2018 Spring Open Studios at Islais Creek

Spring has arrived... Mark your calendars and RSVP to visit our workshop at Islais Creek Studios!  Our workshop will be open to the public for Spring Open Studios the weekend of April 20 - 22.  One of only two times a year that our workshop is open to the public, this is a can't miss opportunity to come visit our studio, see our designs in person, and learn more about the process of crafting them.

Golden Gate Furniture Designs - (clockwise) Coffee Table #12 w/ Claro Walnut Table Top, Lapel Pin, Cuff Links, Heart Locket Pendant w/ Piece of Bridge, Tea Table #11, Heart Locket Earrings w/ Piece of Bridge, Night Table #31, Card Holder / Bookend, Heart Locket Earrings w/ Piece of Bridge, Tie Clip, Heart Locket Bracelet w/ Piece of Bridge (center)

Spring Open Studios
Friday, April 20 - 6pm to 9pm
Saturday, April 21 - 11am to 6pm 
Sunday, April 22 - 11am to 6pm

RSVP@goldengatefurniture.com
415-661-6263

Additionally, a visit to our workshop is available by appointment any time of the year.

info@goldengatefurniture.com
www.goldengatefurniture.com
www.facebook.com/goldengatefurniture
www.instagram.com/goldengatefurniture


Golden Gate Furniture Co.
1 Rankin Street, Studio 417
San Francisco, CA 94124
415.661.6263

2017 Spring Open Studios

Islais Creek Studios
Saturday, April 22 
Sunday, April 23

Mark your calendars to come join us on Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23, for an opportunity to visit our workshop and see our designs in person.

Opening Reception:

Friday, April 21 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Spring Open Studios:

Saturday, April 22 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday, April 23 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

RSVP at info@goldengatefurniture.com or 415-661-6263

Additionally, a visit to our workshop is available by appointment any time of the year.

info@goldengatefurniture.com
www.goldengatefurniture.com
www.facebook.com/goldengatefurniture
www.instagram.com/goldengatefurniture



Golden Gate Furniture Co.
1 Rankin Street, Studio 417
San Francisco, CA 94124
415.661.6263

Thank You for a Great 2016 Fall Open Studios!

Workshop at Islais Creek Studios

Thank you to everyone who braved the rainy weather to visit our workshop

last weekend during Artspan's 2016 Fall Open Studios.

 

Claro Walnut Table Top of Headlands Table

 

 

Workshop at Islais Creek Studios

 

 

Workshop at Islais Creek Studios

 

 

Section of Handrail from Golden Gate Bridge

 

 

Desktop Accent Pieces - Bookends and Paperweights

 

 

New Batch of Frames in Production Queue

 

 

Don't Leave Your Heart in San Francisco...

Keep a Piece of San Francisco in Your Heart

 

 

Task Lamp

 

 If you missed the opportunity to visit us during our annual open studios, a visit to our workshop is available by appointment any time of the year.

info@goldengatefurniture.com
www.goldengatefurniture.com
www.facebook.com/goldengatefurniture
www.instagram.com/goldengatefurniture


Golden Gate Furniture Co.
1 Rankin Street, Studio 417
San Francisco, CA 94124
415.661.6263

Fall 2014 SF Open Studios

October 18 & 19 at Islais Creek Studios

Thanks to all who came to visit us at our Islais Creek Studios Workshop
for the Fall 2014 SF Open Studios. 

If you missed visiting us at our workshop during Weekend 1 of this city wide event,
we will also be showing our designs at Fort Mason during Weekend 4:

November 8 & 9 at 11AM to 6PM
Fort Mason Center - The Gatehouse
Marina Blvd. & Laguna St.

For additional information, visit the ArtSpan website at:
www.artspan.org/sfopenstudios 

Golden Gate Furniture Co.

1 Rankin Street, Studio 417

San Francisco, CA 94124 

415.661.6263

 

info@goldengatefurniture.com

www.goldengatefurniture.com

www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture

 

 

 

 

Celebrating 20 Years and Reflecting Upon the Design that Started It All: The Headboard

 

 

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Company is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this spring.  What started as a personal desire for a headboard created from a piece of Golden Gate Bridge hand railing, has developed into a business and craft that has kept designer Rick Bulan busy over the last 20 years.

 

In early 1994, Bulan happened to catch a local television news segment featuring the 1993 replacement of some original pedestrian handrail on the Golden Gate Bridge.  “Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse on TV of this section of handrail being removed from the bridge,” Bulan reflected, thinking back upon the moment that the concept came to him.  “As a San Francisco native, I thought it would be cool to have a headboard made out of this handrail.” 

