Tag Archives: Design

Films, Movies and TV.

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The problem with being good at what you do is that people seek you out for that reason.

We been making Set Decoration and Props for Feature Films since 1998 and TV some time before that.

Following on from my Blog post ‘Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ in 2014, Burrows Lea Forge has a reputation for doing tricky work to a high standard but in timescales far quicker than most can dream of. Obviously this niche market costs a little more and relies a lot on what the client provides… namely quality information, style and mood interpretations, drawings, schedules and prompt payment. In return we advise, plan and produce what they need, when they need it, sometimes even the same day!

This is why we do so much work for the Movies; however this brings it own unforeseen problems. The majority of producers like Disney, Spielberg, Lucas are very protective over their product and production… rightly so, there’s a mind boggling investment in these Features. Resulting in Confidentially Agreements and Manufacture surrender rights documentation, meaning that as a supply company we can’t publicly show (let alone reproduce) what we’ve made for them, particularly when it comes to Social Media…. So nearly all the movie work we’ve done over the last 15+ years you’ll never see here or on our feeds, which is a bit frustrating from our point of view.

A minority of Movies production companies take a different approach and embrace the media storm, hoping it will whip up some free publicity one such film being released this week is ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E’ a Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Sherlock Holmes) directed movie for Warner Bros. A Re-imagined 1960’s Cult classic, where CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization T.H.R.U.S.H.

So I can show a pictures of what we made (without being taken to court), but out of loyalty to our employers I’m not saying what they are or what scene they are used in. All I’ll say is its great from a crafts persons perspective, that Blockbusting Production Companies still see the worth of employing us old fashioned types alongside the cutting edge technology of CGI and Motion Capture. Long may it continue………… and keep me employed by going to see the film this month!

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The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ironwork for the film.

Wrought Iron Gate

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Wrought Iron Gate

Tis’ the season to make gates.

Coming into the gate season once again, the enquiries are coming in thick and fast. Regretfully I had to turn away quite a few in 2013 as we we’re fully occupied  and at capacity with an enormous pair at called the ‘Tijou’ gates at Petworth House. This year we are fully open for designing and making some, big and small. I love making gates!

Gates are pretty useful, they do the obvious! But have you thought a bit more about it? They can be used as focal point to draw your attention to or away from an area, they can extend a view or foreshorten, block and frame. They add texture and colour perhaps. They can definitely make a statement; but be careful with that one, because if you buy one from us the gate will last a very long time. Ultimately if you buy a designed, hand made one they add value and quality!

Its so important to have it designed for you, don’t just buy it because you like the one you see on a website from a bloke 100 miles away, it is unlikely to turn up as it looks on the webpage and it doubtful you’ll get much recourse when things don’t go you way. Make the blacksmith earn his money, because unfortunately they aren’t cheap. Compared to the tinpot ones at the garden centre they are very expensive, but so is a Christmas Turkey compared with a can of chopped tomatoes. Like the analogy, its a treat for a special occasion. You could afford to buy tomatoes most weeks, but they are just……. I’m going away from my point here, I hope you get my drift?

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Wrought Iron gate detail, showing construction and alternative finish

Get your chosen Blacksmith to come out, measure up and talk to you, discussing the possibilities and your options. Remember gates don’t have to have scrolls and spearheads (god help me), some of the nicest and timeless designs are just rails and stiles. Detail is everything, textured bars, mortise and tenon joints, punched bars so that one passes through the next, half lap joints, rivets and sets, curves and corners, perhaps variants on twists (not that old barley twist you have on your fire poker), forged balls, changes of section and good old fire welded detail, mixed media looks good too, try adding in wood, glass or whatever. If your Blacksmith doesn’t mention any of these simple things, please don’t use him. Definitely don’t use him if he doesn’t show you some of his own designs, you know the ones, they are called ‘drawings’…… if he can’t draw, getting across his plans and intentions, its unlikely you’ll end up with what you want or deserve.

The design(s) that arrives with your quotation (why should he/she give an estimate, its a gate?) should reflect your meeting and discussion, taking account of the site situation, house design and all the personal factors that a bespoke service delivers. If you don’t like what you see or the price, just say, most designers and artists have a back up plan for such eventualities, well, I do! And if you do like it but want it tweaked, don’t be afraid to to mention it either.

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Finishing touches to installation of wrought iron gate.

