Mod Metal Designs February newsletter
What a statement piece!
Here’s the story: Melissa Guerrero of Melissa Guerrero Design contacted us after a friend referred her to our site on Instagram. Melissa did her research; she went to see a recent project of ours, the Kaiyo rooftop in San Francisco, to see our work in person and make sure she was happy with our quality of product. Indeed she was! I love that she did her homework and vetted us carefully. It shows she cares about her customers and product as much as we do and that every decision is intentional and well thought out—shared values which I respect tremendously. An added perk is that we’re both women-owned small businesses based here in the Bay Area.
Melissa was working on a house in Alameda, CA and wanted to use our metal designs for a staircase inside the house. The residents are a young family who put their trust in Melissa to add some key design elements to their home. The budget was tight so Melissa had to be creative in how she allocated the funds. We’re happy and honored with her choice to invest in our custom metalwork for the stair rail. Melissa told me that “once the main scope was completed, we discussed the stair rail and they asked for my opinion. They needed to replace the stair rail with an up-to-code railing for safety. I knew about Modern Metal and proposed the idea of doing metal paneled railings with a pattern and reconfiguring the upper floor landing and making it more sculptural and safe. They loved the idea.”
Melissa and the residents each chose three Modern Metal patterns they liked, and the one that overlapped was Suspension. Suspension is one of four patterns in our Transbay Series, inspired by the San Francisco Bay Area’s iconic bridges and the experience of moving through them. Artfully balanced, the Suspension pattern celebrates the strength and fluidity of the great cable spans of the Golden Gate Bridge.
I remember debating whether or not to include Suspension in my series, as I was apprehensive of the pictorial aspect. However, I found it very appealing that this pattern was reminiscent of the Josef Hoffman textiles in the early 1900’s, especially when one focuses on the negative space. I was influenced by artists like Hoffman from the Vienna Secession, who incorporated curvaceous shapes and linear elements in his architecture, furniture, and textiles. I’ve discovered that customers love the local Bay Area theme in this pattern, which makes it that much more meaningful; I’m so happy I kept it in the series!
Making stair rail panels was technically new for us from a logistical point of view. This was our first stair rail. We’ve done deck railings, but never a stair rail. There was a lot of back and forth for weeks as we figured out measurements and what was needed. The master craftsmen Charles "Chuck" Floyd, and Paul Troutman played an instrumental role in this process—they dictated exactly what they needed in terms of slope, length, and height. We provided the panels, and they installed them into their framing and painted it all together on site. It required patience, skill, and a great deal of collaboration between our project manager, Chuck, Paul, and our fabricators.
Melissa’s distinct vision was instrumental in propelling this project forward. Figuring out the the customization for the pattern’s scale was a challenge. In the end, Melissa chose a small to medium size scale, in which the openings were approximately two inches. I was intrigued by this choice and excited to see how the finished product would look. I will look forward to visiting this installation on site and meeting the homeowners, and I already love visualizing the impact I imagine this will have in their daily lives. Most important was Melissa's reaction, “It turned out well and they are over the moon!”