Steel Appeal Blog

Just Passing Through

Curtis — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:09:58 +0000

What are my options for cold air return and register vents? I get this question all the time. With homeowners make their living space more personal and decor specific, they are running into a lack of options when shopping in stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot. Many are hiring interior designers, others are tackling the task of transformation on their own. In either case they have even more trouble when an opening is custom, or the air vents have to serve a custom purpose, like redirecting air flow from behind curtains. Sometimes with hardwood flooring a drop in register vent is desired. In many applications a custom size is required. This is were what I do at Left Foot Designs can make a huge impact on the final result. It is often the little details that pulls everything together. Cold air returns and register vents are some of those details. Below you will find a few of the custom items I have recently designed and built. Don’t let the details ruin all your hard work and time, get something made to your desires by someone who can make it happen.

2 am

Curtis — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:57:53 +0000

My dog wakes me up and 12:30 and I can’t go back to sleep. I go downstairs to sleep on the couch, while setting the alarm on my phone, I see the date. I realize I am only 8 weeks away from my first show this year. Holly Crap! It’s 2am and I’m at my shop because I’m freaking out about all the things I have to get done in what seemed like a reasonable amount of time. This is what life is about to me. The excitement, the uncertainty, the pressure. I suppose most people would thank that I am crazy for actually loving this. What they don’t realize is that the part of me that most people are drawn to, is this part. It is the sparkle in my eye, the fire in my soul, chasing that carrot on the stick without knowing who the hell is holding that stick. Is it me holding it? or something bigger, something that all of us are a part of but maybe don’t realize it.

I am not hear at 2am because of money, fame, or bragging. I am here for a reason I can’t explain. It’s like being lost in a foggy woods and excited about it. I’m not sure if I am on the verge of insanity or breakthrough. Is there a difference? Perhaps insanity is the burning of the fog as the sun rises, only to show you that the whole time you were walking through the fog in a thick lush forest you never once stepped off the path. All at once you realize you are as much on coarse when you can’t see where you are going as you are with the hot sun lighting your way. Close your eyes people and walk! What are you keeping yourself from? There is something there that is burning, and for whatever reason you are ignoring. Here I am facing the most uncertainty I have faced and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it. I challenge you to find that part you have been ignoring and listen, go crazy. Perhaps there, you will find clarity.

Cottonseed Apparel Wardrobe Mirrors

Curtis — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:31:38 +0000

Who made those mirrors? The wardrobe mirrors located in the dressing rooms at Cottonseed Apparel in Glen Arbor were made by me, Curtis M. Warnes of Left Foot Designs. With some input form Ann Oberschulte (Co-Owner of Cottonseed) I came up with two designs, one a little organic, the other a little Frank Lloyd Wright. Both have brushed steel finishes on the main frame. Behind each top feature is a copper verde panel for a subtle contrast. Custom designs and sizes are available upon request. You may also check out what we have across the street at my retail store, next to the post office.

At The Sportsman Shop

Curtis — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:10:27 +0000

I would like to thank Bob Smith at The Sportsman Shop for allowing me to show some of my work in his store in Glen Arbor. I have had items there since spring of 09′ with great success. The traffic that flows through because of his charter fishing on Lake Michigan, and wonderful fishing on Glen Lake, offers a great opportunity for some of my sculpted and silhouette freshwater fish to find new homes. Among the fishermen, there is an increasing number of people shopping for clothing as he continues to expand his Columbia Sportswear collection and well as others. Currently you will find a sculpted salmon up for grabs that is signed and dated by yours truly Curtis M. Warnes. So please stop by and say hi to Bob and the crew.