 

  

After tracking down the contractor who did the replacement, he bought himself a section of railing and created four headboards out of the material.  “I went to buy a section of railing, not realizing that each section was 12 feet long and weighed, literally, half a ton.  I arranged to have a truck pick up and deliver my piece of handrail, then spent several weeks with abrasive blades trying to cut the steel down to a manageable size so that it could function as a headboard.”  After seeing the interest in the headboard by other friends and family, Bulan went back to the contractor and negotiated to purchase the remaining sections of hand rail so as to start a business crafting furniture out of the historic steel.

 

After negotiating to purchase the available sections of handrail from the contractor, Bulan ran his first advertisement in the July / August 1994 issue of Metropolitan Home, launching the headboard design crafted from that first section of handrail purchased earlier in the year.
 

 

 

Reflecting on the circumstances of the initial advertisement that launched his business, Bulan “started by purchasing an ad in Metropolitan Home magazine.  It was a special advertising section that provided an image of the product with a couple paragraphs of backstory.  I had sent them my ad copy and an image of the headboard on a white background just before my wife and I left for a month long trip to visit her family in Kentucky.  However, while we were on the road, I received a message from the magazine that they wanted a photo of me to go with the story in the ad."

 

"They wanted it to look like I was leaning up against the headboard.  So, my wife and I are out in the middle of rural Kentucky, trying to take a snapshot of me on a white background, looking like I was leaning against an imaginary handrail of the Golden Gate Bridge.  As luck would have it, the local town’s beauty parlor was hosting a traveling portrait studio that week, and I was finally able to get a portrait done.  I think we used a broom as the prop for me to lean my elbow on, which the magazine then cut out and replaced with the image of the headboard that I had sent them.  Of course, by doing this, the proportions were off and it made for a bit of an awkward photograph,” Bulan laughingly recalls.

 

All of this was unknown territory to Bulan, but the gamble paid off.  Inquiries and orders started trickling in.  “My wife and I were creating our first product brochures by hand, making mini-scrapbook style booklets with pages we printed out on our printer at home and actual photographs affixed to them.  This was back in the day when you had to drop your film negative off at the local 1hour photo shop to have reprints done, and we were just using snapshots we took with our personal camera.  Eventually came the professional photographs done in a studio and professionally printed literature, but it’s amazing to look back over the years and see how the technology has changed, to become what it is now in the digital age.”

 

However, as he looks back over the last two decades, Bulan points out that the technology and techniques of creating the furniture has basically remained the same.  It is the tools and techniques used to run the actual business that have changed over the years.  "As we've moved into the digital age, it's the use of computers, cell phones, email, etc. that has changed the most, making communication and running a business so much easier to do.  But the way I built the furniture then is pretty much the same way I do it today."

 

Spring 2014 marks twenty years since that fateful day when Bulan saw the local news story.  He is still creating headboards, as well as various table and lamp designs, from the historic handrail that was removed from the Golden Gate Bridge in 1993.  All of the limited edition designs are hand-crafted locally in small batches by Bulan and the specialized artisans he works closely with at his studio workshop in San Francisco.  You can see all of Bulan’s current designs at his company’s website, GGBFurniture.com, and here at TheChrysopylae.com.  His Pacifica showroom and San Francisco workshop are available by appointment only.

 

Golden Gate Design& Furniture Company - 415.661.6263

Showroom: 446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044
Workshop: 1 Rankin Street, Studio #417, San Francisco CA 94124

info@ggbfurniture.com  -  www.ggbfurniture.com  -  www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture 

  

 

Mark Your Calendars: Spring Open Studios 2014

If you were not able to make it last fall, we will be participating in another Open Studios event at our Islais Creek workshop this Spring.  Mark your calendars now for Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, for the 2014 Hunters Point Shipyard Open Studios.  Be sure to follow us here at our blog, our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture), or on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ggbfurniture) for more event information as it becomes available.

Photos from Fall 2013 ArtSpan SF Open Studios

Thanks to everyone who stopped by last November to visit our workshop during the SF Open Studios event!

 

Workshop Studio at Islais Creek

 

Workshop Studio at Islais Creek

  

Vista Bench

 

Tea Table 

To learn more about these and our other designs, please visit our website www.ggbfurniture.com, or contact us at info@ggbfurniture.com.

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co
446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044 - 415.661.6263

info@ggbfurniture.com  -  www.ggbfurniture.com  -  www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture

Happy New Year!

 

 

A New Design for a New Year: The Table Lamp

Originally previewed at DWELL On Design this past summer, the new Table Lamp design is now in production and available for purchase:

The new Table Lamp design incorporates a piece of historic hand rail cap as its shade and a cross section of the vertical rail picket as its base.  It uses an energy efficient 6.3 watt, 410 lumens LED with a 3,000K white color temperature that is equivalent to a 35 watt halogen bulb.

The Table Lamp has a limited edition production run of 195.  Each lamp is hand-crafted locally, numbered, and comes with a Letter of Authenticity.

