Trump Hollywood Project - New Photos!

In an earlier post I described a custom furniture project we delivered to the Trump Hollywood in Florida. Imagine my surprise this week to get hold of additional photos of the completed space.

It turns out that our client received a new camera over the holidays, and as you can see from the following images he's learning to master the art of photography and lighting.



The Dining Room wall unit and server were made of Koto wood, with back panels finished in bronze mirror. For the recessed door pulls we created a custom bronze finish to complement the light fixtures.



The Ellipse II dining table has a custom made boat shaped top with proportioned diamond matched grain pattern. The top is cantilevered over a tapered elliptical cone pedestal base, with everything finished in a satin Cerused Walnut.



This photo is a particular favorite of mine, especially considering how difficult it is to pick details such as wood grain when photographing in low light conditions. Don't you love the ambiance of this space in evening light?



In the Master Bedroom the panelling and cabinetry were crafted from a highly figured sampling of taupe anigre.



Wires for the custom made Night Stand lights were discretely routed through bronze grommets and into channels hidden behind the drawers.



As you can see in this photo the interior designer did a remarkable job of coordinating the various finishes, colors and textures into a coherent whole.

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My Shop Needs a Drive Thru Window

There are days when I'm convinced my shop needs a deep fryer and a drive thru window. On that note maybe I should also consider rebranding my company with a new logo; one that looks something like this:



I say this because this week has seen requests for custom furniture lead times that were off-the-charts ridiculous.

In an earlier post I described a custom furniture delivery to Florida that was turned around in roughly 8 weeks time. There was considerable pressure to get this job done quickly because the client was intent on moving into the Trump Hollywood by Thanksgiving. With tremendous effort we pulled it off and even the design firm involved was highly impressed, stating that the 8 weeks we completed the job in was "record time".

Yes, 8 weeks is definitely record time for delivering high calibre custom furniture work.

But then I get a call from an old client out of New York who is in desperate need for custom furniture for the public area of a 5-star hotel. The lead time for this is 4 weeks.

4 weeks???

"Would you like fries with that?" I asked. He laughed because he too knew how ludicrous his request was.

If this was simply a one time event I could have chocked it up as an anomoly. But as it turns out, this was one of three rush order requests all coming in the same week. The second request came out of Florida, for a residential project in an upscale resort. The third was for a commercial project here in Canada, also with a firm deadline. All three projects had lead times of under 4 weeks.

I am well aware that in this tougher economic climate that clients are becoming more demanding and, in some cases, unreasonable. But c'mon folks...making and delivering high quality custom furniture is much more involved than serving up a burger and fries.

On an upnote we did receive some positive news this week. A reasonably large custom project quoted 4 months ago is apparently coming through. A request for a W-8 form from another client means that a project that's been hovering in the aether for 18 months is now, finally, moving forward.

And best of all there's one other potential project for an executive office that I'm REALLY excited about, but I'll save that discussion for another time.

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Trump Hollywood Condominium - Completed Project Photos

We have just received photos of the recently completed project at the Trump Hollywood condominium. They are arranged as "before" and "after" images to help show the transformation of this remarkable space.



The following is a "before" image of the office area that gives a sense of the existing space before the custom desk and cubbie cabinet were set into place.



The custom furniture shown here was crafted out of flat cut smoked maple. In the niche space to the right a cubbie cabinet was set into place, consisting of a large door concealing adjustable shelves for storage and a pull-out shelf for a wireless printer.

The main desk has a glass door display space on the right hand side placed over cubbies for storing electronic components. Double file drawers on each side of the knee space were crafted out of dovetailed solid maple running on heavy duty Blumotion self closing linear ball bearing slides.



The large open area above the work surface was designed to hold three integrated monitor screens. The pull-out keyboard tray in the kneespace is Accu-Ride.



These are the "before" images of the dining area showing the drop ceiling that the GC (General Contractor) was in the process of adding at the time. Note the round cove that is being integrated into the ceiling. This cove will later house a custom chandelier that will end up being perfectly centered over the dining table.





The dining room wall unit was crafted out of satin finished Koto wood, and detailed with antique bronze recessed pulls, halogen lighting and bronze mirrors.





The dining table is a custom made version of the Ellipse II Table with a boat shaped top configured in a diamond matched grain pattern. The Cerused Walnut finish complemented the Koto wood on the wall unit perfectly.





This is the "before" picture of the right side of the Master Bedroom main wall.



