RSSThe Talented Julie Lake
I’ve been itching to blog about this for over a month. Now I can gush!
About a month ago, I had an idea for Matt’s birthday present. I wanted to have an address plaque made for our front lawn. Once upon a time, Matt was a graphic designer (he designed my F&T logo and banner) so I knew he’d have strong ideas of what he likes. Currently we have a rock at the bottom of our driveway, with fading painted numbers, and only faces northbound traffic. Hmm.
Julie Lake is the artist I wound up hiring to make this amazing sign. She is a jewelry designer with strong metalsmith running through her veins. From her blog, I gathered that she is a daughter of a metalworker and has been around this her whole life. That and the fact that she makes jewelry gave me the strong vibe that she was the right person for this job.
First she presented this sketch. Her plan was to repurpose a serving tray for the background of the sign, which is brass that had a black patina applied to it. Then she would hand cut the numbers in the font of my choice (Dalliance) and make flowers out of stainless steel. The sign would then be staked into the ground. Right around this time we started talking about putting a fence in our front yard and Julie therefore designed the sign to be convertible from staked in the ground to hung on a fence.
Throughout the process, she was so communicative, enthusiastic, and detail driven. Nothing was overlooked. The boxes arrived with impeccible packing and instructions on how to install it (complete with illustrated diagrams!) She made the steel flowers removeable so we could put other things in the vase should we wish and thought to make the bottom drainable so water wouldn’t collect. She even included the proper cleaning cloth and explained to me how to care for my sign. She truly is how I aim to be with custom jobs.
You should check out her amazing jewelry. She is a rockstar!
That.is.fabulous.
The sign is gorgeous! It’s nice to hear a positive Alchemy story.
It’s beautiful!
But OH NO don’t tell me you got rid of the white rock–at night time especially it’s the only way I can tell where to turn into your driveway!!
That is SO awesome! How unique, inventive and cool! I’m glad your project was such a success!
she included a cleaning cloth?! that’s such great service! and the sign is really a stunner. hope your husband loves it!
WOW! It is beautiful! I cannot wait to see it in person!
WOW she did a wonderful job. I love the idea of it being a tray AND those details! Amazing! Very beautiful.
What a fabulous gift! It looks beautiful, and I love the vase idea!
(And how cool that she used a tray!)
Don’t you just love Lake - my hubby gave me a pair of her earrings for christmas. She is SOOOO talented! xoxo
I am flipping out! That sign is perfect…as is your sweet home.
Wow, that turned out beautifully! What a wonderful and unique gift. Just lovely!
Awesome gift!
you have been over-flowing w/creativity lately. You are a very lucky person.
[...] This picture was taken on Matt’s birthday last year when I gave him this. [...]