October News for Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Co.

Is the Holiday Season really just around the corner?  Time has just been flying by.  In the year since we have launched this blog, we have been busy creating new designs to add to our catalog, establishing a social media presence, and marketing our product through trade show and gallery venues.  It has been a productive and exciting ride, and we look forward to what the next season will bring us.  Before we realize it, another year will have sped by and we will be ringing in the New Year! 

New Designs from Golden Gate Bridge Furniture

The two most recently introduced designs are our new Conference Table and Executive Desk, which made their debut at the 2012 Dwell OnDesign show this past June.
 

The Conference Table takes a section of original Golden Gate Bridge handrail and lays it across a cage table base crafted of new American sourced steel.  A glass table top showcases the section of handrail beneath it.

The Executive Desk utilizes a section of original Golden Gate Bridge handrail along the front side of the desk.  The desk top is crafted from locally sourced native species wood.  Edition #1 (shown above), which was showcased in our 2012 DOD booth, incorporated a large slab of Claro Walnut displaying a beautiful graft line where an English Walnut was grafted onto the root stock of the native California Walnut.  This was a practice commonly done in local area orchards.  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.

 

Shown here in this detail shot of the Executive Desk, the desktop is given a live edge, maintaining the flow of the grain, before it blends in to the edge of the handrail.


Follow Us Online

 

Join us in the conversation by following us online at one of our social media venues.  You can find us at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr, and LinkedIn.  Whichever venue you’re active at, we invite you to come follow us to find out what is new and what inspires us.

 

www.facebook.com/ggbfurniture

www.twitter.com/ggbfurniture

www.pinterest.com/ggbfurniture

www.ggbfurniture.tumblr.com

www.flickr.com/photos/77340117@N05/
 

www.linkedin.com/company/golden-gate-bridge-furniture-co.

With the holidays and the New Year just around the corner, keep an eye out for some new designs we hope to debut in the upcoming months. 

Happy October!

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

Dwell On Design Press Release

Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Co. to Debut New Designs at
2012 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 two large table designs at the Dwell On Design Show in Los Angeles this June.

Pacifica, CA (June 1, 2012) – Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Company (GGBFC) 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.  GGBFC, who will be exhibiting their unique hand crafted designs in Booth 408, plans to debut two new large table designs: The Executive Desk and The Conference Table.

GGBFC 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 a headboard design, nine table designs, and two lamp designs. 

Dwell on Design, the largest design show on the West Coast, will be taking place from Friday, June 22 to Sunday, June 24 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  GGBFC will be exhibiting their designs in Booth 408.  “This is the first time in many years that we have been able to exhibit at a show in Southern California,” says Richard Bulan.  “I’m excited to return to the area and to debut our new Executive Desk and Conference Table designs.”  The large Executive Desk design, which incorporates salvaged Claro Walnut as its desk top, and Conference Table design necessitated a much larger booth space than usual.  “In the past, our tables have been moderate to small side and accent tables, which didn’t require a large booth.  These new designs required us to have a much larger display space.  It is actually the first time we have ever had a booth this big.  It has presented us with a bit of a challenge this time around, but it should be well worth it.”

To learn more about the company and its designs, GGBFC invites you to visit them at the Dwell on Design exhibition in Booth 408.  The show is open Friday June 22 from 10am to 8pm, Saturday, June 23, 10am to 6pm, and Sunday June 24, 10am to 5pm.   Richard Bulan can be contacted directly by phone at 415-661-6263 or by email at richard@ggbfurniture.com.  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/ggbridge12.

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

Sneak Peek - Architectural Digest Home Design Show

We are excited to be an exhibitor at the upcoming Architectural Digest Home Design show in New York next week.  The show runs from Thursday, March 22 to Sunday, March 25.  If you are in the New York area, we invite you to come visit us at our booth, M182, and see the new designs that we are set to debut:

The Club Table

The new Club Table design incorporates a Claro Walnut table top and shelf, as opposed to the glass that we normally use with our designs.  The locally sourced urban salvaged wood used for this particular table displays a beautiful graft line where an English Walnut tree was grafted onto native California Walnut root stock, as was commonly done with the 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.

Sculpture by Min Hwan Park

This sculpture was created by local San Francisco artist, Min Hwan Park, from the small pieces of steel left over from the Golden Gate Bridge hand rail material after crafting our larger furniture pieces.

Both these unique designs will be on display and available for purchase at our booth, M182, at the Architectural Digest Design show next week.