The custom furniture in this area was crafted from a light taupe figured Anigre finished in low-VOC satin lacquer. The recessed valance area over the upholstered bed was later fitted with draped custom fabric.



This is the "before" photo of the left side of the Master Bedroom.



Note how the headers over the wall panels maintain a continuous line into the valances over the windows.



The window wall before....



...and after.

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Road Trip to Hollywood, Florida

In an earlier post I described a sudden trip I had to take to measure a large custom furniture job. This project was recently completed and delivered to a luxury residence in the Trump Hollywood condominium tower.




Here's the truck stacked with blankets - ready to load.




Here's Kevin loading the truck. He's got a huge smile on his face because he loves road trips.




Extra help was needed on this delivery, so we decided to bring Heath along as well.




With the truck quickly filling with furniture it was necessary to measure to ensure everything would fit.




Arriving at the Trump Hollywood - ready to deliver the furniture.




The lobby and reception area was designed by interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg.




Kevin and Heath standing alongside the stainless steel sculptures in the lobby.




This dining room wall unit was one of the custom furniture pieces we delivered. The wood was Koto finished in a satin lacquer and the recessed finger pulls were hand finished in antiqued bronze. The back panels in the open display areas will soon be clad in bronze mirror by others.




Kevin and Heath finishing off the right side of the wall unit. These guys work well together as a team.




There were a number of trades working simultaneously on this project including plumbers, electricians, finish carpenters, HVAC technicians, paint and paper guys, interior designers, audio/video installers, flooring guys etc. Miraculously everything was well choreographed in a manner than ran rather well. Despite the stress of the tight timeline there were some lighter moments to be had, including the audio/video guys getting "punked" with this shipping crate being sent in place of an actually 55" flat screen.





Upon completion of this project it was time for some R&R, so I took the guys down to South Beach to check out some classic examples of Art Deco, Moderne and Streamline design.




While in South Beach it's always a treat to catch a meal at the News Cafe.




South Beach also has a vibrant night life, and there's never a shortage of beautiful women to be seen walking around. Let's just say that one of the guys I was with (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) developed a bad habit of tripping over chairs and walking into umbrella stands as a result of the eye candy.




Following our visit to South Beach we headed for the Florida Keys. Along the way we stopped in at a place called Midway Cafe for breakfast. All I can say is: Best. Diner. Breakfast. Ever. The orange juice tasted like it was squeezed straight from the tree. I'm a coffee guy, and their coffee ranks with the best I've ever had. Add an amazing omelette plus Key Lime pie for dessert, and I was set for the day.

This place is definitely worth a visit. It's located at mile 80.5 in Islamorada, Florida.



These are the 3 gals who run the show at the Midway Cafe.




After breakfast we continued our drive to Key West.
This stretch of Hwy. 1 is truly scenic.




Although I'm not usually one to do the "touristy" things when travelling I did relent to go visit the marker at the southernmost point of continental U.S.A.




Mile 0 is also a famous spot located nearby. Here's Kevin and Heath, with Heath doing his best Incredible Hulk imitation.




There was no shortage of these guys running around town.




Why did the chicken cross the road? Oh, never mind - this guy has no clue either.




Key West is a wonderful place to chill out because it's very laid back. Kevin and Heath were quite happy to simply hang out and watch Tarpon swimming by.




Key West has tremendous history, including this bar which was Ernest Hemingway's favorite watering hole back in the 1930s. Known as Captain Tony's Saloon it's located just off the main tourist track along Duval Street. This slightly offbeat location means that few tourists stop by to visit - which makes me love the place all the more.




The decor at Captain Tony's is probably the unchanged in over 50+ years. There's even an indoor tree, which is probably due more to circumstance than design. Tens of thousands of business cards adorn the walls, and mine is now added to the mix.




This was my moment of Zen: sitting on Walter Cronkite's bar stool, sipping a cold beer (with lime), while puffing an Arturo Fuente Hemingway in Hemingway's favorite bar.




Captain Tony's is also the place where Jimmy Buffett got his start as a musician in the 1970s. This sign scrawled over the urinal apparently inspired Buffett's song "Last Mango in Paris":

I ate the last mango in Paris;
took the last plane out of Saigon;
took the first fast boat to China;
and Jimmy there's still so much to be done.




There's a real Bohemian feel to Key West, with an abundance of artists and street performers to be found everywhere. Every evening there's a gathering of performers at Mallory Square Dock to celebrate the sunset.





Sunset at Key West.

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