Megaton on the Way - Happy Veterans' Day!

I've just been accepted to show my work at the 3rd Ward Craft Fair on December 4! My work is definitely cut out for me; I have a massive box of old shells that need to become Blitz lamps, and a batch of cluster bombs and lazy dogs that need to become Beacon lamps and Bomblet jewelry. In addition to a totally new design, I'll be supplementing my line with a new Megaton lamp.
In the first photo I'm disassembling a 100-lb bomb with a vertical bandsaw. The second shows the base of the Megaton during the course of sanding, brushing, and polishing. Half of me hopes it sells right away, and the other half hopes I can keep it forever!

Depleted Stock

I only list on Etsy (for now), but my housewares have been selling very well. Now I'm scrambling to pick up more pieces and supplies, and shore up my inventory before my store becomes empty!

I signed up for 3rd Ward, a great shared workspace in Brooklyn. The tools in their workshop will help me cut down my production time significantly, and they teach a great variety of classes that will open me up to new techniques and processes. Using this space, I plan to have five new Blitz lamps, a Megaton, and a new ceiling fixture available for sale in the next few weeks.

I'm also trying to secure a new set of cluster bomblets for the popular Beacon lamp. My original suppliers have run out, and it seems like cluster bomblets are only sporadically available. I may have located an entire crate of untouched pieces in Montana, so with luck I'll have a major stock soon.

The Megaton, and new Beacon Lamps

This is the Megaton, made from the tail section of a 100 lb practice bomb. It was the first lamp I made, and got me interested in re-purposing munitions. I'm planning on making a small batch of these in the future, as soon as I can lock down the supplies. The bomb casing it's made from is fairly rare and very expensive, so I might have to fabricate a reproduction.

In other news, the Beacon Lamp is sold! I'm choosing parts for a new iteration on that first design, and hopefully will have a pair assembled within a week.

The Big Bang

Stockpile started with a bomb. Specifically, a bomb's tail-section, which I bought on eBay during a late-night browsing session. By the time it arrived, I had nearly forgotten about it, and was concerned that my name had suddenly been added to watch-lists all over the country. It was rusty, and filthy, and those parts which weren't rusty or filthy were covered with stiff, chipped paint. I realized why the military hadn't wanted to keep it, and why the second owner didn't either - it was junk.
The shape of it was beautiful, though: sheet metal bent into aerodynamic curves, with squared-off fins flowing from the back. And I realized - it could make a great lamp. I coated it with paint remover, which made a tarry mess but exposed gleaming steel underneath. The rust came off under an electric sander, revealing gorgeous patina of black pitting and tiny dents. After a few hours of steel wool and polish, it was clean, and the last thing anyone would call it was "junk."
A few months later came Stockpile. I take military junk: surplus that's been gathering rust, bombshells from planes that haven't flown in sixty years, cases for equipment that's been obsolete for a generation. Then I figure out how it could be beautiful, and what it should do once it is. I'll be selling the designs on Etsy and (soon) in local stores in New York City. Works in progress and updates will be posted here, along with design concepts and public sale announcements.