Did you talk about finishing and installation? Well your Blacksmith should have mentioned it, finishing is so important. Your gate is likely to be made form forged Mild Steel, it rusts I’m afraid, and once it starts you are unlikely to stop it. So included in the quote should be a zinc application of some sort Galvanizing is the toughest or Hot zinc spraying gives the best finish, both will protect your investment, don’t confuse zinc powder spray with hot zinc spaying, its not the same.

Then after that it needs painting professionally with a quality paint system. You shouldn’t need to worry about that because the Blacksmith will have included that? Well, I do. There are options of finish, once its protected against rust you can do what you like within reason, graphite loaded paints, phosphated zinc, you name it.

Installation, if the Blacksmith doesn’t include that you should be suspicious; they have gone to all that trouble to design it, make it, finish it…. they not going to let it out of their sight until its up and safe… are they? If they don’t care how its installed they probably didn’t care in the first place. Nuff said!Having the gate installed (and working) by the Blacksmith who made it should be the indicator that the job is done and it time to pay the balance of the bill (you would have paid a deposit to start). That’s it? Well ask about aftercare, quality gates don’t need painting to often, once every 6 or 7 years maybe, they can be washed off in between, maintaining the finish by cleaning off algea etc. don’t use caustic soaps though, Washing up liquid is the worst, car shampoo is OK, or just water!

Any problems, get them back to fix it. Remember you have paid a good price and deserve proper service, a reputable Blacksmith will want you quiet as soon as possible, commending him/her for their speedy attention to the problem.

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Contemporary entrance gates

Gallery!

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Forged and painted flower, Middle Street, Shere.

In these pages I hope to show you what we’ve been up to over the last twenty or so years.

The pictures in Gallery pages are mostly my own designs and if they are not, the designer is accredited. Where the designs are solely Burrows Lea Forge’s they will carry an Artist copyright and cannot be copied or used without my permission. The work itself is entirely ours, I don’t show pictures of other peoples work! With that said I hope you like what you see and don’t forget to give me a click or call if you want more information.

We’ve done a lot of work for a small company and worked very hard to keep solvent and good humored. I’ve worked with many Smiths, Designers and Architects since 1992 and where possible (and justified) I’ve accredited those involved. Somewhere in the Web process I might have missed someone or another, it won’t be deliberate, so don’t sue me or anything. If you are missing and feel you deserve some credit please don’t hesitate to drop me a line or call and bend my ear.

Bacchus Gate

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In July 2008 the Bacchus gate came to life in a sketch, doodled in crayon (because that’s all I had), in front of the customer on a spiral pad (because that’s all I had).  Ever the professional, I had left my site bag in my other van. I was warned by a very well know Blacksmith friend of mine never to do this as it can look amateur and may commit you to something you might regret. I’m sure he’s right!

But I would disagree on one account, I often find sketching quite liberating and often catches the moment far better than memory ever can. Even a few lines can remind you later of what was happening at the time. I have to work very hard when it comes to sketching, I can technically draw very well and I can do formal drawing without to much trouble, but to do ‘off the cuff’ doodles I have to be careful. But this time it was like a dream, it flowed and as the client described what he was trying to achieve for his home.

Bacchus gate detail.

We discussed Bacchus, the god of indulgence, the Horn of Plenty, grapes, fruit and what too many good times can do to you. So a Horn of Plenty Gate adorned with vines, fruit and a bit wobbly was the result…… perfect as the gate was to be sited at the head of a narrow stair to a wine tasting cellar, against a rustic brick wall and to be seen from a French Provence inspired kitchen.
So I scaled the design up from the folded paper to full size and handed it over to the workshop. They did a brilliant job. It was one of those jobs that everyone enjoyed, the money was right, the design was perfect and there was plenty of scope for free form interpretation. The gate and a small panel were finished in a Slate grey finish that my Friend Andy Quirk showed me how to make up and apply.

I wish that so many other jobs went this way…… the client was also delighted!

Bacchus Gate and Panel

The Batsman Gate and Railing, Guildford, UK.

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The Batsman gate and railings was commissioned by the Radian Group in early 2012 and installed at the end of June 2012. The Public Artwork commission made up Radian’s S106 planning obligation linked a new housing development opposite Surrey’s Cricket Ground in Guildford, Surrey. Radian had the foresight and trust to offer us an open brief regards to design. Radian gave us a sensible completion date which we dutifully met with time to spare. I’d like to thank Radian’s senior project manager Rob Cummins for the opportunity to create this work and their builders Leadbitter Ltd. for their support enabling us to deliver the project on time and within budget.

