The Mind of Leo Dowell

I asked Leo Dowell to snap a few photos for me of the lanterns we custom made for him in the surroundings of the home he designed, because I'm simply in love with his fairy tale like architectural details he creates.  I have to say that the wait was worth every minute!  As soon as I looked at the photos attached to my e-mail, a large smile appeared on my face and my heart warmed with feelings of happiness!

Leo creates these fabulous French Country Estates as authentic as possible, but his little extra touches are what makes the homes that much more special.  Take a look at the adorable hand painted wooden shutters, don't they look like they came straight out of a fairy tale?  That's exactly what I'm talking about!

The lanterns we bult for the front doors needed an extra special bracket, since the gas line had to come out of the top of the lanterns and attach way above it and to the side, as you can see in the photo above.  Yet instead of dropping pendants  from those locations, Leo came up with a way to still have beautifully mounted bracket lanterns; no detail is too small in Leo's world!  He thinks like us in that way, and that's one of the many reasons why we love him so much.

Now, if there's one custom made copper and wrought iron lantern you must see, it's this one!  Leo designed it and we fabricated it with delight!  Isn't it the most adorable design you have ever seen? Next time I'm in Charlotte, (NC) I'll be sure to visit him and hopefully see some of his work personally!

***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

Elegant Wrought Iron Gates and Fence: Before and After

New Fence, Gate, and Lanterns by Potter Art Metal Studios

You'd be surprised what a difference a new wrought iron gate and fence can do for your property.  I even have a before and after photo to help illustrate my point.

I loved designing the new custom made wrought iron gates (with solid brass details), fence and brass lighting for a residential building off Sherry Lane and Douglas, in Dallas.  Our client wanted a new and fabulous look for his two entrances, and so we jumped right in!  It was a great opportunity to make some really nice,  large scale, and heavy gates.  The pair of gates on one side of the multi-story building open in and the one pictured above is actually a slider which we made look like a matching pair; I thought they would look much more grand and inviting this way.  The lanterns have matching wrought iron brackets with a beautiful solid brass body.  They are proportioned to the existing posts.

wrought iron fencing matching the gates

The fence is actually quite simple, but very effective.  I love the elegant scrolls on the top; we made sure that all the scrolls were forged to a tip and had a lovely flow to them; otherwise the effect would not work and the fence would look like any off the shelf fencing out there.

Original Gate we replaced.

The original gate was too light weight and did not have much of an actual design; it was your regular off the shelf looking gate.  Because the building itself looks quite commercial, the gate did also.  Our client's visitors would constantly mistake the building for a commercial one and drive right past it; he wanted an impressive entrance so that all he'd have to say is "You'll know you're there when you see the gates."  ...and he got exactly what he wanted.

***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

CRÚ Food and Wine Bar: Contemporary Storefront

"We are the custom metalwork company for you!"...When Patrick Colombo came to our showroom with a request for a new, contemporary storefront for CRÚ, a Food and Wine Bar in the Upper Kirby District in Houston, we all got super excited because we happened to have been enjoying Patrick's Dallas based restaurants for quite a while now and CRÚ offers a glimpse into the sophisticated world of wines from all over the world.  Pair that with a large selection of delicious stone oven fried pizzas and artisan cheeses and you have got yourself a wonderful spot for an evening with friends and family filled with atmosphere like no other.

The storefront came out beautifully!  I especially love the understated door and the hardware we made for it.  I can't wait to drop by the next time I'm in Houston!   On that note, I'm going to leave you with a photo of the yummy pizza made at CRÚ!

***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

The New Look of Highland Park Village

Recently HP Village got a facelift and we are proud to be a small, but fun part of the project!  One of our local designers, Elizabeth Robertson asked us to put on paper a flattering design, which melted right into the look of the Village.  We hand forged the new flower basket brackets on the  freshly installed post lamps.  I drove by the Village on the way back from a client's home, yesterday, and snapped a photograph of one of the flower pot brackets next to Jimmy Choo.  The lanterns in the background were also made by Potter Art Metal Studios... quite a few years ago.

