Case Studies
Carousel Jumper Horse
Our Customer's Challenge
We had a customer with a large number of pieces to be restored after being damaged by a house fire. One of the items in need of total restoration and an upgrade in the way it would be displayed was a carousel jumper horse. While not burned, the horse had suffered damage due to heat and smoke. Also, it was missing a number of the jewels that needed to be replaced.
Custom Sewing Machine Vanity
Our Customer's Challenge
We were contacted by an out of state customer that had seen work we had done for a friend of hers in Michigan. After seeing a photo of an item in a magazine, she wanted us to restore, adapt, and rebuild her family’s old White Treadle Sewing Machine it into a vanity to be used in the bathroom of her northern Michigan home. Armed with the magazine photo and her sewing machine, we set out to build her dream.
Custom Acrylic Furniture
Our Customer's Challenge
Dave Gamez of Health Delivery contacted us to inquire about custom fabricating some very unique items for his headquarter facility. Because Health Delivery occupies the former Michigan National Bank building in downtown Saginaw, he had on hand a significant amount of 1-1/4” acrylic that was used to protect the tellers. Dave was looking for someone to fabricate the various sized pieces into functional furniture to be used at Health Delivery. While acrylic isn’t wood, it cuts and shapes very much like wood, so we accepted the challenge.
Quarter Sawn Oak Server
Our Customer's Challenge
A customer brought in a very unusual quarter sawn oak server with a mirror that needed to be fully restored. He had received the piece from his mother when he was in his late teens in very poor condition. To his credit he didn’t try to “restore” it himself and had the foresight to hold onto the piece to have it properly restored someday. The piece had some major problems - the quarter sawn oak veneer on the server top along with large pieces of veneer on the mirror frame were missing, as well as a number of areas where the veneer had delaminated. Fortunately, many of the parts were still in good condition, such as the case, the curved doors, and the very detailed carvings on the large bottom drawer and legs.
Custom Crucifix and Cross
Our Customer's Challenge
A Mid-Michigan Church supply business we work with approached us to build a custom cross for a Catholic Church in Grand Rapids. The church's original sanctuary had been destroyed by fire and a new sanctuary was under construction. A 7 foot tall corpus carving of Christ was being supplied by the church supply company to hang from the cross. The new cross we were commissioned to create had to be made from oak and be 16' tall. The new cross and crucifix of Christ would be placed in the front of the new church. There were a number of challenges that had to be addressed to assure the combined structure of crucifix and cross would be solid and secure when put in place.