New artisans at UTF

Hi Everybody!

So, the snow storms of 2010 have had the cumulative effect of slowing me down long enough to catch up on some much-belated blog postings!! There has been so much activity in the past year and especially since the completion of the carved tables we provided for the G-20 summit... multiple posts will be needed to keep it all in readable segments.

Fist off… a huge “Thank You!” to everyone that helped us bring the monumental task of completing these tables to fruition. We had over a dozen people help us out with this endeavor.. The outpouring of help and spirit of Pittsburgh people here is just amazing! It’s so awesome to be a part of such a community. Thanks again everyone.


We were honored to have a few new artisans take up residencies in "Studio" and start considering some of the great "City wood" we have available for consideration.
Earlier in the year Jim Ladner Custom Furniture began tenancy... and just in time too! Jim was able to offer us some of his time to help in the fabrication of the G-20 tables. Jim was instrumental in our on-time completion of this undertaking. Jim has also been using some of our “City Wood” walnut in a couple of his projects for his clients… and with wonderful results as these images show. The grain and character of these walnut sections just makes these pieces jump. Jim has also been reshaping salvaged joists to create cabinet doors for another project. Amazing work Jim! It’s great to have you in “Studio” and considering our city’s urban resources.


We recently welcomed Jason Kirker into the “Studio." Kirke, is an endeavor started by Jason Kirker, who has been creating lighting fixtures and other furnishings from salvage materials with his business. Jason participated in “Arbor Aid 2009,” along with over 20 other artisans. (Read more about this great annual fund-raising event supporting the work of Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest on their website.) You can check out some of Kirke's work on his Picassa gallery.

We've also had Jason Boone, Geoff D., and Greg, all of whom work with architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson join us for individual projects for their homes. And just last week we welcomed our newest resident, Krishnan Padmanabhan a graduate from CMU, into the "Studio" to begin the creative endeavor of taking his 2D work in another dimension.

Over the past year, we've had many other artists "In Studio" for individual projects... more on these great projects coming in our next posting.

Welcome to Urban Tree Forge everyone!

And may your ventures be filled with the prosperous ingenuity and creativity that helps you grow to new levels!

Next post, we'll show you some highlights of the many projects we were fortunate to see pass through our doors the past year...