- Many of the scrap parts require more than 100 hours of cutting, grounding, buffing and polishing to be transformed
- Their prices range from from 65 for a desk watch to 39,000 for a one-of-a-kind conference table made from a wing
By Jill Reilly
|
Vintage plane parts destined for the scrap heap have been given a new lease of life and being transformed into beds chairs and desks
Californian company Motoart spends hours transforming wings, doors and engine cowls into stylish furniture.
Many of the parts require more than 100 hours of cutting, grounding, buffing and polishing before they are ready to buy.
Powerful desk: The B-727 Cowling Airplane Valet Desk - this once covered the 727's engines which offered 14,000 pounds of thrust
Hot seat: The B-52 Bomber Ejection Chair, that comes with the original ejection pin with the remove before flight warning tag
Time for bed: The DC-10 Cowling Bed was formerly a 380 passenger McDonnell Douglas DC-10 plane and is now a modern 84" round bed measuring 105" in diameter where it features an illumination with LED's on the base and port holes
The company's bomber seats even come with the original ejector pin and 'remove before flight' warning tag.
Their prices range from from 65 for a desk watch to 39,000 for a one-of-a-kind conference table, made from a wing.
Dave Hall, joint owner of Motoart, based next to Los Angeles International Airport, said:
'The mile high beds are very popular with men - and they are almost always bachelors.
'The bed frames are made from the tail fins of a DC-9 aircraft.
Centre of attention: A C-119 Airplane desk made from the plane's rudder
Table top inspraiton: The B-52 Spinner Table (left) is an art deco design fabricated from an aerodynamic nose assembly gear box cover that protruded from each of the eight Pratt & Whitney J-57 jet engines, while the Douglas Pedal Table (right) is from the very rare Douglas C-133 aircraft
Bar: The PW-747 Cowling Bar made from authentic cowling that housed a Pratt & Whitney jet engine which powered a Boeing 747
Famous client list: Motoart have produced items for A-list celebrities, royalty in the Middle East, and big business clients including Microsoft and Boeing
'They cost between 10,000 and 20,000 but all our prices reflect the rarity of the aeroplane model.
'We only have 12 of the ejector seats left, so they are priced at 8,000 each.'
Motoart have produced items for A-list celebrities, royalty in the Middle East, and big business clients including Microsoft and Boeing.
Mr Hall said: 'A business executive who buys one of our desks certainly has a conversation starter when someone walks into their office.
'They are also being environmentally smart by owning one of our pieces.'
Labour of love: Dave Hall, owner of Motoart pictured at work in Los Angeles, California. 'The mile high beds are very popular with men - and they are almost always bachelors,' he said
The sky's not the limit: Employees working in the 20,000 square foot Motoart factory in Los Angeles
Mr Hall 45, set up Motoart in 2001 with Donovan Fell, 64.
The business now employs 17 people and turns over around 26 million a year.
They first got the idea of transforming aircraft parts after selling a set of formerly scrap propellors as art, in the late 1990s.
Office fun: The Fuselage desk - the company says it 'is also available as a set of four connected to form cubicles for extra privacy and an efficient use of office space'
Piece of history: The F-4 Ejection Seat , right, from the authentic F-4 bucket seat, has been left in original condition to reflect the Vietnam era plane
Trolley dolly: The Galley Cart Credenza is fitted with original brakes where the credenza can be fixed in a stationary position or be rolled and is completed with two diamond plated airline beverage carts
Mr Hall said 'Donovan had his doubts at first, but we cleaned the propellors up and sold them for 6,500 a piece - so we knew we were on to a winner.
'The scrap parts make up ancient aircraft history. The engineering that went into them is incredible and we only enhance that.
'Why wouldn't you want to own a piece of history that looks this good?'
Flying high: Named the Mile High Bed, this piece is fabricated from two DC-9 rear stabilizers and a C-130 inner flap - the bed is accented by 1/2" Plexiglas and illuminated with internal LED lighting
Inspiration: The pair got the idea of transforming aircraft parts after selling a set of formerly scrap propellors as art, in the late 1990s
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Antique china rental business opens: Something borrowed, something vintage - Amity Observer
Antique china rental business opens: Something borrowed, something vintage
Written by Joan Lownds
Monday, 04 June 2012 07:00
You could say it’s been a slow boat to China for Lauren Kreter and Chris Hickey. The two partners in Something Borrowed Vintage, a china rental company, find their wares by visiting antiques dealers and estate sales throughout the tri-state region.
“It’s a very circuitous route,” said Chris Hickey, of their recently launched business, which has a showroom at 101 Wilton Town Green.