Flower pot brackets and lantern made by Potter Art Metal

Most of the lanterns around the Village were originally made by Henry Potter, Richard Potter's (the current owner of Potter Art Metal Studios) grandfather.

Original HP dragon sketch by Potter Art Metal

I found an original sketch online from the Henry Potter Collection located in SMU's Hamon Arts Library (Bywaters Special Collection), which consists of several hundred shop sketches and accompanying invoices of lighting fixtures, furniture, and other items, primarily in iron.

Next time you drive by the Village, notice the interesting dragons and other beautiful Moorish lanterns spread throughout.



For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

AIA Dallas: Retrospect Kick Off Party 2012

Starting to get excited about the AIA Dallas Retrospect Kick Off Party tonight at North Park's Cibus Italian Restaurant.

I received my invitation in the mail a while ago and the night has finally come!

Surrounded by a beautiful garden setting, the exhibition will showcase some of the best work Dallas architects have to offer, and I can't wait to hear all about it since Dallas happens to rock in that department... one of many...

Check out AIA Dallas; the Dallas Chapter of The American Institute of Architects.  Some of my favorites are right here in Dallas and we have gotten the privilege of working with them!

House Hunting For The Rich and The Famous in Dallas

Photo from khloekardashian.celebuzz.com

Every time I click on my remote control, I happen to run into a preview of Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom buying a house in Dallas.  Normally it would be just another preview, except that the first thing my eye is drawn to is the wrought iron railing in the background of the Khloé & Lamar clip airing April 1st on E! (which I will have to take a photo of and post in here next time I see.)  Just as a shoe maker can't help but be drawn to the lower end of a woman's body, I can't help but hone in onto wrought ironwork and lighting.  
I would so love to get my hands on the metal railing in the background of one of the clips and replace it with a hand forged custom design, as opposed to the off the shelf components spliced all over this one.  There is nothing wrong with off the shelf components per say... they are wonderful for certain projects, but I think that this particular design could use a little help.  Classy and timeless I say!
I have posted a suggestion below; modern yet timelss... Khloé, what do you say?
Love, Izabela

***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

Wrought Iron Corbels

One of our clients decided on a granite top bar area by his swimming pool.  He thought he'd like wrought iron corbels as supports for the slab of granite.  We designed and hand forged them in iron and decorated them with ping hammered double copper banding.  I love wrought iron; they are gorgeous!

***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

Contemporary Pendant Chandelier

We have just finished this contemporary pendant chandelier for Lauri Griffin, a local interior designer, who has seen a chandelier like this, but didn't' like the poor execution of the fixture, plus, it happened to be the wrong size; a problem many interior designers struggle with on daily basis.
I made some changes which I thought would add to the esthetic of this contemporary piece, like square plates under the bone white candles, and a general up-sizing of just about every piece of material we used.  Plus, I thought a squared chain would echo the square candle plates beautifully, not to mention the fact that it would be so much more interesting then that regular Home Depot looking chain everyone uses on chandeliers.  We could have gone for the brushed nickel finish, but the brushed steel looks just as cool, without the extra hefty price tag, so we went with that.  I think it will be a great addition to the beautiful bedroom it's going to be hanging in; can't wait for Lauri to see it.
Most think of Potter Art Metal Studios as beautiful Old World Metalworkers.
I have to say that my guilty pleasure is the contemporary project we get here and there.
What you have to understand is that metal is only pieces of squares, rounds, and flats.  What you do with them is what the final product will look like.  It knows no boundaries between Formal French, Mediterranean, or Contemporary.  It's all in the design and the execution.

***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

80 Years Later...

Potter Art Metal fixes fixtures 80 years later

Brothers Baron Potter and Richard Potter III work on light

fixtures at their family business, Potter Art Metal Studios.

The 90-year-old company is restoring lights it

crafted generations ago. Photo by Can Türkyilmaz

Woodrow Wilson High School cost $700,000 to build, between 1926 and 1928, and it was the most expensive school building in Dallas. The school board hired Potter Art Metal Studios to craft detailed pendant lights and lanterns for the school’s exterior to give it distinctive ornamentation. And when J.L. Long Middle School opened in 1933, custom Potter fixtures graced its exterior, too.

