Candle Collaboration With Willow Hill Soap Company
Willow Hill is a local family business that we’ve admired for some time. We have a family connection with them as well. Our family uses tons of Willow Hill Products in our home. We keep their candles burning and their soaps and lotions stocked, so when we started looking into products we asked them if they’d partner with us on this and we worked out a collaboration with them.
Willow Hill Soap Company
Willow Hill’s products are all made locally and are incredibly high-quality, so we are thrilled to bring our new candle line to you!
Details have always been important to us, so here are some details about our hand-crafted candles:
Free of Petrochemicals, Phthalates, and Parabens. Our soy wax is 100% grown in the USA, from farmers in the Mid-West. Soy wax is a completely natural and renewable resource.
Our candles come in three signature scents that are perfect for this chillier weather! Grab your favorite scent today and cozy up.
When you get your candle, be sure to snap a photo and tag us on instagram!
Luxury Concrete Homegoods at an Affordable Price
Important announcement from Lawson Design!
Hello!
As you may be aware, my family and I made the big leap to uproot our life, and my company, in the middle of Covid and move to the mountains of North Carolina. At first, I traveled back to Orlando weekly to wrap up projects, but that proved unsustainable for our desired pace of life. We made the difficult decision to move all of our operations to Canton, NC, in March of 2021, and we couldn’t be happier! We’ve chosen to maintain a select few of our most loyal clients from the Florida market, and we’ve been delighted with that process so far.
Now that we’re approaching two years FULLY in the mountains, it’s time for another announcement, and this one’s twofold! Part I: As we’ve grown, we’ve realized there’s a need for accessible concrete home goods that are both affordable and well made. As a leading artisan in the industry, I’ve noticed a lack of quality, at least in one area or another, of each of the “big boys” products. We seek to change that. Using our highly tailored mix designs, quality molds, and quality sealer, we have been semi-quietly producing a line of home goods here at the studio. We are excited to unveil that we will now be manufacturing and selling vessel sinks, concrete candle votives (in collaboration with the fabulous Willow Hill Soap Company!), and a host of other exciting home decor items! You can find these here on our website. We’ll link to a few of our favorites below!
P.S. We would never abandon our custom commission clients so stay tuned for part II of our big announcement!
Concrete On The Move
WE MAY HAVE MOVED,
But our goal remains the same: to provide Damn Fine Concrete to each and every client, no matter where they are.
As I’ve said in the past, we moved to the mountains of Western, NC to slow down. We wanted to raise our children in the cool mountain air, surrounded by beautiful views, simplicity, and family. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t quite figured out the whole “work/life balance” thing. Being an Enneagram 3 (worth looking into for those of you who aren’t familiar), its difficult for me to turn work off when I get home, or when we’re out of town. But hey, we’re all a work in progress, right? Back to the reason for this post.
We had a client cancel a future project last week, simply because we were no longer in Orlando, and it has prompted me to break from our regularly scheduled blog programming to write a little about out of town jobs. We may have left Orlando, but that has taught us how to still provide not only excellent craftsmanship, as we always strive to do, but also how to coordinate shipments, safely pack pieces, and get projects completed for out of state clients on time, and without too much extra cost to them. Many people think that freight for such a heavy product must be cost prohibitive; I thought so too. The truth is, it’s actually quite affordable, and we’ve gotten very good at packing our pieces to make sure they arrive in perfect condition. In the last 6 weeks, we’ve shipped pieces to Florida, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and South Carolina, all with no shipment issues (other than driver shortages - thanks 2021…), and have future projects coming up in Florida, Tennessee, and New Jersey.
I say all of this to say, if you like our work, and would like to work with us on your own project, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We love what we do, and we love making what we make, locally and beyond! We are equipped to handle all of the details, and would love to work with you, no matter where you are!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us by buying our work. We are grateful! I’m sure we’ll do an end of the year thank you post, but one can’t be too grateful.
FRESH SINKS IN THE DOWNTOWN ORLANDO LIBRARY
SUMMER KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS ALL PACKED UP FOR A TRIP TO SOUTH FLORIDA
Waynesville Kitchen Install
Waynesville Kitchen Install
With lots of projects to wrap up before Christmas, the end of the year push is always a busy time in the shop!
This past week we did a kitchen countertop install for a client in Waynesville and we absolutely loved the project. We did a bit of terrazzo detailing for them and they looked so great in their new home.
We’ll be sure to share more projects as we get them out the door! We hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend.
Hosting for the Holidays? Try This
4 ways to make hosting for the holidays easier
Recipes, games, and more to make sure you’re the host with the most this year!
Hosting for the holidays can be a stressful time, but we’ve found some fun things to help make this year easy and fun!
Try this boozy punch recipe
This Spiked apple cider from Sugar and Charm is sure to be a holiday crowd-pleaser.
Get cozy & festive with Studio McGee
Studio Mcgee has put together a wonderful list of 2021 holiday trends to try. Check out their guide to making sure guests are comfortable and your home is inviting.