Something Borrowed Vintage provides mismatched china, linens, flatware, and serving pieces at events ranging from weddings to afternoon teas and even pig roasts.
During their pilgrimages in search of fine china, the two partners have accumulated “thousands” of pieces, ranging from “an 1890 bone china plate hand-painted with rosettes and tipped in gold leaf” to a vintage collection of Wedgwood, Lenox and Art Deco china, according to Ms. Kreter, a Wilton native. “It has been a painstaking effort,” she said.
Along with hand-painted plates, tea cups, sugar bowls and creamers, their collection also includes delicate two-handled consommé bowls and parfait dishes.
The business is one of only a few of its kind in the country. “We’ve heard there’s other vintage china rental companies in Los Angeles, Chicago and Texas,” said Ms. Kreter.
Despite the fact advertising has been mostly word of mouth among wedding planners and brides in the area, the company is thriving, according to Ms. Kreter. “It has been going very well,” she said.
Several weddings and a major event on Governor’s Island have already been booked for the summer, and Something Borrowed Vintage recently provided the china for the “Fork It Over” fund-raiser for the Westport Farmers Market.
Both Ms. Kreter and Mr. Hickey have experience in the restaurant field, including The Schoolhouse at Cannondale, where Ms. Kreter is the event planner.
It was here they got the idea for their business, when a prospective bride expressed a desire for mismatched vintage china at her wedding, and Ms. Kreter and Mr. Hickey attempted to accommodate her wishes. “We raided our friends’ and relatives china cabinets” and began their now habitual trips to antiques dealers and tag sales.
The wedding was a success, and the partners decided to make use of the stacks of china they had acquired — and launched their new business.
Ms. Kreter said brides often match their color schemes with the colors in the china. “For example, if there are gold tones in the dresses, they match it with gold in the china patterns,” she said.
As a graduate of cosmetology school, Ms. Kreter has an eye for color, she said.
What is the appeal of the vintage china?
“You may see a piece and flash back to a memory from growing up and having dinner at grandma’s house,” said Ms. Kreter. “It seems that we have come full circle ... Or, perhaps it just brings beauty to your eyes or events.”
Something Borrowed Vintage also “recycles everything,” Mr. Hickey said. “If a dish breaks, we even recycle that. We might make a picture frame out of the pieces, for example.”
Ms. Kreter and Mr. Hickey not only create the vintage table settings, but they deliver and pick up. “We wash the dishes, too,” said Ms. Kreter.
Information: someborrowedvintage.com, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or 203-434-2164.
Source: www.acorn-online.com
City Furniture unveils new store, expansion plans - slideshow - The Business Journal
City Furniture President Keith Koenig believes that what makes the company’s brands stand out is the “great style, great value, great people [and] great delivery.”
City Furniture has unveiled its new, expanded Pinecrest location and plans for further expansion in South Florida.
The Tamarac-based furniture retailer transformed its showroom at 9255 S. Dixie Highway, adding a second floor and green-design upgrades, and created 25 jobs.
The new showroom is part of City Furniture’s $17 million South Florida expansion, which includes five new stores built to meet green-building standards, as the company seeks Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
“We admire and value environmental sustainability so the whole green building movement is very much consistent with what we were doing even before there was a green building movement or an LEED certification,” President Keith Koenig said.
In addition, today’s consumer values companies that do the right thing, both socially and environmentally, he said.
A City Furniture location is currently under construction next to an existing store at 18780 S. Dixie Highway in Cutler Bay. Upon completion, City Furniture will open in the new location, and the existing store will be transformed into an Ashley Furniture HomeStore . City Furniture is the Ashley Furniture HomeStore licensee for southeast and southwest Florida.
An Ashley Furniture HomeStore is also under construction at Federal Highway and Northeast 38th Street in Oakland Park, and construction of an Ashley Furniture adjacent to an existing City Furniture showroom in West Palm Beach is to begin in August.
With the new stores, City Furniture plans to create about 60 additional jobs by 2013.
The company has strategically placed City Furniture locations next to Ashley Furniture HomeStores because consumers can then “drive once, shop twice,” Koenig said.
See all your followed company news on your personalized dashboard.
To access the full benefits of bizWatch and receive a weekly email with aggregated news on all the companies you are following, please provide your email address below.
You must have a bizjournals account to follow a company.
Please Log In or Register.
Source: www.bizjournals.com
Now that's a creative approach - 'plane' and fancy at the same time!
- DrMallard, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 04/6/2012 19:34
Report abuse