Hi all.  It's been a long time since I have updated this page but I'll get to it soon.  Until then,  check out my PunkeInc Facebook page and "LIKE" me to see what I have been up to since my last update here!

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Katherine Anne Confections Window Signage

I dug into my bag of tricks and got out my signpainter hat this week. Not my forte but I wanted to do this for a former Potbelly co-worker, Katherine Anne Duncan. We both seemed to show up at new store openings at the same time and spent many late evenings in locations far and wide. She in the back of the house, me in the dining room. She's since sucessfully moved into the candy making world and has been at it for five or six years now, selling mostly online. She just opened her new retail storefront this past week.  The fringe benefits at this job were sweet!!! You have to check out her wares. Amazing. http://www.katherine-anne.com/

Stained Floor Sample Boards

As I was cleaning up my shop the other day I ran across these two sample I did a while back for a stained oak foyer that was in an amazing Beaux-Arts Benjamin Marshall designed building at 1550 N. State Parkway in Chicago at the very southern end of Lincoln Park and across the street from the Cardinal's mansion. Benjamin Marshall also designed the Chicago Drake Hotel.  The client decided that these were a little fussy and wanted to do something a little less complicated, I did these with different field/border combinations. Sort of a mix n' match kind of thing. Not sure if the client really got it. Floor still looked nice. As for the sample boards, I have a couple concepts I'm working on that are going to need tables. I think these will be awesome inlaid into a table.

http://benjaminmarshallsociety.org/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Benjamin-Marshall-Society/156795927673179

This is the floor that we ended up doing.

Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Bean Tables

A friend and former Potbelly co-worker has been opening a number of Dunkin' Donut stores the last few years that seem to be rocking the Dunkin' world!  His stores have been so successful that when he opened at Madison St. and Ogden Ave. in Chicago, just down the street from the United Center, he got the go ahead to bring in some things you wouldn't normally find in a typical Dunkin' store.  He asked me to make him some "cool" tables.  I immediately thought coffee beans and this is what I came up with.  They seem to be very popular with the customers and the first tables to fill up. 

Del Frisco's Grille, Washington DC - Interior Wall Finish and "Street Plan"

http://delfriscosgrille.com/


I created a textured "plaster" finish here that covered 700 sq. ft. of wall space in this store that will open the second week of July.  In one of the areas there was a design based on the Washington street layout cut into the plaster.  The other areas above some booth seating and upper level hallway had only the texture applied.

 

4 sq. ft. sample board submitted for client approval. 

  

Nando's Rope Weaving, Arlington, VA

The rope for this project at Pentagon Row in Arlington, VA was custom dyed, fireproofed,then shipped to the site and woven onto two welded iron frames with holes drilled every 2".  The frames were 8.5' x 5' and 8.5' x 13'.  It took me three days to weave...ten days for the blisters to heal!

First, it all had to be fireproofed.

North Branch Pizza & Burger Co. Interior Signage

http://northbranchglenview.com/  

Hilton "Glass" Shades... Finished sconce pictures coming soon!

My task was to see if I could come up with a way to mimic an art glass sample using cylindrical acrylic tubes.  The tubes are to be used in exterior sconces that will be installed at the Hilton at Michigan Ave. and Balbo, Chicago.  After many experiments and consultations with the architect, this is what I came up with.  Thanks to Aria Group for the awesome pictures and presentation.  I'll add pictures of the finished product when available.

Omango Magazine Racks

http://eatomango.com/

After years of saying, "This would be easy if I knew how to weld." .......

I FINALLY taught myself to weld!!!!   Pretty simple, I know, but it's a start.

 

OMango "Rangoli" Mural

 

http://eatomango.com/
I have recently started working with a great new concept that recently opened it's first store in Aurora, IL that will feature fresh, thoughtful Indian food.  My first task was to paint a mural/graphic called a "rangoli" on two large walls in the rear left corner of the store.
Rangoli is a traditional decorative folk art from India. These are decorative designs made on floors of living rooms and courtyards during Hindu festivals and are meant as sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. 
The purpose of Rangoli is decoration, and it is thought to bring good luck. Design-depictions may also vary as they reflect traditions, folklore and practices that are unique to each area. It is traditionally done by women, but over the years modern additions have been adapted. Generally, this practice is showcased during occasions such as festivals, auspicious observances, celebrations of marriages and other similar milestones and gatherings. 

Here's how it evolved, day by day,...... in reverse.