word “wrought” is an archaic past tense form of the verb “to work,” and so “wrought iron” literally means “worked iron”.

Since the last manufacturer of Real Wrought Iron stopped producing it domestically back in the 1960’s, the raw material has become one of the most abused, misused, and sometimes blatantly misrepresented history. Imagine if a restaurant referred to beef stew as filet mignon. Now you have a relative understanding of what it’s like to say something is made of wrought iron when it’s actually hot-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel, cast iron, pig iron or even aluminum. Today, far less than one one-millionth of all ferrous material made is true wrought iron.

What’s the big difference? There are several actually. First, genuine wrought has a very low carbon content, making it much less susceptible to corrosion. To help in this cause, wrought iron has an interwoven glass-like slag grain called iron silicate which helps bond the layers of iron together while adding a non-corrosive protective “coating”. Wrought iron metal is more bendable & malleable.

Another big difference is the cost. Genuine wrought iron can cost upwards of $13 per pound, whereas it’s distant cousin mild steel – the material most often used to represent this ancient blacksmith’s preferred medium – is typically around 1/20^th of that. The cost is probably a product of a time-consuming manufacturing process. It’s probably also because there’s only one place in the world to get genuine wrought iron. That is, aside from recycling an old bridge, ship, chain or fence.

So then why use wrought iron? The simplest reason is that it weathers well with just a light wax coating, highlighting wrought contours, natural grain and delicately chased details rather than burying them under primer and paint. For those who appreciate the skill of an artisan blacksmith, wrought iron offers the character and longevity mild steel simply cannot. Your choice – filet mignon, or beef stew?

Heritage Metalworks Featured In Philadelphia Style Magazine

Read about how to display our new Maker’s Mark Collection of lighting for maximum impact in a room, and learn a little about the history of Heritage Metalworks in this great article by Christina Pellegrini. Pick up the September 2011 issue of Philadelphia Style Magazine or scroll down to the magazine clip below. Let us know what you think!

Traditional Anniversary Metals – Measure Your Years in Metal

Inspired by a customer who came in a couple weeks ago, we made a list of all the traditional anniversary gifts suggestion that involve metal. And we thought those just had to do with expensive accessories, but it turns out there is life beyond jewelry…We hope you enjoy our list and for more information read the full anniversary gift suggestion list that steered us.

5^th Anniversary: Wood

The traditional anniversary gift for the fifth year consists of wood. While we know that this isn’t actually a metal, we had some ideas for incorporating metal for a better overall gift. For example, the antiqued door at the left holds a beautifully intricate custom iron piece as a decorative accessory for the door. Other gift ideas include furniture, hand-crafted figurines and a bonsai plant.
6^th Anniversary: Iron

For the sixth year of marriage, tradition recommends something iron. Our pick is this double-tiered iron chandelier from our Maker’s Mark Collection, shown below. There are many iron chandelier options from our collection, however, so this is just one example of iron lighting one could gift. Another choice for the iron year gift? Railings, gates or other decorative metalworks would suffice.

10^th Anniversary: Tin or Aluminum

Believe it or not, the tenth year is tin (ten – get it?) or aluminum for the anniversary present. We have a variety of sconces and chandeliers that we make out of tin, so don’t buy a tool shed or new roof just yet. Shown at the left, here’s one example of something tin that doesn’t sacrifice style for material. For other routes, consider tin cup jewelry, an aluminum wine holder, or a tin of exotic tea or coffee.



11^th Anniversary: Steel

Steel doesn’t have to be used industrially to adorn your household. For the eleventh year, a custom steel pot rack (as shown below) is definitely a viable option for the creative and culinary inclined. Clean up the kitchen as a gift for your spouse. Other gift ideas include steel golf clubs, appliances, a steel barbecue grill or a stainless steel cooking utensils.

15^th Anniversary: Crystal

Crystal is the fifteenth anniversary tradition for a gift. The crystal chandelier shown at the left is just one way to purchase something exquisite and crystal. A long-lasting and permanent gift for your spouse, the chandelier is handmade and classically done. If you missed our previous entry about this Perry & Co reproduction, you can read it here. Crystal gift ideas could also include jewelry, like Swarovski pieces, or crystal drink ware.










25^th Anniversary: Silver

While this flower detail sconce at the left is actually plated in nickel, not silver, it would look resplendent in silver-plating as a 25th anniversary gift. One advantage of custom companies like ours is the capability to put virtually any finish on our products. Transform your lighting for your anniversary with a silver-plating finish, or choose another silver gift like jewelry, picture frames, or a trip to a “silver location” like Silver Springs, FL.








50^th Anniversary: Gold

Another piece shown in a polished semblance to the anniversary metal is the polished brass below. The traditional fiftieth year gift is gold, and the options are endless but pricey in this economy. Instead of buying something of pure gold, gold plating on a fixture like the one below would be an impressive alternative, though a smaller lighting piece like a sconce would be more economical. Other gift ideas for the golden gift include jewelry, watches and a trip to the “Gold Coast.”

