Preservation Dallas Intown Outing: Potter Art Metal Studios

Join Preservation Dallas for a tour and demonstration at Potter Art Metal Studios.  Their work can be found on the Preservation Achievement Award winning Woodrow Wilson High School in which Potter refurbished and replicated the historic metal lanterns which they originally fabricated over eighty-five years ago.

For four generations, over a span of 90 years, the Potter family has been the inspiration of the finest metal artisans in the Southwest.  Richard Potter Jr. carries on the legacy of extreme metalwork left to him by his grandfather Henry Potter, who opened the business in 1920 when his lantern-making hobby outgrew his backyard.  They have designed and produced hand-wrought artistic metal products in iron, bronze, brass and aluminum, which now grace thousands of homes and businesses throughout the United States.

Their ironwork can be seen throughout the city.  The Lakewood Clifford Hutsell and Charles Dilbeck houses are adorned with their ironwork and lanterns.  The beautiful fixtures at Fair Park were also made by the Potter family.  The enormous, beautiful art deco light fixtures in Downtown Dallas and the light fixtures at White Rock Lake are Potter originals, as well as the fixtures of just about every beautiful church in the area, including Christ the King and Highland Park Methodist... the list just goes on and on.

PARKING:

The studio has limited parking in front of the building, but parking is available along Memphis and Lupo streets.

REGISTRATION:

Admission is free for members, $20 for non-members.  Reservations are required.  Please contact Preservation Dallas by email or at 214-821-3290 to RSVP.

WHEN: Tuesday August 27, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.

WHERE: Potter Art Metal Studios

                4827 Memphis Street

                Dallas, TX 75207

Another Visit from the El Centro Interior Design Students

Our now annual visit from the El Centro Interior Design Class was a blast as always.
We got lots of very intelligent questions from the students, they were amazed at the level of artistry at Potter Art Metal Studios, and the class left with smiles on their faces and comments such as: "This was our best field trip of the year, thank you!" ...and who can ask for more then that?  They especially enjoyed the huge tree gate we are currently working on.
A few days later the most adorable card came from the entire class, with a "Thanks a latte" Starbucks gift card... I just about died... isn't it sweet?  I love our precious students, and even worked with one on a project already!
A big thank you to Anita Watson of El Centro for organizing yet another fabulous trip!
Hugs!
Izabela

ROCKITECTURE 2013

It's that time of the year again!

The invitation to ROCKITECTURE 2013 is beautiful, as always, and we have decided yet again to donate a hand-made piece for the silent auction in support of our wonderful Architecture Center.  Custom designed by Izabela Wojcik of Potter Art Metal Studios, and hand forged by the artisans of Potter Art Metal Studios, this adorable wrought iron writing utensil stand will add whimsy to the desk of the winner of this one of a kind piece.   Design details: rose and leaf.   Donated by Richard Potter of Potter Art Metal Studios.

ROCKITECTURE 2013 is benefitting the Dallas Center for Architecture and guests will join some of the top designers, architects, builders, photographers, and just about anyone else who simply loves architecture.

An evening of great design in the stunning and recently restored Federal Building and Post Office, including Judge Sarah T. Hughes' historic courtroom, will be a hit for sure!  It will be a night of stylish cocktails, bites, tunes, and a silent auction especially curated for lovers of great design and architecture donated by us and other local and national designers, artists, and architects.

Hope to see you there!

Izabela

The British are coming!

Potter Square is about to get a new arrival.  What makes it so special?  It's taking over the old Potter Art Metal Studios showroom!
I was passing by our old studio, right off Knox/Henderson and HWY 75 the other day and saw a huge "The British are coming!" banner.   I was super curious to find out who these British were, but by the time I got home I had completely forgotten to Google them.  Today I opened up an invitation from Cattle Baron's Ball and there it was again, that hat from the banner.  I looked it up and was pleasantly surprised to find that it will be the first stand-alone US store opening in Dallas for Timothy Oulton.  I have "saved the date" indeed and will be attending the grand opening party for sure!

written by: Izabela Wojcik

stelladallas knows how to groove!

stelladallas knows how to groove! You get a burst of happiness as soon as you walk through the door! Talk about a modern and colorful twist on home furnishings and accessories. If you love color, this is the place for you! Interior decorator Lisa Lowe felt like she was in candy land... as soon as she walked into one of the back rooms she knew it was a clear vision of her dream sunroom.
Top left: Lisa and Richard Potter
Top right: I snagged the owner of stelladallas, Amber Frazee, for a little photo
Bottom Middle: DJ Lucy Wrubel in the house! I keep running into her, she's great!

