New Accent Pieces Available this Summer

Don't leave your heart in San Francisco...
keep a piece of San Francisco in your heart! 

Now you can always keep a piece of San Francisco with you! Available in either a silver or gold heart-shaped locket with a matching 18" chain. Our pendant contains a small piece of the original Golden Gate Bridge, which comes from a section of the historic handrail material as we are crafting our larger furniture designs.



Desk or Table Top Accent Pieces

Also available this summer are our new accent pieces for your desk, table top, or bookshelf. Available in a variety of sizes, our small accent pieces can function as paperweights, bookends, or simple visual interest. Available with either an original patina finish or given a fresh coat of International Orange, each piece comes from a section of original Golden Gate Bridge handrail as we are crafting our larger furniture designs. 

Sizes vary, may contain mild weathering, number stamps, or letter stamps.

For more information:

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

Summer Pop-Up Gallery on PIER 39 Ending Soon!

Made In San Francisco Gallery at PIER 39

 

Summer is drawing to an end, and there are only a few short weeks left for The Made In San Francisco Gallery Summer Pop-up on PIER 39.  If you haven't had a chance to visit us and see our designs in person, time is running out! 

Plan a day on the pier and stop in to see our designs along with other locally crafted art by other San Francisco artists:

Golden Gate Furniture Co.
Tom O'Brien
Eric Joyner
Nidhi Chanani
Christy Gregory  

The Gallery is located on the second floor of PIER 39, Building B, just down from the Fog Harbor Restaurant and the California Welcome Center, and across from the Crab House Restaurant.      
For more information about the gallery and its featured artists visit:

our Website
www.madeinSFgallery.com

or our Facebook Page
www.facebook.com/PIER39MadeInSanFrancisco
 Feel free to stop by, or contact us to schedule a time to meet. 

Hope to see you before summer ends!

Made in San Francisco Gallery

PIER 39, Suite B15
Beach Street at The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94133
415.661.6263

info@goldengatefurniture.com
www.goldengatefurniture.com
www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture
www.madeinsfgallery.com 

Last Chance Before The Holidays!

Holiday Open Studios: Sunday, December 7th, 12-5pm

























If you missed visiting us last month during our Fort Mason Open Studios, you'll have one more opportunity before this holiday this weekend.  Our workshop will be open for the upcoming Islais Creek Holiday Open Studios. 

Stock is very limited, so mark your calendars to come on by to visit us! 

























Thanks to everyone who made it out to visit us last month for our Open Studio at the Fort Mason Gatehouse!


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 

  

 

Save The Date: 2014 Fall Open Studios

Thanks to all who came to visit us at our workshop for the 2014 Spring Open Studios.  Be sure to save the date for the upcoming 2014 SF Open Studios presented by ArtSpan this Fall.  Our workshop studio will be open for Weekend 1 of the citywide event, October 18 & 19.

  

 

 

Islais Creek Studios #417

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Co.
One Rankin Street
San Francisco, CA 94124
www.ggbfurniture.com

Save The Date!

2014 SF Open Studios
Presented by

ArtSpan

Weekend 1: October 18 & 19, 11am to 6pm
Hunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios

Opening Reception
Friday, October 17 - 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

 

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  

 

 

2014 Spring Open Studios - Hunters Point Shipyard Artists and Islais Creek Studios

 

We will be participating in next weekend's 2014 Spring Open Studios at our Islais Creek workshop.  Come for a weekend of great art and designs from local San Francisco artisans.  The studio will be open for previews Friday evening, May 2, followed by the community's entire Spring Open Studios event Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4. 

For more information visit:

www.shipyardartists.com/info-for-visitors/

www.thepointart.com

Islais Creek Studios #417

One Rankin Street
San Francisco, CA 94124

Golden Gate Design & Furniture Company - 415.661.6263

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

 

 

Sneak Peek: New for DWELL on Design

Coffee Table with Claro Walnut

With Dwell On Design coming up, we're working on a few new things to have in our booth this year... Come take a look at this modified version of our Coffee Table where we incorporate a piece of Claro Walnut as the table top rather than glass. Note the graft line in the wood where the two species of walnut were grafted together as saplings to produce a variety of Walnut tree that thrived in the California soil, but had the higher nut yield and thinner shell of the English Walnut...

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

New Project for a New Year...

King Headboard with a Platform Bed Base

Happy New Year!  We’re starting off 2013 with a new project… a custom hand-crafted wood 
platform bed base that attaches to our King Headboard.  Here is a sneak peek at the project
from our workshop:

The King Headboard mounted to the platform bed base.

A wider view of the King Headboard mounted to the
platform bed base.

Detail view from top where the leg of the King
Headboard fits into the platform bed base.

Detail view from the bottom where
the leg of the King Headboard fits
into the platform bed base.

Best wishes to you in the New Year!

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