100^th Anniversary
Our Suggestion for this joyous occasion is Paktong. This precious mixed metal is not anywhere as expensive as platinum, but is much rarer. An ancient Chinese alloy, Paktong has a hue between silver and gold, and is low-tarnishing, like your relationship must be to survive a hundred years. We suggest this Diamond’s are a Girl’s Best Friend Hanging Lantern from the right as your celebration of a century together.

If you can’t find anything exactly right for your spouse one year, there are always other options than shopping. For example, you can make something yourself, because handmade never goes out of style, right? We agree, but while cutouts of your hand with glitter on top may be a crown-pleaser from the kids, it doesn’t have quite the same amount of charm from your marriage partner…Consider getting your metal anniversary gift custom-made!

Browse our gallery of past custom lighting, hardware, gate and home accessory projects for ideas. There’s nothing better than a gift that’s long-lasting, detailed and unique.

A Perry & Co Design – Altered and Reproduced Beautifully.

This beautiful antique English chandelier replica is headed out of our shop, but not before we share it with the design world. This fixture is a reproduction of a 19th century chandelier, which we custom-built for a private residence. All the crystal was hand-cut and hand-polished in the old-fashioned manner, but per client’s order, we altered the original design. Find out what company made the original below. 

 The Perry & Co’s design, shown below at the left, was the basis for our reproduction. The original piece was 72″ by 54″ and had 16 arms, so we had our work cut out for us to scale it down and alter the design for only 12 arms. Our client requested that we change the arms of the chandelier to match the arms of the sconces we already reproduced for them (designs taken from historical Osler sconces). Shown below at the right, the sconces we fabricated and had to alter the chandelier above to – so they would make the perfect formal dining room lighting set.

Show at the right is just one step we took to accommodate this client request. Building a mock chandelier piece by piece with foam allowed us and the customer to visualize what the end product would look like. We knew even from this model that it would be stunning! Just one more example of what a custom manufacturer can do with their craftsmanship! For more examples of our custom work, browse this lighting gallery on our website.

The Song Writers of the Design World

Songwriters are the unsung stars of the music industry. They use their creative and technical skills to deliver music and words, which singers combine to bring out into the world and receive recognition and admiration for. The singers of the design world are the interior designers and architects who consistently deliver what their clients want, and more often than not, exceed the customer’s dream interior or exterior. 

The unsung contributor, however, is the custom manufacturers who dance delicately behind the scenes, not looking for credit, just seeking to deliver that lighting fixture or hardware design even better than the “singer” anticipated.

One of those manufacturers, our own Matt White (pictured above), says that manufacturer-designers are not looking for full credit for a product. He explains that he just enjoys working hand-in-hand with designers, bouncing ideas back and forth on the journey towards a great end product. Experienced at partnering with design professionals, White has worked with well-known interior designers and architects, like internationally-known French designer Matali Crasset, on complicated projects like Meta’s “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” hanging lantern (pictured at right). 

“Working with Matali Crasset was great,” says White. “From basic designs and sketches, we worked the concept together to come up with specific details.” 

Custom lighting, hardware and home accessories manufacturers like us, Heritage Metalworks, understand that the key to partnership lies in trust. Design professionals need to have a certain comfort level in order to entrust their creative ideas to a custom manufacturer who will iron out the details. While designers and architects may have a sketch, photo, idea or even a piece that they want brought to life, it’s the manufacturer who has to figure out how to make the creative plan a reality. Details like electrification, glass placement and structural stability are left to the manufacturer, whose only goal is to not only give the designer what they want – but make it better than they anticipated.

 For more information on custom work or samples of past projects, please our custom page.

Fourth of July Design picks!

In deference to the cause of the wonderful three-day weekend that is upon us, we at Heritage Metalworks put together a little blog post pointing you towards some patriotic gear to dress up your home.

This eagle-topped chandelier will channel patriotic tones in any home it decorates, whether as colonial as the one pictured or not. The shiny brass lightens and brightens any atmosphere.

Keep your home as safe and secure with a lock, but why not protect your right of freedom at the same time? This custom lock is perfect for signaling your independence and pride in the United States.

Here’s a different type of light fixture; the eagle affixed to the top of a lantern makes this simple light much more interesting. The regal bird presides over the lantern and keeps it from becoming a tad boring.

Another way to employ some USA pride in your hardware is the two examples above and below. The below image proudly represents flags flying. The above photo is another eagle-based hardware piece, this time a handle. Both are majestic and can serve to complement a patriotic interior or exterior design scheme. 