 

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

 

  

Architectural Digest Home Show Press Release

Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Co. will be an exhibitor at
2012's Architectural Digest Home Show

The company that crafts unique artisan furniture from original steel removed from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge will be an exhibitor in the selective MADE section at the Architectural Digest Home Show in New York this upcoming March.

Pacifica, CA (February 1, 2012) – Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Company (GGBFC) is preparing to exhibit their product line of Limited Edition furniture crafted from original steel off the Golden Gate Bridge at the upcoming Architectural Digest Home Show in New York.  GGBFC will be exhibiting their unique hand crafted designs in Booth M182 of the distinctive MADE section of the design show, which features individual one-of-a-kind works of art and furnishings.

GGBFC 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 a headboard design, eight table designs, and two lamp designs. 

The renowned Architectural Digest Home Show will be taking place from Thursday, March 22 to Sunday, March 25 at Pier 94, 55^th Street at Twelfth Avenue.  GGBFC will be exhibiting their designs in booth M182.  “In the past, we have participated in San Francisco and Los Angeles area tradeshows, but this is the first time we will be branching out beyond the West Coast.  We are excited to debut our designs for the first time in New York through such a distinguished venue,” said Richard Bulan as he looks forward to bringing his designs out to the East Coast.  “We also hope to debut a new design that I’ve envisioned using a salvaged Claro Walnut wood top with a base of repurposed Golden Gate Bridge steel.  Normally, our table designs use glass for their table tops, but this new design explores using urban salvage wood for our table tops instead.”

To learn more about the company and its designs, GGBFC invites you to visit them at the Architectural Digest Home Design show in Booth M182.  The show opens to the Trade and Preview Guests on Thursday, March 22 from 10am to 7pm, and then it is open to the public Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24, 10am to 7pm, and Sunday March 25, 10am to 6pm.   Richard Bulan can be contacted by phone at 415-661-6263 or by email at richard@ggbfurniture.com.  For additional information on the company, feel free to visit the GGBFC website at www.ggbfurniture.com.  For more information on the Architectural Digest Home Design Show visit www.archdigesthomeshow.com.

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

Embarking Upon a New and Exciting Year!

As the holiday festivities wind down, it is time to reflect upon the accomplishments of the past year and look forward to the exciting events of the New Year that lies before us….

New Space, New Look, New Designs

After many years of quietly maintaining the company, Richard decided that this would be the year to finally bring about the changes he has hoped to make for quite some time. In this past year, Richard was able to realize his dream of having his own space to showcase his designs in by setting up a small showroom in Pacifica, located on the Coastside, just south of San Francisco. Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Company also launched a newly redesigned website, as well as three new product designs: the Coffee Table, the Side Table, and the Task Lamp.

The first of these new designs, the Coffee Table, was launched this past summer. The Coffee Table, a lightweight design that incorporates new steel, provides an alternative to our original, and heavier, Cocktail Table design, which is crafted from 100% of the historic Golden Gate Bridge steel. In the autumn, Richard followed with a Side Table design that complements the new Coffee Table. The Side Table is another lightweight design that incorporates new steel with historic steel, allowing for more flexibility within small spaces. Finally, in December, Richard introduced the new Task Lamp design to fill the void created by the completion of the original Desk Lamp design’s production run.

Architectural Digest Home Design Show

As we move into the New Year, we are very excited to announce that Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Co. will be an exhibitor in the MADE section of the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York this March. This is a very distinguished design show that we are proud to be a part of, and we can’t wait to unveil our designs in New York for the first time!

Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary

Additionally, it is an exciting year for the Golden Gate Bridge itself, since it will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year! The Golden Gate Festival will take place on May 26 and May 27 with waterfront festivities on Crissy Field and the Marina Green, culminating with a fireworks display during the Memorial Day weekend.

America’s Cup Racing

Finally, the crown jewel of the year’s events surrounding the Golden Gate Bridge will be the spectacular racing of the America’s Cup, which will take place on San Francisco’s Northern Waterfront. The Golden Gate Bridge and the surrounding beauty of the bay will provide the dramatic backdrop to the sleek boats racing across the waterfront. The races are expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors from around the world, many sailing in under the Golden Gate Bridge themselves upon their arrival.

Happy New Year from Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Company!

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

Introducing the New Task Lamp Design!