I chose to tell a story with our Artwork. The Artwork imagery compromises of a Cricket Batsman caught in the act of hitting a ‘six’. The sculpture tells the story of an incoming fast ball, the skill of the batsman converts the fright of a  fast bowled ball into the delight of a hard hit ball that no-one can field to safety.

The hope was that children and inevitably adults will want to touch and try to ‘pluck’ the ball from it ‘final resting place’ buried in the ‘damaged’ the railing (they won’t be able to of course!) The intent was realized within minutes of the work finally installed, when a member of the public patting the ball ‘lodged’ in the railing as they passed by. The Batsman and stylized cricket balls have a lot of suggested movement in their forms, although I designed the structure to be totally rigid and tamperproof.

The contemporary styled sculpture is made from hot forged mild steel and is reasonably ‘heavy’ in appearance. Hot forging by its nature imparts life, and suggests an organic and natural feel to what is otherwise a dead metal. There’s a contrasting surface textures, smooth rivet heads, heavily mottled textured bars etc. The sinuous, twisting body of the Batsman is at the foreground of the gate, fixed to the front of the gate frame, behind him are (intact) cricket stumps and behind that is the outline of a giant, stitched seam cricket ball. The gate frame copies the twisting action of the Batsman. The layering does not add up much depth, perhaps only 100mm, but compared to an ordinary gate it will appear deep and rich.

Material density also varies, the ‘balls’ (which are hollow spheres) will sound hollow when rapped with knuckles, whereas the batsman and stumps, rigid and unyielding. The artwork is viewed mainly from passing traffic and pedestrians walking past on both sides of the road, so a substantial build is desirable.

The steelwork is hot dipped galvanized and treated with Phosphoric acid, the surface is then cut back with a light abrasive. We then sealed the resultant effect with a hard wax. This is not a permanent process, just one that speeds up the final effect.

Tree Seat.

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Tree Seat

Tree Seat looking out onto the Surrey Hills

Timber and Iron always compliment each other well.

Furniture is the obvious choice for mixed media items, although it works well in gates and fencing too. The Tree seat featured in this article is one we designed , made  and eventually fitted in June 2011. The brief was to design a light looking seat (‘As if floating!’ I think the client said) but to use wood as the seating material, that’s not an easy trick to pull off, timber alway adds visual weight, so you have to offset that with good detailing and light colouring. The Ironwork is fairly simple as is the timber slats that make up the seat and back rest. The seat slats are tapered to match the radial development of the circular bench. The timber was selected and machined perfectly by my good friend James Steer, from Oram Joinery.

As with the Sime Memorial Bench we installed last month, the timber we chose is a tropical hardwood called Iroko, which is a bit like teak. It is very stable and looks great when it is oiled. We use a horribly expensive product called Osmo oil which is organic, so its impact on the environment is minimal.The oil does the job well, although it does take 4 -5 days to dry properly when you first apply it. The metalwork was galvanised and phosphate washed, as a lot of our outside work is, giving a maintenance free finish. The timber will have to be cared for and recoated in the Osmo oil from time to time but thats the difference between wood and galvanised metal!

Tree seats always offer great photo opportunities as you can see, despite being in the shadow of the tree and on an overcast, showery day,  the beautiful coloured timber sets it off a treat. Here’s a photo of the whole thing.

Full view of Tree Seat

Full view of Tree Seat

Fire Dogs & Baskets

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Norman Shaw Repro Fire Dogs

Reproduction Fire Dogs – Richard Norman Shaw

We design and make a lot of Fire related Ironwork.

Straight away we need to discern the difference between Wrought Ironwork and Cast Ironwork in this article. We at Burrows Lea Forge work in the medium of Wrought Iron/Mild Steel, which can be forged, bent and generally manipulated by heat in a Blacksmiths Hearth, it is ideally suited to ‘limited batch’ production and ‘one off’ bespoke items. Cast Iron like the name implies, is cast. In a Foundry molten Iron is poured into a pre-formed sand or ceramic mould this process lends itself to be ‘batch/semi mass’ market. Confusingly hot forged Mild Steel is often referred to as ‘Wrought Ironwork’ even though it is Wrought Iron-less…… its very confusing I know, I have to explain it all the time, sorry for that!

Fire dog & basket

Hand forged fire dog and basket.

With that over, back to my Blog, the most obvious Wrought Ironwork fireside items are Fire Baskets and Dogs. The ‘Dogs’ are traditionally separate to the Basket and can be used to support/position large logs while they are burning in the fire, but they can be used in conjunction with the Basket to burn a more wide variety of combustibles. Quite often we have orders for ‘statement’ Fire Dogs, just to create a fire place setting even when there is no intention of using a Basket or ever lighting a fire in the hearth. Fire Dogs and Baskets need to be heavily made; they have to withstand the rigours of heat, weight and the caustic conditions the fire’s ashes create.

