While in New York this week, our class made a visit to
P. E. Guerin, the oldest remaining hardware manufacturer in America - and it was awesome. While there, they did a pour, so not only did we get to see tons of new and old hardware, but the entire manufacturing process. After the pour, we saw plating, finishing, etc., and all the work that goes into the hardware. Along with their usual stock (which is huuuuge), they also do custom work. One of the coolest things is that they have all of their records, since the beginning of the company in 1857. Although I think the building could pretty much burst into flames at any minute, based on what I saw, and I think they should at least digitize or move those records, for posterity...
I know that one person has done some scholarly work on the company. They made hardware for Herter Brothers, which I think was connected to the Art-in-Trades Club somehow, maybe through Herter Looms? I'm not exactly sure on that, but I'm going to go back in my records and see if any Guerin employees were club members. It would be really cool to connect them.
I have been so busy! I was in a wedding, and people seem to be having a lot of parties lately. This leaves little time for doing the solo crafty-type things I love, but this weekend Alison and I made sure to take the social life down a notch. I recently found these knobs in the sale bin at Anthropologie, so they came home with me. They are a little big... or rather protruding? I like them anyway, these poor little sale bin knobs.
We have a set of doors that need a reproduction handle, so I ran around town checking out some options. To cover the bases, I browsed at some hardware places, spoke to a few people: I was looking for something pre-made... but what we need is just not what's being made, so over to P.E. Guerin it was. I first visited during graduate school, and boy was it awesome. (btw, I never found a concrete connection regarding my thesis).
While in New York this week, our class made a visit to P. E. Guerin, the oldest remaining hardware manufacturer in America - and it was awesome. While there, they did a pour, so not only did we get to see tons of new and old hardware, but the entire manufacturing process. After the pour, we saw plating, finishing, etc., and all the work that goes into the hardware. Along with their usual stock (which is huuuuge), they also do custom work. One of the coolest things is that they have all of their records, since the beginning of the company in 1857. Although I think the building could pretty much burst into flames at any minute, based on what I saw, and I think they should at least digitize or move those records, for posterity...
