Fragmented Beauty

HOW CRACKS IN CONCRETE BECAME A CELEBRATION OF THE CRAFT

Tragedy Strikes

This 16ft conference table was a beast to make. We used three different colors to make the table and So. Much. Concrete. It was a relief when it was finished, and ready to be delivered. Of course, concrete is as unpredictable as anything else in life, and when this huge project fell off the forklift and cracked all over, we pretty much felt like crawling into a hole and never coming out. After many an expletive, and a few “Why God’s,” we did the only thing you can do when a piece falls and breaks: We started over. We re-cast the table for our client, and luckily the second time delivering was the charm. It went into their office, and our client was happy, and so were we, but what to do with the first piece?

BEAUTY IN THE BROKENNESS

As devastating as it is to see a piece you worked so hard on dropped from a forklift, that unpredictability we work with every day is one of the things we love the most about concrete. No matter how skilled you are, how many pieces you do, or how much you plan, to a certain extent concrete has a mind of it’s own. Sometimes a color comes out slightly different than you imagined, or a piece doesn’t go exactly to plan and ends up being more beautiful than you imagined, or it moves you in a more creative direction. After discussing it with our client, they shared that they would love to have the first table if we could find a way to mend it. Since there was nothing to lose, we set to work filling cracks and refinishing the table. This time we decided to highlight it’s “imperfections” and turn them into a feature. Instead of trying to hide this piece’s past, we decided to display it proudly.

FREEDOM TO EXPLORE

We loved what happened when we were able to let go and create something new out of something that had previously been cause for sadness. When the piece was complete, we loved it so much we were sad to see it go!

Character Over Perfection

By choosing to celebrate the “damage,” we were able to bring out so much character. We could have just trashed the piece after it fell from six feet, but more and more, we’re learning to work with the concrete as opposed to fighting against it. We love how it continues to teach us new things even after eight years in the business.

Our hope is always that we continue to learn and grow, and that concrete never ceases to inspire us!