A Simple Way to Change Your Interior

Curtis — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:02:25 +0000

Most people overlook the presence of the wall plate covers and how much it can change the feel of the interior in their home. Switch plate covers are available in many options. For instance on steelappeal.com you will find a wide range of cover styles from rustic/cabin, contemporary, and even plain with different finishes. The great thing about changing your wall plates is it’s general inexpensive, you try a few to find what you like, and over time slowly change over your whole house, or room by room. In my own house the style is very modern. Stainless steel, grays, blacks, and reds. To my wife and my surprise we found that the plain copper patina looked the best. We tried a ton of different styles from brushed steel to polished steel, white and black. For us, we found that we liked the warm earth tones of the copper patina, and they didn’t take away from anything else in our house.

Custom Wall Art For Pro Web Marketing

Curtis — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:46:28 +0000

When it comes to wall art the possibilities are endless. On steelappeal.com you will many options for wall art, products that are already designed and ready to go. However if you are looking for something with your specific desires and style, or just something that is one of a kind. I can make that happen too. That was the case for the commission I recently installed for Pro Web Marketing, located at 300 E. Front Street in Traverse City. Ryan Goddard of Pro Web approached me and asked if I could do a piece for their office entrance with fiber optic cable as a focus point.

This is what I came up with, a 4′ x 6′ aluminum back featuring a very modern swirl pattern with a hand applied transparent black top coat to tone down the sheen of the raw aluminum. The fiber optic cable theme was achieved by taking more than forty 1/8″ steel rods cutting them to various lengths, fanning them out, and welding them to a frame that would be attached to the aluminum base. Knowing that Ryan wanted the fiber to appear as realistic as possible I spent time studying the colors of fiber in photographs. I settled on a cool blue base coat, with a light silver top coat giving the rods depth and movement at different angles of light. I finished the fiber pieces with a little punch of candy yellow at the tips to mimic light passing through. The finishing touch to the whole wall piece is a sugar cone shaped cap to cover the mounting point to the base, and to give the appearance of the cable jacket.

Benefiting The Boardman river

Curtis — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:08:52 +0000

For the past several years I have donated a piece to be auctioned off at the annual Gourmet Game Dinner held at the Traverse City Golf & Country Club, sponsored by the Traverse City Rotary Club. This year I decided to go with a featured auction. What I came up with was a brook trout coffee table.

The table measures 36″ in diameter and 24″ tall. The top is 3/8″ glass and sets on top a 3/16″ thick ring with assorted fly fishing flies cut out with a hand ground swirl pattern. In the middle of the ring, 12″ below the top sets a hand sculpted and painted brook trout measuring 16″ long. The trout is held in place by hand forged and formed tree roots. The table base in coated with a hand applied copper patina. The table was a huge hit and I plan on making another table with the same concept in time for the Up North Lake & Cottage Show in April at Howe Arena.

A Change Coming to steelapppeal.com

Curtis — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:16:08 +0000

I am pleased to announce that after hours of calculations and research we will be lowering prices and incorporating flat rate shipping. I know that for many of my customers they recognized that I have offered free shipping since I started steelappeal.com, but I am 100% confident that this change will benefit my customers tremendously. So be on the lookout for lower prices coming soon.

Sculpted Red Fish

Curtis — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:57:04 +0000

One of my personal favorite items to create are the sculpted fish. I do many different types and species, salt water of fresh. I also take request from people if they have a certain fish they prefer. All of my sculpted fish are hand ground, pounded, formed, and finished creating unmatchable beauty and realistic appearance. I spend a ton of time studying pictures and if I can live fish to really capture as much detail as I can. Each one of these fish is signed and dated. Recently I finished a red fish so that is what I would like to feature in this post.

Multi Leaf Picture Frame

Curtis — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:30:17 +0000

Roughly two years ago I was asked by my wife to make some picture frames for the pictures we would be getting for our three children. At the time I never could have imagined how much of a market there would be for such a product. For this post I would like to feature my personal favorite picture frame to date. This picture frame features an assortment of oak leaf, maple leaf, and aspen. The leaves are carefully hand torched achieving amazing colors ranging from yellow, orange, purple, and blue. The frame around the leaves is speed sanded to give a contemporary look and depth. Holding three 5×7 photos and beveled matting, and offset from the wall by 1.25″.