Board games everyone can enjoy
Click to see purchase options from amazon
Click to see purchase options from amazon
It’s always a good idea to have some board games on hand during the Holidays. There are tons of great board games out there, but we went on the hunt for some new ones that looked like a lot of fun. Blockbuster is perfect for movie lovers, easy to learn, and can have up to 12 players. It involves charades, quotes, and a buzzer. What could be better?
Off-Topic can have up to 8 players and from what we can tell it’s sort of like a competitive game of mad libs.
Let us know what you think and leave any other ideas in the comments!
Outdoor Kitchen Install
Florida outdoor kitchen install
We’ve been working on countertops for an outdoor kitchen in Florida and we just sent them out to be installed this past week!
Our good friend from Maners Concrete did the install for us and really knocked it out of the park.
This project was a lot of fun and we hope our client will enjoy their new outdoor space for years and years to come!
Concrete & Cocktails: Chai Spiced Whiskey
Delicious fall cocktail recipe
Chai Spiced Whiskey
Fall has really set in here in the mountains and it is getting cold! That means it’s time for a cozy fall cocktail.
The ingredients
chai simple syrup
1/2 cup water
2 chai tea bags
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
chai-spiced whiskey
2 oz Your favorite whiskey
3/4 oz chai simple syrup
1 whole egg
1/2 oz heavy cream
Cinnamon, or cinnamon sticks for the garnish
The Recipe
chai simple syrup
In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil then remove from heat. Add the chai tea bags and steep for 5 minutes.
Remove the tea bags. Stir in sugar and the vanilla extract and let it cool.
chai-spiced whiskey
Combine whiskey, chai simple syrup, and egg in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously without ice for 1 minute until it’s frothy.
Add heavy cream, fill with ice and shake until chilled (about 30 seconds).
Strain into a coupe, cocktail glass, or mug and garnish with cinnamon sticks or star anise!
Try it out and let us know what you think!
*recipe adapted from withspice.com
October in the Studio
Here’s what we have cooking this month in the studio!
It’s been a busy month so we thought we’d do a little recap of all that’s happened here in October!
First-ever Mondays on Main
We kicked off the month with our first-ever Mondays on Main right at our shop! It was a wonderful evening of food, music, axe-throwing, and fun! It was incredible to have so many folks in and around the studio again. If you missed the last one, don’t worry! We’ve decided to have Mondays on Main every first Monday of the month.
Laurie Cox posing with her incredible axe throw!
The Ultimate Class!
We had a great week with the Concrete Countertop Institute hosting the Ultimate Class. We had a great group of students, great food, and ended the week with some incredible pieces. We were especially excited about the concrete couch that now lives in our showroom. You can swing by and take a peak at it at the next Mondays on Main.
Downtown Orlando Library Install & Kitchen Island install
We had a few projects in the shop that we needed to restore (from the flood) before sending them out to their homes. After the ultimate class left, we got to work making sure the pieces for the Downtown Orlando Library were in peak condition and ready for delivery. We are so pleased with how they turned out and how great they look in their new space.
We also got the chance to create a kitchen island using our marbled concrete technique. We are absolutely loving the marbled-concrete look and are always excited when a client requests it.
What’s coming up?
Will all of that behind us, we will be working on finishing our showroom, hosting the next Mondays on Main (November 1st!), and finishing out our 2021 client work.
Interested in a Lawson Design piece? we are now booking for 2022! Email inquire@lawson.design to get started and get on our books.
Downtown Orlando Library Install!
Come along for an install!
We began working on bathroom vanities for the Orlando Downtown Library before the flood and they’re finally installed!
You might remember a while back we were trying to match this bright blue color in the shop! (if you don’t remember, you can read more about that color matching process here https://www.priceconcretestudio.com/pcsblogs/color-match-with-us
They wanted to redo their vanities but the color they had didn’t exist anymore. After we matched the color we got to work on the vanities!
We were lucky we were able to recover the pieces after the flood. With a clean and a refinish they were ready to go!
It looks great installed! If you’re in the Orlando area, head over to the Downtown Library to check them out in person.
The Ultimate Class Recap!
Our week in the studio with the ultimate class!
We had an incredible week in the shop with the Ultimate Class! They made some incredible pieces and were such a great group of artisans. We really look forward to seeing what these alumni go on to create and do! We wanted to share some more stories and photos from the week with you.
Class in action
Class projects
One of the great things about the Ultimate Class is that students work together on real projects that they can add to their portfolios. We chose some really ambitious pieces for this class, and the students really rose to the challenge!
what an incredible week! It’s back to client work for us now but we feel so grateful we were able to host at our shop and be a part of these new alumni’s journey!
We had a blast!
Read about our Mondays on Main Kick-off and see if you can find yourself in the photos!
Our First ever Mondays on Main was so much fun!
When it started raining 20 minutes before the kick-off party, we weren’t sure how things were going to turn out! Instagram was down so we couldn’t update anyone on the status of the party so we just decided to roll with it and hope for the best! After about 30 minutes the rain stopped, the sun started to peek through, and you showed up!
The music was great, the food was wonderful, the axe throwing was so much fun, and the company was even better. We are so grateful to the food truck vendors, smokey mountain axe house, and our friends who played live music and sold antiques.