Back in September we posted a Sneak Peek on the pieces of original Golden Gate Bridge steel that Richard was going to use in a new Task Lamp design. He wanted to utilize some of the smaller pieces that were left over from the sections of historic handrail after crafting the larger designs. Many of these pieces had wonderful weathered details that Richard wanted to showcase in the new design, but he was not quite sure how to incorporate them into a larger item. So he worked with a local welding artist, and a lighting designer, to help take his vision and create a prototype that showcased and utilized these smaller, weathered pieces. After working through a few different shapes and styles, Richard is happy to finally introduce the new Task Lamp:

     

Task Lamp Front                                         Task Lamp Back

The lamp shade is a small section of channel-beam that runs along the base of the handrail. It was sliced with a band saw and fanned out to give a unique and abstract reference to the larger design of the original handrail itself. To further carry on this reference, the base reflects the same parallel rail look using additional weathered pieces of this same channel-beam welded together to create a stable platform. The post that comes up from the base to hold the shade incorporates new steel that replicates the design of the posts used for the street lights on the Golden Gate Bridge itself.

                

Task Lamp Shade Detail                                         Task Lamp Base Detail

One of the things Richard also wanted to use in this new Task Lamp design was low wattage LED lighting. The light fixture itself is a 6.3 watt, 410 lumens LED with a 3,000K white color temperature that is equivalent to a 35 watt halogen bulb.

The new design weighs in at 7 pounds, with a height of 17 inches and a footprint of 6 by 4 inches.

The Task Lamp has a limited production run of 390.  As with all our designs, each Task Lamp is numbered and comes with a Letter of Authenticity.

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

Production and Pricing

We often get questions about the pricing of our designs and what is involved in their production.  The price points on our designs have such a varied range due to the nature of the material and how labor intensive it is to convert something from its original purpose into something new and different.  The larger designs, such as the Night Table, are crafted from 100% Golden Gate Bridge steel, using large amounts of the historic handrail.  This makes them much heavier and more costly to produce.  Our newer designs use smaller amounts of Golden Gate Bridge handrail, incorporating new pieces of steel for the cross-members.  This makes the pieces lighter and lowers the production costs.

 

The Night Table is crafted from 100% historic Golden Gate Bridge steel versus the
new Side Table which incorporates new pieces of steel for the cross-members.

Another reason why our production costs are higher than some may expect is due to the efforts we go through to make sure the materials used in our products are made in America.  The Golden Gate Bridge itself is an American made wonder that was built using American materials and labor.  The steel used to construct the bridge was forged and fabricated by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation on the East Coast, shipped through the Panama Canal, and installed on the Golden Gate Bridge during its construction in the 1930s.  In fact, on many of our pieces you will find the letters “B S C” stamped into the steel by the manufacturer from when the material was originally produced.


With this history in mind, we strive to remain true to the American spirit of the Golden Gate Bridge by ensuring that all additional materials used in our designs are sourced from within the United States.  For instance, the glass used for our table tops comes from Toledo, OH, and it is cut and polished in Fairfield, CA.  This American sourced glass is three times more costly than glass imported from overseas.  The new steel that is used as cross-members in some of our lighter designs is forged in Salt Lake City, UT.  The metal identification plate on each furniture piece is sourced from Los Angeles, and it is laser cut in San Francisco, CA.  Even the small rubber pads that are used to cushion the glass table tops are an American made product that comes from St. Paul, MN.  Our designs are then all hand-crafted in small batches using local tradespeople in San Francisco.


The very nature of our product is ecofriendly, as it is a repurposing of steel that was created for one use, yet we are using it in a creative way for something else.   We try to build upon this further by creating a sustainable product using ecofriendly practices in our fabrication.  In the production of our designs, we strive to use every piece that is cut from the handrail sections, so that no steel goes to waste.  Furthermore, we use acrylic paint because oil based paint is created using a hydrocarbon based solvent that produces toxic vapors during application and clean up.  This is the same ecofriendly paint used by the Golden Gate Bridge Authority on the bridge itself, and we even obtain it from the same source.


All these factors combine to create a product that is more than a simple piece of furniture.  It is a unique piece of art and a piece of history.  It is a connection to a memory or a feeling.  We hear many wonderful stories from people who have a personal bond to the bridge and San Francisco… ranging from being a native to the area and now living in another part of the world, to having a relative who worked on the bridge or crossed it on opening day… from receiving a wedding proposal on the bridge, to sailing out underneath it on their honeymoon.  The Golden Gate Bridge has many significant meanings to many people, and our designs allow them to bring a tangible piece of that meaning into their homes to enjoy for years to come. 