To place an order for a Table Lamp, or any of our other designs, visit our online store or contact us directly via email or phone:

Online Store

 

info@ggbfurniture.com

415.661.6263

Wishing you all the best in 2014....

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co
446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044 - 415.661.6263

info@ggbfurniture.com  -  www.ggbfurniture.com  -  www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture

 

DWELL On Design 2013

Exhibit Highlights & New Designs

Last month we hit the road and exhibited at Dwell On Design in Los Angeles.  We had a great time meeting people at the show and looking at all the beautiful and creative products on exhibit there this year.  With so many awesome and innovative designs to consider, we wish to thank Jaime Derringer over at Design Milk for including us in her Favorites from Dwell On Design 2013.

To see more photos from our Dwell On Design booth, we invite you to visit our album up at our Facebook page or at our Flickr page.

At the Dwell event, we premiered a couple of modified designs as well as two new designs.   As we continue to explore the use of wood with our historic steel pieces, we were excited to show modified versions of our Side Table and our Coffee Table designs with salvaged wood table tops.

 

Above is shown our Side Table design with a table top crafted from a salvaged piece of Mango wood from Hawaii.

 

 

Above is shown our Coffee Table design with a salvaged piece of Claro Walnut orchard wood.  If you look closely, you will see the graft line where the two species of walnut were grafted and grew together.  A common practice in our local area orchards, since English Walnut had a higher nut yield and thinner shell, but it didn’t fare as well in the California climate, English walnut was grafted onto root stock of native California Walnut.  Where the two species met and grew together you get the graft line showing two distinct wood grains, lending character to what would normally be a standard piece of Walnut.

 

 

Newly introduced at the show this year was our Table Lamp.  The Table Lamp is similar in size to our Task Lamp design, and it uses the same LED lighting technology.   However, the Table Lamp incorporates a clearly recognizable piece of weathered handrail cap, differentiating it from the more abstract look of the Task Lamp.

 

Also introduced at the show this year was our new Tea Table.  The Tea Table is similar in size to the retired Accent Table design, but like our Side Table design, it incorporates the handrail channel beam that runs along the base of the historic pedestrian handrail.

Thank you to all who came out to see us at the show and helped us have a great experience.

To learn more about these and our other designs, please visit our website www.ggbfurniture.com, or contact us at info@ggbfurniture.com.

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co
446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044 - 415.661.6263

info@ggbfurniture.com  -  www.ggbfurniture.com  -  www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture

 

 

Sneak Peek: DWELL On Design

New Designs for DWELL On Design in Los Angeles

DWELL On Design is right around the corner, and we're working on a few new and modified designs to have in our booth this year...





















As we continue to explore the use of wood with our historic steel pieces, we are offering modified versions of our Side Table and our Coffee Table designs with salvaged wood table tops.  Additionally, we will be introducing a new Table Lamp and a new Tea Table design.  The Table Lamp will be similar in size to our Task Lamp, but will incorporate a clearly recognizable piece of weathered handrail cap.  Our Tea Table will be similar in size to the retired Accent Table design, but like our Side Table design, it will incorporate the handrail channel beam that runs along the base of the historic pedestrian handrail.

The DWELL On Design exhibition will be taking place June 21 -23 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  If you are in the Los Angeles area, we invite you to come by our booth and see the new pieces we will be launching this summer. 

Booth #1223

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co
446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044 - 415.661.6263

info@ggbfurniture.com  -  www.ggbfurniture.com  -  www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture
 

2013 ADEX Awards Press Release

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co. Receives Two ADEX Awards

The company that crafts unique artisan furniture from original steel removed from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge was awarded two 2013 ADEX Awards (Awards for Design Excellence) for its Side Table and Task Lamp designs.

Pacifica, CA (May 15, 2013) – Golden Gate Design & Furniture Company (GGDFC) has received two 2013 ADEX Awards (Awards for Design Excellence) for its Side Table design and its Task Lamp design. 

The ADEX Awards, sponsored by Design Journal magazine, is one of the largest and most prestigious awards programs in the architectural and design industry.  For the 2013 awards, a record 2,828 entries were received from over 500 different companies.

"We are honored to have been recognized by the Awards for Design Excellence,” stated Richard Bulan, founder of GGDFC.  “We are excited to hear that we have been awarded with the Gold ADEX Award for our Side Table design and the Silver ADEX award for our Task Lamp design.  We appreciate this acknowledgement of our efforts to repurpose a piece of history into something that combines art and function, crafted by hand with integrity and heart."

The Side Table design, which received a Gold Award, is a round, compact, three-legged table, crafted from historic pedestrian Golden Gate Bridge handrail.  The design is balanced in a way that allows you to flip the base over for a slightly different look when desired. 

