I’ve always liked to understand, create, and build things. So, when I found industrial design it seemed like the perfect fit. My training and experience ingrained in me that good process delivers good outcomes. My curiosity and love of making things motivates me to learn new skills and develop them. I’m pretty sure the combination of these two qualities is how I got here.
There is a part of EDMM studio that’s kind of always been there—doing things the right way, not adding the unnecessary, keeping it simple–but I put a name on it, and started to focus my efforts in late 2014. After leaving a job that was a bad fit and not wanting to go back to welding in a shipyard, I decided to start my own business. The time was as right as it was going to get. I had a few months before my son would be born and my wife was into it—so I got to work. I incorporated, designed and built some furniture, took a bunch of pictures, and put it all on the internet.
Where to build things when you live in a city can be a real challenge. Not owning many tools and not having a garage, I started working out of a nearby cooperative shop that had both woodworking and metalworking tools–mostly on evenings and weekends. Every time I got an order it was a bit of a crunch, but the best kind of crunch. I’m thrilled (and lucky) to have my own shop now, and to be able to work the way I want.
I’m not into “extra” anything. I love the simple, the sturdy, and the dialed-in single-purpose, I think this shows in my work. I start with form and intended use, and then I start sketching. A lot of the time those sketches go nowhere, but when I’m onto something I’ll work it out in CAD. 3D modeling allows me to experiment with proportions, helps me iron out technical details, and lets me preview finishes and materials.
With a finalized design, I move on to fabrication and another layer of problem solving. Often I’m making something completely new and will have to figure out how I’m going to build it. I might be making a tool, a jig or fixture, finding a better way to clamp something, or just selecting the best material for the application—these steps are all part of the process. Then with a drawing and a plan, I can settle into the less brainy and more physical parts of the work—really focusing on my weld puddle, grinding that radius exactly like the last one, or sanding that end-grain so so smooth.
EDMM gives me the opportunity to do all these things, while addressing familiar household design problems, making beautiful and durable artifacts, and hopefully giving my clients a richer and more positive and personal experience with both me, and with my product than they can get with mass produced goods.
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EDMM is a first time Art Star Craft Bazaar Vendor and will be showing at our November 19th and 20th show at the Simeone Musuem! Find his work at http://www.edmm.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/edmmstudio/
Architecture, music as math, chemistry, and symmetry–all my old flames– inexorably find their way into my work. I spend hours soldering and chasing flux through the narrow channels between my hexagons. Days fly by as I work out the kinks of an intricate piece of casting. Every method has its advantages and demands. To cast or not to cast? Precision soldering and cleanup versus casting and yet more cleanup?
I have an unending attraction to the physical changes that brass undergoes when thousands of degrees hit it. My necklace creations have intrinsic “torch marks” that deepen with age, lending depth and 3-dimensionality to an otherwise humble material. One of my necklaces can have upwards of 100 solder connections, sometimes less, sometimes more. As I’ve expanded my offerings, I’ve found the best 18K gold-platers in NYC and learned to make molds & cast silver with the lost-wax method. Each silver or brass Alt-triangle bracelet is hand formed, filed and finished, taking many careful hours from start to finish.
These days I look at my hands and wonder at what jewelry-making has yet to teach me.
About Dreadnought Workshop: Brett is inspired by the city, American history, and the things he experiences living in an urban setting. Brett’s new line of belt buckles, tie clips, and cufflinks are made using various metal fabricating and casting techniques which he has learned through studio exploration.
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sPACYcLOUd was born in DC, from the mind of designer Tatiana Kolina (AKA Tati) with a focus towards the sui generis spirit that lives in all of us. The ethical core of sPACYcLOUd is built on self expression, love, and positivity. Its visual aesthetic breathes from the world of break dancers, hip hop artists, street artists, skaters, and motorcycle riders. Those whose wardrobe exists in a state of counter-culture, carving through life to the rhythm of their own choosing. sPACYcLOUd reflects political and social currents though clothing, artwork, and attitude.
