Our custom range hoods stole the show at K/BIS’08!

Moving forward for 2008, we’re proud to announce big things in the works. Our display at this years Kitchen and Bath Industry show showed how far we’ve come in this industry. When we introduced the concept of artistic patterned metal hoods with decorative finishes last year to an industry that was stagnating in a modernist nightmare of lightweight angular stainless steel appliances. Our booth (pictured above) demonstrated seven standard frame styles and more finishes than the naked eye could take in at one time!

We also took the occasion to display several of our art pieces, including the now-infamous Campbells Soup can range hood—”at the same time a tribute and an insult to Andy Warhol”, as Chris described it—and our range hood built from the body of a ‘57 Chevy Bel Air. Rounding out the modern American art history lesson were our rendition of Jasper Johns’ ironic painting “Flag”, and our “Birth of Fortuna”.

Check out a slideshow of photos from the show here: Read the rest of this entry »

Hammered copper range hoods have been a rage in kitchen design for some time, and for good reason - The warmth and textured sheen of patinaed copper adds beauty and elegance to any space.

However, “living finishes” like copper patina are notoriously difficult to care for; one spill or splash and the finish is back to pink copper, usually not the desired result.

We offer the smart alternative, capturing the essence of living metal with no more required care than the paint job on a garaged Bentley…

Our metallic rangehood finishes never need polishing, and they will look the same twenty years from now as they do today. We pride ourselves on innovation, and these new metallic finishes are a huge leap forward in the design of custom metal range hoods.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a range hood for the true connoisseur. Going far beyond the basic hammered copper or bronze range hood, we’re showing we mean business when it comes to art in the kitchen with this metal range hood. What hood could go better above the Diva de Provence range in a bold Tuscan kitchen design? Or fit better under your mahogany cabinets above that Aga range you cook on every day? Our metal artistic range hoods continue to push the envelope of art and design…

For our take on Botticelli’s classical masterpiece, we’ve shifted the referents to reflect a changed era. Gone are the personified zephyrs of the wind and the welcoming seasonal goddess, replaced with architectural motifs reflecting wind and fruitful land. The goddess who floats to shore on the sexualized scallop shell is now Fortuna, the goddess responsible for luck, wealth. good taste, and fortune. Colors were added with our signature finish technique, selected for their thematic unity as well as their place in an artistic kitchen design.
Read the rest of this entry »

As traditional-styled high end European ranges become more popular in America, a problem facing kitchen designers is that its nearly impossible to find a hood that matches these ranges; whether in style, color, or decor. As specialists in custom metal work, we took on this challenge for a client looking for a range hood for her La Cornue CornuFé range.
Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Plummer, CEO of Metallo Arts and Valley Tin Works, was invited to speak at the opening of the Whitney Museum’s Gordon Matta-Clark restrospective. Chris spoke on the history and context of architectural pressed metal and his inspiration from the work of Matta-Clark.

Gordan Matta-Clark (1943-1978) is best known for his “building cuts”. Although all of the buildings he transformed were demolished shortly after he altered them, his work lives on in the photographs, films, drawings, and building fragments.