Thanks for the invite Shanan! You little Luxe cutie, you! —

written by: Izabela Wojcik

DHome Party at Nest

DHome Blog is turning ONE!
So, what should ONE do about it? I celebrated the day with Dallas’ top tastemakers, designers, and lifestyle bloggers!
The event took place at Nest, a swanky little place off McKinney.

I ran into Brynn Bagot, the most awesome PR girl in town!

I also met the lovely Jan Strimple, who is super passionate about fighting AIDS; we chatted about the very worthy cause as well as a few other topics. She's so cute:) For those of you immersed in the world of fashion, yes, it is that Jan! She's walked the world's most glamorous fashion shows and is a real supermodel indeed. These days she produces the hottest of the hottest fashion events in town and beyond, including New York's Fashion Week. Pretty cool, ey?

written by: Izabela Wojcik

The New Look of Highland Park Village

Recently HP Village got a facelift and we are proud to be a small, but fun part of the project!  One of our local designers, Elizabeth Robertson asked us to put on paper a flattering design, which melted right into the look of the Village.  We hand forged the new flower basket brackets on the  freshly installed post lamps.  I drove by the Village on the way back from a client's home, yesterday, and snapped a photograph of one of the flower pot brackets next to Jimmy Choo.  The lanterns in the background were also made by Potter Art Metal Studios... quite a few years ago.

Flower pot brackets and lantern made by Potter Art Metal

Most of the lanterns around the Village were originally made by Henry Potter, Richard Potter's (the current owner of Potter Art Metal Studios) grandfather.

Original HP dragon sketch by Potter Art Metal

I found an original sketch online from the Henry Potter Collection located in SMU's Hamon Arts Library (Bywaters Special Collection), which consists of several hundred shop sketches and accompanying invoices of lighting fixtures, furniture, and other items, primarily in iron.

Next time you drive by the Village, notice the interesting dragons and other beautiful Moorish lanterns spread throughout.

written by: Izabela Wojcik

AIA Dallas: Retrospect Kick Off Party at Lombardi's CIBUS!

Starting to get excited about the AIA Dallas Retrospect Kick Off Party tonight at North Park's Cibus Italian Restaurant.

I received my invitation in the mail a while ago and the night has finally come!

Surrounded by a beautiful garden setting, the exhibition will showcase some of the best work Dallas architects have to offer, and I can't wait to hear all about it since Dallas happens to rock in that department... one of many...

Check out AIA Dallas; the Dallas Chapter of The American Institute of Architects.  Some of my favorites are right here in Dallas and we have gotten the privilege of working with them!

written by: Izabela Wojcik

House Hunting for the Rich and Famous in Dallas

Photo from khloekardashian.celebuzz.com

Every time I click on my remote control, I happen to run into a preview of Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom buying a house in Dallas.  Normally it would be just another preview, except that the first thing my eye is drawn to is the wrought iron railing in the background of the Khloé & Lamar clip airing April 1st on E! (which I will have to take a photo of and post in here next time I see.)  Just as a shoe maker can't help but be drawn to the lower end of a woman's body, I can't help but hone in onto wrought ironwork and lighting.  
I would so love to get my hands on the metal railing in the background of one of the clips and replace it with a hand forged custom design, as opposed to the off the shelf components spliced all over this one.  There is nothing wrong with off the shelf components per say... they are wonderful for certain projects, but I think that this particular design could use a little help.  Classy and timeless I say!
I have posted a suggestion below; modern yet timelss... Khloé, what do you say?
Love, Izabela

written by: Izabela Wojcik

Woodrow Wilson Light Fixture Restoration

I thought I'd give you guys a visual on the light fixtures for Woodrow Wilson, because they look amazzzing!  We are in the middle of all our restoration efforts and so now I happen to have the before and some of the after photos.  And, thanks to the story Rachel Stone form the Advocate put together for all the fabulous readers out there, we might be able to save the auditorium light fixtures too!  I am sooo extremely happy right now because it would be such a shame to replace the beautiful flight fixtures with off the shelf pieces.

