Today’s post is a contribution from Erin Casey, co-owner of Rudy Art Glass of York, Penn., which fabricates decorative, architectural glass for both commercial and residential installations. Rudy Art Glass markets its high-end glass products to architects and designers worldwide. Recent large-scale projects include the Detroit Metro Airport renovation and the Atlantis Dubai.
Working so closely with architects and designers on their projects during the specification phase, we at Rudy Art Glass have a distinctive vantage point to see the trends in glass being used in both commercial and residential applications. One of the trends I continue to see is the use of decorative glass as tabletops or desktops.
While clear tempered glass-topped tables are assuredly not new, the demand for specialty products in this space has increased significantly. Innovation in both decorative glass products and table bases now gives consumers almost unlimited choice in selecting unique glass tables for their own homes.
One of the most extraordinary applications for glass tabletops that I’ve seen lately is the pairing of decorative glass with salvaged metal bases. Over the past few months, we have fabricated several decorative glass tabletops for another York-based company called Salvaging Creativity. The two young entrepreneurs who started this business create all of their architectural and decorative products (table bases, railings, signage, etc) using salvaged materials.
In a world of increasing awareness and demand for all things green, Salvaging Creativity’s products allow homeowners to choose pieces for their home which are environmentally friendly and functional while still aesthetically-pleasing. Combining their eye for design, engineering expertise, and desire to run an environmentally responsible venture, the owners of Salvaging Creativity have created a product line that is both unusual and relevant in today’s marketplace.
The coffee table pictured here pairs a Rudy Art Glass top from our Clear Organic Texture product line (salvaged from a scrap offcut generated during a recently fabricated project) with a Salvaging Creativity table base. The glass was shape cut and polished to fit perfectly with the base, which was fabricated using piecewise welded construction with a mixture of machine parts made of mild and hardened steel, cast iron and bronze.
The base shelf was salvaged from a large, long-abandoned coal pier in Philadelphia where it previously held entire railroad coal cars as they were rolled upside down to unload their cargo. The worm gear main shaft was part of a 1934 Otis Elevator recovered from the historic American Brewery building in Baltimore, which sat abandoned for more than 35 years prior to the building’s recent renovation (which features products from Marvin Windows and Doors to replicate the original windows and doors). The other shafts and gears are scrap Caterpillar forklift parts.
For more information about Salvaging Creativity, please visit www.salvagingcreativity.com. To see additional examples of decorative glass tabletops (including another product on which we partnered with Salvaging Creativity), please visit our Portfolio section.