     

Headboard                             Night Table                             Lamp Table

Cocktail Table



Post Revised 01/31/2012 

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

Sneak Peek: New Side Table Design

In an effort to fill the void left by the retired small table designs, Richard has been working on a new Side Table concept.  He wanted something that was relatively different from the Accent and Occasional Tables, which utilized the cap that runs along the top of the handrail material.  With this in mind, he decided the new design would feature the Channel-beam that runs along the base of the handrail material.

After sketching a few ideas on paper, he began the prototype process and created a rendering of the design so he could get a better feel for how it would look:

Once he created the drawing, he had a better idea of how the design would be built and what sections from the handrail material would be used.  With this information, he enlisted the skills of an artistic welder to help him bring the vision to life.  The piece was then sandblasted down to the raw metal in preparation for painting.  Finally, Richard gave the prototype a fresh coat of the official Golden Gate Bridge "International Orange" paint, and was lucky enough to wake up to a sunny morning to take the first Sneak Peek photographs of the new Side Table:

The special twist to this design is that the table base can be flipped over to give the table a slightly different look:

Since Richard is still working out a few kinks in the design, we're not quite sure of the exact launch date.  There is an issue that still needs to be resolved regarding where the H-beam pickets of the handrail meet with the Channel-beam.  Due to the pitch of the Golden Gate Bridge, this angle is not always perpendicular.  In order for the table to sit flat on the ground and for the glass to lie flat on the table base, this angle needs to be taken into account when the table is crafted. 

Another design element in question is the use of a rough edge when the H-beams are cut.  In the past, for the other table designs, this cut was done with a band saw, which left a smooth edge.  However, with this prototype, the cut was done using a plasma cutting torch, which leaves a rougher, more rustic edge:

 

Tell us what you think about the rough edge versus the smooth edge.  We'd love to hear some feedback.  We expect the Side Table to have a limited edition production run quantity of 280.

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

Sneak Peek: New Task Lamp Design

People always ask us what we do with all the small, leftover “scrap” pieces once we produce a design. Well… the answer is that we save them in hopes of finding something cool and creative to do with them. After all, we’re repurposing and recycling a piece of history, so we don’t want to toss out even the smallest of pieces, no matter how insignificant they may seem to some.

When we introduced our first Desk Lamp design back in 2000, it had a limited edition run of 92. It was so popular, it sold out in about a year and the design was retired. Since then, we still get inquiries from customers about the Desk Lamp, hoping that one has become available over the years.

Now that Richard has a chance to think about new product designs, he thought that it would be an ideal time to come up with a design for a new lamp. However, he wanted to do something creative with those steel pieces that he always has left over from the production of existing designs. One of the most common pieces that he ends up with is the one pictured above on the left, but there is nothing really exciting about it in terms of its shape or size, and since it is such a small section of steel, it doesn’t always have much weathering on it. Then it occurred to him, what if he was able to slice it up and fan it out into some type of shade for a lamp? The result of this experiment is the fanned out sections of steel shown on the right in the photo above.

Richard still has to play with the design a little more, determine how and what to mount the shade to, and how the light will shine through, but he’s very excited to see what the next step in the prototyping process will bring. He hopes to have the design ready to go in time for the holiday season.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the launch for this new design. It may sell out quickly, so let us know if you want to be put on the waiting list to order one!

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

www.ggbfurniture.com - info@ggbfurniture.com

As summer comes to a close...

It has been a busy summer for Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Co.  Although the company has been around since 1994, it has had a flurry of activity in recent months.  Richard Bulan, the founder of GGBFC, crafts limited edition, artisan furniture from repurposed steel off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Specifically, his designs are crafted from sections of pedestrian handrail, originally placed on the bridge during its construction in the 1930’s, and removed during the bridge’s handrail replacement in 1993. This summer, GGBFC has launched a new Coffee Table design, as well as a newly redesigned website. In addition, Richard Bulan has finally realized the dream of having his own space to showcase his designs by setting up a Coastside showroom.   Located on the ground floor of the Clock Tower Buliding at Rockaway Beach in Pacifica, the showroom provides an inventory and order fulfillment space as well as a place to display finished product.  Richard invites you to come check out the designs at www.ggbfurniture.com or to make an appointment to come see the showroom in Rockaway Beach, Pacifica.

Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Co.
446 Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044 - 415.661.6263 - www.ggbfurniture.com