Custom Designs Come to Life
February 6, 2014 posted by artadmin

Morphing Metal into a Work of Art: The Iron Chinchilla

A few weeks ago, we received an order through our website for an Iron Chinchilla Morphic Metal Bookcase .  Patrick, the artist, did such a great job sending us photos of his progress along the way, we just had to share. Take a look at how this cool piece morphs from building it, to the unfinished version, to the final color selected by the client.

Iron Chinchilla Blog Artcraft Online

We’ve worked with Patrick over the past 10 years. He’s built tons of beautiful custom metal pieces for our clients. Here’s your chance to get to know him too:

Iron Chinchilla Blog Artcraft Online

The “Iron Chinchilla” is a line of original furniture and home accessories, conceived and fabricated by Ft Worth artist Patrick Neuwirth with the sole objective of offering something a bit off-the-wall and unexpected.

Patrick first started bending metal into “Functional Art” in 1992 while working as a welder in his home town of Des Moines, IA.  It didn’t take long for his hobby to draw the eye of the owner at the hip Asian restaurant where he was a bartender in the evenings, resulting in his first “real” job designing and fabricating 30 tables for their new dining room – not a bad start for someone with no art or design degree. The tables were such a hit, he set up shop in a friend’s garage and began self marketing his unique spin on furniture.  This initial venture proved to be a bit more profitable in experience than income, but it gave him a good idea of what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

By 2002, Patrick was able to move out of his garage and into an 8000 square foot manufacturing facility, and eventually employ five full time apprentices.  He taught them to fabricate more than 50 designs to meet the demand of 250 gallery representatives as well as stocking a trailer to visit more than 30 of the top street festivals in the country.  It was a wonderful, yet exhausting time.  By the summer of 2008 it was evident that the cost of long hours on the road and unrealistic production demands would take their toll, and changes were on the horizon.

On faith, he abandoned the large studio and apprentices, as well as the grueling show and festival circuit, deciding instead to take the company back to where it started… where it was most efficient, the quality of craftsmanship was easier to control and…most importantly, the designs were the most creative and unique.  Today, the Iron Chinchilla is a one-man operation with Patrick filling the role of marketing director, accountant and manufacturer…and he wouldn’t have it any other way!

Patrick lives in Texas with his wife Tina and their 3 beautiful children.  He serves a gracious God and thanks Him daily for the blessings of family, art and creation in his life.

Iron Chinchilla Blog Artcraft Online

Wondering about the Custom Design Process? Want to have Patrick make you something awesome!

Concept process – Design development always starts with a conversation.  Dimensions of the intended space are an important factor of consideration since most designs in my catalog can be altered to fit a specific space.  From there it is decided whether a sketch is needed to begin bringing the idea to life.  I have also had a lot of success with a sketch supplied by the client – I have had the opportunity to bring some wonderful ideas to life from some very creative individuals!

Fabrication – All of the designs I have created for the Iron Chinchilla are fabricated in virtually the same way they were when I started out in my garage.  You will find no heavy machinery or forges, as each design is carefully constructed using a “cold bend” method, where the iron is slowly worked through a large vice, using little more than arm strength and a series of “cheater bars”.  Creating in this free-form fashion ensures that each piece is unique…even within several renderings of the same design.  From there, the construction of the project relies greatly on the welds.  Great pride is taken in both the look and the strength of each weld no matter how small. Using the electrode in much the same way a potter uses clay, I layer several welds when connecting the pieces and forming the structure.  A grinder is then used to achieve a seamless transition from one curve to the next.  Once the construction is completed, the entire project is brushed down with a cup brush attached to a grinder removing much of the scale and slag from the welds and giving the design a more uniformed appearance.   Finally, a sanding disk is used to achieve the burnished look that has become a Chinchilla trademark.

Your Involvement – When you order a custom design through Artcraft, you can follow the entire process from your home with updates of my progress that they’ll share with you.  Once the design is complete, your approval via several high-resolution images is requested before shipment.

Call us today at 800.880.8348 and get your Iron Chinchilla masterpiece started. help@artcraftonline.com

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