So here's the scoop... We were asked to restore the light fixtures form Woodrow and JL Long; below is a photo of two of the many Woodrow light fixtures before our restoration efforts.  Some of the light fixtures just needed some TLC, some were missing pieces, some were warped, and a few were totally missing.
(click on the photos to enlarge)

 

Richard and I went over to inspect the light fixtures and thought they were just amazing!  So much potential behind what the time has done to the poor things which Richard's grandfather originally built in the 30s.  One of the lights that we got super excited about were the chandeliers hanging in the auditorium of JL Long.  The grand light fixtures were something else!  After all, it's not like you get to see a beautiful, large, Art Deco chandelier ever day.

Since there are quite a few of them in the auditorium, the overall visual is just spectacular.  Unfortunately, we found out shortly after that we most likely won't be restoring the fixtures, but instead they will be replaced with these:

I almost had a heart attack when I saw the piece of paper with the proposed light fixtures!  Not that there is anything wrong with them, but why put beautifully crafted, custom made piece of history in the trash and replace it with off the shelf fixtures wich are not nearly as impressive as what is there in the first place?  Both JL Long and Woodrow have great history behind them, and lots of really neat people who have fond memories of their school went there like Trammel Crow Sr.  Surely the lights can be saved...

Well, I'm happy to say that apparently the article caused quite a bit of stir and now something might be in the works to save the fixtures after all!!!

I certainly do hope so.  We are working as hard and as carefully as we can to restore these fixtures to their original glory and would like to thank all the other people involved in the restoration of Woodrow and JL Long, from the stone mason to the woodworker repairing the windows, so that future generations in the world of cookie cutter can enjoy the hard work, the beauty of real artistry, and historical significance of yesterday.  So, to give you an idea as to how spectacular all these lights will look like when the school is restored, here are a few shots of the in progress as well as finished light fixtures I promised:)

A bit of history about Woodrow from Wikipedia:

Designed by noted Dallas architect Mark Lemmon, the school opened in 1928 and was constructed in the Elizabethan style.^[7] At the cornerstone-laying ceremony in April 1927, a piece of the wedding cake of Woodrow Wilson's second daughter, Jessie, was included in the cornerstone "in memory of Mr. Wilson."^[8] At US$700,000, the school's cost exceeded that of the district's previous four high schools by at least $100,000.^[9]

written by: Izabela Wojcik

ROCKITECTURE 2011

It's that time of the year again!  We just received our invitation for ROCKITECTURE 2011!

It's going to take place on October 26th, 6pm, at the iconic Filter Building at White Rock Lake with catered silent auction and hip tunes spun by DJ Lucy Wrubel.

The event is benefiting the Dallas Center For Architecture.  VIP's will be able to take in the sunset and toast White Rock's 100th birthday before the auction begins, regaled with tales of the lake's history told by Sally Rodriguez, author of the book, White Rock Lake - Images of America.

Thanks for the invite Brynn!

Should be really exciting!

French Impressions by Betty Lou Phillips

We just got a letter from Julie Peterson at Gibbs Smith; apparently Betty Lou Phillips has done it again!  We are in her new book: French Impressions.  Can't wait to see it!

And just in case you don't know about Betty; she is the sweetest person ever!  She's a renowned best-selling and award winning author and a fabulous interior designer who is totally into France and everything French, and she has a great appreciation for Spanish design as well.  Her books are a must in every interior designer's library!

This was such a surprise!  Thank you Betty!  ...from the bottom of our hearts!

