Friday 15 February 2013

Explorer's Light

 Like something you might see in a jungle setting of a 1940's archaeological dig, there is more to this tripod light than meets the eye.

Starting out life as a weatherproof airport runway light, we sandblasted the aluminium housing for a soft, textured look then drilled and tapped the side bosses to accept the funky "Drama Faces" knobs that hold the light onto the custom built cradle.  These rare "comedy / tragedy" knobs are the ubiquitous icons of the "drama" industry. 

Completely rewired with a retro look, cloth covered cord and an all new electrical fixture, this is a new light in a vintage package.  The light and cradle are attached to a vintage surveyor's tripod.  While cleaning the base up, we carefully preserved the patina of age and wear.  To keep the legs from splaying out, we wove a vintage leather strap through the tripod's adjustable legs.  The leather strap was made supple by repeated hand rubbing with classic saddle soap.  

The end result is without a doubt one of the funkiest lights that Puffin Design has ever crafted.  As with all of our offerings this tripod light is 'one of a kind'.  $699



Monday 11 February 2013

Grandpa's Carpenter's Chest Coffee Table


Imagine receiving a very old carpenter's chest from good friends as a gift.  To make this chest even more special, it was hand built by the grandfather and used for his entire career.  With decades of nicks, scratches and paint drips... every one representing a story of a job well done, this trunk has a very special meaning... in essence, it contains a lifetime of memories. This history added a whole new dimension to repurposing this chest into a designer coffee table.  To start, we removed the damaged bottom, flipped the trunk over and added hidden castors.  We carefully repurposed wood from the discarded top and lined the new false bottom with the wonderfully aged and worn wood.  We had many surprises while working on this trunk like finding that all of the nails are hand forged.  Once the wood work on the chest was completed, we carefully hand rubbed on a neutral wood finish leaving as much of the original patina as possible. With such a wonderful base, the top required a very special design.  We used a very thin cast designer concrete which is less than 3/4's of an inch thick.  Utilizing an organic green base tone and adding dark veins and highlights, hand picked polished rocks, as well as some 'mother of pearl' chips; the top compliments the base while adding a unique contemporary flair.  The end result is visually remarkable.  This functional coffee table rolls easily, can hold things like a comforter inside, and has a durable stain resistant top.  Guaranteed to be the center of attention in any room.  Hopefully Grandpa would approve of his heirloom. 
 $899.00