Now both schools are undergoing renovations, and once again, the architects called on Potter to refurbish the light fixtures the family-owned company created more than 80 years ago. Richard Potter, the company’s third-generation owner, becomes animated talking about the project. Aside from approximately 30 outdoor fixtures for both schools, Potter also is refurbishing 21 lights from the Woodrow auditorium.

“They’ll be gorgeous,” he says. “You couldn’t appreciate the detail before.”

Workers clean and repair the pieces before adding a chemical patina to darken the details and finally, seal them with an acrylic lacquer. They’re also being rewired. A few of the fixtures must be replaced, and workers are replicating the 1920s designs.

The fixtures at Woodrow, built in the Elizabethan style, are gothic. And the fixtures from Long are art deco. The project is estimated to cost about $100,000. Potter says he doesn’t know how much the lights originally cost.

This isn’t the first time Potter has been asked to restore its own work, which appears in landmarks such as government buildings and White Rock Lake, as well as countless homes.

Unfortunately, the renovation project doesn’t have the funding to refurbish 10 art deco pendant lamps in the J.L. Long auditorium. They would cost about $5,000 a piece to restore, and the architects have opted to instead purchase new lights. But Potter and designer Izabela Wojcik are hoping that Long boosters might unite and somehow raise $50,000 to save the old light fixtures. For almost 80 years, Long students have been looking up at those artfully crafted pendants, and it would be a shame to replace them with something inferior.

“Off-the-shelf fixtures are not going to look as good,” Wojcik says. “These looked good 100 years ago, and they’re always going to look good.”

by Rachel Stone

February 2012

Advocate Magazine

Living Local in Lakewood/East Dallas

***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

Princi Italia: Contemporary Storefront Design

What do you think of when you hear Potter Art Metal Studios?  Most will say Old Wolrd custom metalwork.  It's a fact that we are known for the fancy and the elaborate, but we like to switch things up and get our hands into contemporary projects too.  At the end of the day, it's just metal, and the final look depends simply on what you do with it.  I happen to have an appreciation for all styles, and simply adore working on new things; it's fun to switch things up!

Our latest contemporary project? Princi | Italia (located at the NW corner Preston Road and Royal Lane in Dallas)

We worked on the iron doors, windows and the pergolas ...everything looks mighty good!  I think I'm going to stop by for a cup of coffee and a plate of something delicious tonight.

iron pergolas for Princi | Italia

custom contemporary iron doors
for Princi | Italia

custom iron doors, windows, and pergolas at Princi | Italia

***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com

Living Art: Celebrating The Creative Impulse and Dallas Artists

Dallas Cirque Theatre performers create a gallery of "Living Art" with cirque acts of Aerial
Silk, Lyra, Trapeze, Corde Lisse, Aerial Hammock, and Staff.

Celebrating the creative impulse and Dallas artists, each cirque act is inspired by art on
display by Izabela Wojcik and Brian Grobleski.

Staged at the beautiful Studios 1019, we invite you to enjoy this unique cirque experience,
replete with pre/post-show live violin music, an interactive art station, and light refreshments.

Please note: tickets are advance purchase only (not available day of show).

The Dallas Cirque Theatre is a grass-roots, cirque performance troupe by Dallas-area
residents for the people of DFW. Directed by Kimberly Adele and Dylan Keith (of Cirque Duo
partnership and the co-founders of CirqueFit), Dallas Cirque Theatre is proud to contribute to
Dallas' burgeoning arts scene.

Here is all the info, directly from the website:

When and Where:

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Showtimes at 2:30 and 7:30pm

at

Studios 1019

2278 Monitor Street 

Dallas, TX 75207

(Click address for directions)

Tickets:

Saturday, May5 @ 2:30pm

Saturday, May5 @ 7:30pm

Group discounts available starting at 8 tickets!

Email info@cirquefit.net for information.

*Credit card processing fee is $2.00 per ticket.

All tickets at will call. Doors open at 7:00pm.

*Credit card processing fee is $2.00 per ticket.

All tickets at will call. Doors open at 2:00pm.

© 2011 Illumine Arts LLC, related and affiliated entities - all rights reserved