Creating Ambiance With Lighting

Interior design encompasses a variety of factors in any one room: colors, furniture, shape, walls, accessories and most importantly – lighting. Lighting is the key ingredient in the perfect, yet ever-changing recipe for top interior designers’ work. It can lighten or darken a room. It can enlarge a small space or make a large one cozier. It can modernize tradition or add rich history to the contemporary. Basically, lighting can transcend, flavor or create styles for any given space. One hand-picked lighting piece makes a room’s design a success, but a poorly-chosen one can just as easily create a failure.

This exquisite and unique light incorporates a variety of styles to bring an intimate, masculine feel to the billiard room shown here. When complimented with hidden track lighting, which can be adjusted to reflect a need for brighter or dimmer light, this one-of-a-kind lighting fixture brings an artistic, modern element to the space without losing the rustic cabin feel of the room. Somehow, this room has become sophisticated and rough simultaneously because of one hand-crafted custom light.

While this exterior chandelier is not even lit, it is easy to see that even its presence transforms a simple patio. Combined with the matching sconces on the far wall, the lighting fixture channels absolute relaxation and intimacy without creating a heavy atmosphere. This room could be adjoined to your next-door neighbor’s home, or it could be a part of an ultra-exclusive spa. The chandelier brings the room from a simple outdoor porch to a luxurious escape.

The warmth and tradition in this photo, and this space, is sealed by the authentic English chandelier hanging above the table. Tied together throughout the area, the appealing gleam of brass draws the eye upward and elongates the room. This chandelier adds a brightness the space would otherwise be lacking, whether the electricity is on or off. While such a traditional and cozy room could become commonplace and dark, a brass lighting fixture picks up any light and reflects its glow about the room.

All lighting fixtures are hand-crafted by Heritage Metalworks. For more lighting tips and tricks, check out this blog by an interior design firm or visit our website for more examples of our work: www.heritage-metalworks.com.

Prepare To Quit Your Day Job

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One year ago around right Memorial Day, Heritage Metalworks was in the middle of renovating, expanding and converting an abandoned machine shop into our future tailor-made 10,000 square-foot “manufacturing” (notice the quotes) facility.

Before the renovation and expansion

Having wished for someone to provide guidance and advice along with some do’s and don’ts before we charged into the unknown, it seems appropriate that we share a little of what we’ve learned in the process. (In the spirit of Memorial Day)

After the renovation

1.)       Over-estimate by 15%.  Even if you don’t need it, you’ll sleep better at night and also have the flexibility to improve the project with ideas that will come later.

2.)       Research your subcontractors. Use binding contracts with completion incentives & large hold-backs

3.)      Plan for unreliable subcontractors even after you’ve researched them and used contracts with completion incentives and large hold-backs

4.)       Start with good building plans but expect them to change – a lot.

5.)       Plan for bad weather, a shallow water table, hidden underground storage tanks and an unreasonable building code.  Plan for more unknowns than that.

6.)       Expect to make mistakes and learn from them.  Ask for advice but make decisions yourself and communicate them in writing.

7.)       Expect that subs will make mistakes and double-check EVERYTHING they do.

8.)       Realize that building inspectors are generally on your side.  But they do make mistakes, they do miss mistakes, and they do interpret the building code – a lot.

9.)       Plan to spend 3 to 5 times as much time supervising as you think you’ll need.

10.)    Before starting, get in the frame of mind that it’s an adventure, not a job.  Chances are, you‘ll never want to do it again, so think as a once-in-a-lifetime “experience.”

Hire a general contractor if anything above seems unreasonable.  Feel free to contact us directly if you’d like more information about our particular renovation or yours – We are happy to help!

A Modern Twist on Tradition

It’s said that there is nothing new under the sun – that we are just repeating something that has already been done, but possibly with our own twist. The twist in the design world currently seems to be transcending periods to modernize tradition or spin contemporary conservatively. Homeowners with architectural-period homes or traditional buildings want to keep their interiors from getting too “old,” and those with newer homes want to incorporate a sense of history and culture.

While this basically applies to anything in the interior design industry – furniture, cabinetry, lighting (more on lighting in a later post) – it especially applies to an overlooked category where the items are too often labeled a specific style: hardware. Period hardware is often ornate, heavy and detailed, like the Carpenter Lock above and the Keyhole Latch below. It looks antiqued and a little worn, even if it is brand new. While there is definitely demand for period hardware, there’s a rising desire for transitional pieces instead.

For instance, this detailed, artistic door handle seems very Arts & Crafts – period – yet next to stained and “bubbled” glass, it becomes much more progressive and interesting than a simple period door set. A more modern setting of well-chosen historic or traditional hardware can keep your home from being too “period” yet still embrace past fashions.

Another way to transcend periods and styles in your interior design is to change the finish or material of the hardware set. This brass box lock below takes on an entirely different ambiance when done in brass instead of the traditional iron or bronze. When you’re dealing with a custom company, especially one that makes hand-crafts everything in its shop like we do, the options are all but limitless for tailoring period-neutral hardware to your needs. For more information and photos, check out our hardware gallery on our website.