Izabela Wojcik and Richard Potter


written by: Izabela Wojcik

AIA award reception

Last night we were presented with the Texas Society of Architects | AIA award for TSA Citation of Honor - Artisan Award by the AIA Dallas Chapter of The American Institute of Architects.  A great honor.  We thank you.

Richard Potter and Izabela Wojcik (me)

Our beautiful award

Richard Potter accepted the award for Potter Art Metal Studios

written by: Izabela Wojcik

About City Living Tour

Richard and I went to The House at Victory Park tonight, where the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League was proud to present the City Living Tour.  It was a designer show-house in a high rise setting.  All of the pent houses on the 18th floor were on display... fully finished by local designers.  We had a great time checking out what's new and hot in the design world.
Here are all the fabulous designers who worked on the About City Living Tour... many of them we have worked or are currently working with so it was extra fun spending time with them.
Check out whose work was on display:
Amy Thomasson, April Warner, Catherine Dolen, Charlotte Comer, David Cadwallader, Jaynelle T. Ip, Jessica Savage, Joanie Wyll, John, John Holstead, Julie Reynolds, Kathy Adcock-Smith, Kay Trout, Linda Fritschy, Margaret Chambers, Meri-Kay Star, Michelle Meredith, Peggy Zadina, Rhonda Vandiver White, Richard Trimble and a special presentation by Dwell with Dignity.

Click on the photo above to check out the amazing view from The House at Victory Park in Dallas Texas!

written by: Izabela Wojcik

Texas Society of Architects Award

Double happiness today! We got a really nice letter from Joe Buskuhl, president of the Dallas chapter of AIA:

written by: Izabela Wojcik

Samuel Yellin Lights

We are so excited today!  We finally got the Samuel Yellin light fixtures in!!!  We'll be converting them into gas fixtures and adding really cool dragon head brackets to them... no easy task in general, but these are super special on top of it.  I'm so glad Project Dynamics trusted us with these... they're such a treasure! (and he's Polish... just like me!)

In case you didn't know who Samuel Yellin was, here is a little wiki read:

"American master blacksmith, was born in Galicia Poland where at the age of eleven he was apprenticed to an iron master. By the age of sixteen had had completed his apprenticeship. During that period he gained the nickname of "Devil", both for his work habits and his sense of humor. Shortly after this he left Poland, traveling through Europe to England, where, in 1906, he departed for America. By 1907 he was taking classes at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art and within a year was teaching classes there, a position that he maintained until 1919.
In 1909 he opened his own shop and in 1915 the firm of Mellor, Meigs and Howe, for whom he designed and created many commissions, designed Yellin a new studio at 5520 Arch Street in Philadelphia where he was to remain until his death in 1940. The building continued to act as a functioning business under Yellin’s son Harvey’s direction. After his demise it served as the Samuel Yellin Museum.
During the building boom of the 1920s Yellin’s studio employed as many as 250 workers, many of them European artisans. Although Yellin appreciated traditional craftsmanship and design, he always championed creativity and the development of new designs. He was no slave to the past. Samuel Yellin’s handiwork can be found on some of the finest buildings in America."

written by: Izabela Wojcik

Cattle Barons Ball

2010 CATTLE BARON'S BALL

Potter Art Metal Studios feels privileged to be able to donate a beautiful vineyard-inspired chandelier to the Cattle Barons Ball this year.

We hope that lots and lots will be rised for cancer research.

37th ANNUAL CATTLE BARON'S BALL

with entertainment by Alan Jackson and Jack Ingram

Saturday, October 9, 2010

As the world's largest single-night fundraiser for cancer research through the American Cancer Society, Dallas' Cattle Baron's Ball has made it's mark on both Texas culture and history. The Cattle Baron's Ball has raised nearly $40 million in just 36 year in its ongoing pursuit of a cure for cancer. One hundred active volunteers are responsible for raising the funds that my make the ultimate difference in the lives of those who are coping with cancer.

*All metalwork designs are the property of Potter Art Metal Studios

written by: Izabela Wojcik