We like to design specifically for each Hearth; every fireplace has an individual character and it’s a shame to just put in any old grate you find. Good quality Fire Baskets don’t come cheap and should be seen as an investment. A well designed, solidly made Fire basket will last a lifetime and should have an heirloom appeal. At Burrows Lea Forge we always design in serviceability to our work, so you can be sure no matter the use/abuse your Ironwork suffers we can always fix it.

Period Wrought Ironwork Fire Dogs & Baskets are now in great demand as authentic items are scarce on the open market. Period styles fetch high prices, Gothic Revival, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco and Art Nouveau in particular. We like to replicate these styles as they are interesting from a historical point of view, they were designed to look good first…. And fulfil their function second. Before these historic period styles, Fire Basket and Dogs tended to be more functional units as they tended to be used in working (cooking, cottage industry etc.) environments where looks came a poor second place to getting a job done.

The other classic and distinct styles are Medieval Gothic, Tudor, Stuart, Baroque and Rocco (There is of course as everything before and in between, but that’s quite subjective). We have never been restricted to period styles and are quite happy to design and make contemporary fire furniture and in the spirit of 19th/ 20th century styles, looks are the priority.

Contemporary designed free standing Fire Basket

Contemporary designed free standing Fire Basket

Arts & Crafts Gate.

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Hurst Lea Gate

Hurst Lea Arts & Crafts Gate

To follow on from the last blog, I picked out of our archive a very fine gate  that we designed and made in 2008. Needless to say it is hand forged in the way as I mentioned in ‘Making Gates”

It was inspired by the striking Arts & Crafts house it belongs to. The arched top of the gate appears frequently throughout the building’s architecture. The adjoining garden needed some sort of entrance/frame/pointer so it was a natural choice to include it in the design. The in-fill was an open brief so I used a few signature shapes and scrolls, bearing in mind all the time the Arts & Crafts style. I left the middle of the gate fairly open to allow a clear view through and to frame the garden vista.

The gate is mounted on a pair of solid 40mm square posts. The ironwork was hot zinc sprayed to provide cathodic protection and the finished in a conventional manner. The last coat of paint applied was graphite loaded, so the ironwork could be polished to add a graphite  patina lustre.

Sidney Sime Bench

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Sidney Sime Bench

Sidney Sime Bench

We finished installing this bench this morning in the beautiful sunshine. It was commissioned by Worplesdon Parish Council and Guildford Borough Council. Its a mixture of Public Artwork, Signage and Seating. Its eclectic as was Sidney Sime, this is the man the Bench is dedicated to, it is to celebrate his life and works. There is a very interesting Gallery at the Village Hall with many of his papers and works of Art; the Bench acts as Signage to the Gallery too.

The design is based upon one of Sidney Sime’s sketches. I interpreted it and drew full size drawings to enable the structure to be made. These sort of 3D structures need to be draw to full size otherwise they can be near impossible to make economically. The main structure is Mild Steel and there is some beautiful hot forged detailing, namely the leaves and roses surmounting the sign boards. The metalwork has been hot zinc sprayed (cathodic protection) and powder coated in a very dark grey. The seating is made from Hardwood Iroko supplied and machined for us by Mayford Joinery, it has an oiled finish. All the fixings are made from Stainless Steel.

I’d like to thank my good friends Andy Quirk and Graham Hart who helped with the manufacture…. thanks guys for getting getting the work done on time and for putting up with me!

Deepcut Village Sign

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Deepcut Village Sign 2002

The Deepcut village sign was commissioned in 2002 by Surrey Heath Borough Council. The design concept was inspired in conversation by the Deepcut Lock Keeper at that time, Peter Munt. The design jumped into my mind as soon as he mentioned that he was always sorry to have to cut back beautiful wild roses each year so that the Lock gates could be operated safely by the canal users.

The sign is unusual for us because it surmounts a tubular mild steel post, we normally prefer to use tapered Oak Posts that we specially commission from a local Saw Mill.

Hot forged from solid sections of Mild Steel, then Hot Zinc Sprayed to catholically protect the metal, you can see we have coloured this sign extensively. The paint was sealed with a lacquer like sealer so the finish was a uniformly weather resistant. We often colour village signs in this way.

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Forged roses for the Deepcut village sign 2002