The Task Lamp design, which received a Silver Award, is inspired by the street lamps of the Golden Gate Bridge.  In order to utilize every piece of the historic handrail material, Richard Bulan created the Task Lamp design to use the small pieces that were left over after crafting his larger designs.  The light fixture itself is an energy efficient 6.3 watt, 410 lumens LED with a 3,000K white color temperature that is equivalent to a 35 watt halogen bulb.

GGDFC is the brainchild of San Francisco area resident, Richard Bulan.  The company creates limited edition artisan furniture from original steel that was placed on the Golden Gate Bridge during its construction in the 1930’s.  Richard crafts his designs from sections of pedestrian handrail that were removed during the Bridge’s handrail replacement in 1993.  He acquired the handrail in 1994 and has since created and put into limited production his signature headboard design along with various table and lamp designs. 

For additional information on the company, feel free to visit the GGDFC website at www.ggbfurniture.com.  For more information on the 2013 ADEX Awards, visit www.adexawards.com.

#   #   #

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co
446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044 - 415.661.6263

 

info@ggbfurniture.com  -  www.ggbfurniture.com  -  www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture

DWELL On Design 2013 Press Release

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co. to Debut New Coffee Table Design at 2013 Dwell On Design Show in Los Angeles

The company that crafts unique artisan furniture from original steel removed from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge will debut a modified Coffee Table design at the Dwell On Design Show in Los Angeles this June.

Pacifica, CA (May 15, 2013) – Golden Gate Design & Furniture Company (GGDFC) is preparing to exhibit their product line of limited edition furniture crafted from original steel off the Golden Gate Bridge at the upcoming Dwell On Design show in Los Angeles.  GGDFC, who will be exhibiting their unique hand-crafted designs in Booth 1223, plans to debut a modified version of the Coffee Table design that incorporates an inset Claro Walnut table top.

The modified Coffee Table design incorporates an inset piece of locally salvaged Claro Walnut as its table top, as opposed to the glass table top normally used in the design.  The particular piece of wood used for this design displays a beautiful graft line where an English Walnut tree was grafted onto a native California Walnut root stock, as was commonly done with orchards in the area.  The native Walnut tree fared better in the California climate, but the English Walnut had a higher nut yield and a thinner shell, so it would be grafted onto the native tree, thus extending its life.  The resulting wood near the graft line, with its beautiful, variegated marble-like swirls was what was then originally referred to as Claro Walnut.

GGDFC is the brainchild of San Francisco area resident, Richard Bulan.  The company creates limited edition artisan furniture from original steel that was placed on the Golden Gate Bridge during its construction in the 1930’s.  Richard crafts his designs from sections of pedestrian handrail that were removed during the Bridge’s handrail replacement in 1993.  He acquired the handrail in 1994 and has since created and put into limited production his signature headboard design along with various table and lamp designs. 

 

Dwell on Design, the largest design show on the West Coast, will be taking place from Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 23 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  GGDFC invites you to visit them at the Dwell on Design exhibition in Booth 1223.  The show is open Friday June 21 from 10am to 7pm, Saturday, June 22, 10am to 6pm, and Sunday June 23, 10am to 4pm.   For additional information on the company, feel free to visit the GGBFC website at www.ggbfurniture.com.  For more information on the Dwell on Design exhibition, visit www.dwellondesign.com.

#   #   #

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co
446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044 - 415.661.6263

info@ggbfurniture.com  -  www.ggbfurniture.com  -  www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture

 

 

Spring 2013 Newsletter

May 27, 2013 - Golden Gate Bridge Anniversary

Has it really been a whole year since the Golden Gate Bridge 

celebrated its 75th Anniversary?  As we approach its 76th 

this May 27, take a moment to look back at the wonderful

celebration from last year...

Los Angeles... Here we come!

Its official... you can now find our exhibitor profile online for this summer's show.  America's largest design event DWELL on Design will be taking place at the LA Convention Center from June 21-23.

We are looking forward to exhibiting again and learning about all the new products out this year.  We plan to debut a few new designs of our own at the show... so be sure to "Like" us on Facebook to get a sneak peek at the designs before they premier at the show!  

If you are in the Los Angeles area this summer, come by our booth (#1223) and visit us... We'd love to see you!

Retired Designs Available!

We recently had one of each of our retired designs become available from a private collection.  If you were interested in purchasing one of these retired designs, please contact us directly for pricing.

Social Media: Find us at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr

If you haven’t done so already, we invite you to visit one of our pages and follow us for our latest news, updates, and specials.  If you are a fan of using Facebook or Twitter, come visit our pages and “Like” or “Follow” us… and feel free to share the links with friends who would like to learn about us as well.  If you are a fan of Pinterest or Tumblr, come follow us at either one of these sites to learn about what motivates and inspires us to do what we do.

Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Co
446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044 - 415.661.6263

info@ggbfurniture.com  -  www.ggbfurniture.com  -  www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture