NOTES FROM THE ROAD | COMPLIMENTING CRAFTS

Well folks, the end of The Balvenie Rarecraft Roadshow is nigh. Nicholas and I have had grand time over the last eight months, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. And for me, the end hits close to home.

When I moved to the role of The Balvenie ambassador to the Eastern US a few years ago, I relocated to the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. And it was only miles from Williamsburg where I made one of the last two stops on the Roadshow – Remains Lighting in Bushwick.

Remains Lighting is the epitome of Bushwick’s character – a business rooted in industry with a high standard for quality and artistic integrity. It was founded by David Calligeros in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on the tenants of impeccable customer service, utmost quality and bespoke. Since opening, it has expanded to Brooklyn and opened showrooms in New York, Greenwich, Chicago, Los Angeles and London.

It was a drab day when I arrived but everyone in the workshop was in great spirits. I was escorted around by Yenni, a remains designer, who introduced me to several of the others working in the shop that day. The team exuded a sort of harmony in the way they interacted with each other; everyone had a specialty that fit seamlessly with specialties of their peers, like an A team of craftspeople. And they all had an artistic flare that filled the shop with feelings of hope and excitement.

If they’re not restoring an antique light – they’re making it from scratch. All of the coating, cutting and welding is done on site and every piece that’s made is finished to perfection by a department that’s dedicated to ensuring the final product is pristine and built to the customer’s specifications.

Much of their work is inspired by a famous designer called Tony Duquette who worked in Hollywood from the 40’s to the 90’s, and even if you don’t know who that is, you can see a common theme in their work – bold, bright and arresting designs.

It was surely a rare experience visiting Remains Lighting and one I’ll not soon forget.

After the entire Remains Lighting crew got a good long look at the Morgan, I hopped in for a short drive to Long Island City, Queens, to see Joel Voisard and Forrest Lowry of Lowry Voisard Designs.

It was at a Flea Market in Brooklyn some months ago that I saw some of their furniture, and was so taken by it that I made a mental note to visit during the New York portion of the Roadshow.

Joel and Forrest have only been working together as Voisard Designs for 6 months but if you met them, you would think they were lifelong partners. They share a singular vision that could only be achieved by the melding of their talents – Joel the visionary with a Master of Fine Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design and Forrest, the ultimate craftsman who’s been making things with his hands as long as he can remember. They make just about anything you would see in a household, from lamps to furniture.

As we’ve seen with so many of the other craftspeople on the Roadshow, they make their product out of reclaimed materials, giving new life to objects that would otherwise go in the trash. Joel showed me how they make beautiful lamps out of parts taken from machines that were used to make cash-registers decades ago. It was a stunning transformation from a rusty bulk of metal to an elegant, functioning lamp.   Their team work was no more evident than when Joel pointed out a beautiful piece of walnut wood that he’d saved from a burn pile while attending a wedding in Pennsylvania and Forrest proceeded sand and plane it down using tools he’d made himself. The true beauty of this discarded wood was exposed to us right before our eyes. Amazing!

It was clear, after talking to Forrest, that keeping their craft alive was almost just as important as practicing the crafts themselves. As Forrest was taught how to sharpen blades when he was a child, he passes his craft on to a set of young apprentices that work at the shop.

We captured some great footage from the visit with Voisard Designs that we’ll be posting the Roadshow blog in the near future. And even though the Roadshow has wound down to its final stop, we have much more to share over the coming weeks. Check back soon.

Sláinte,

Andy