About Me - punke.paul@gmail.com

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Oak Park (Chicago), Illinois, United States
I work with restaurateurs, designers, architects, businesses, construction companies and homeowners who need assistance turning ideas, visions, carefully thought out projects and sometimes even bewilderment into beautiful, well crafted finished products. I began doing paint finishes, murals, signage and building custom furniture and art pieces after graduating from art school in the early 80's and have been at it ever since. My largest project spanned almost ten years and began when a client needed help with a restaurant concept that he wanted to duplicate. After the second store came a third, a fourth,until I found myself responsible for creating and maintaining the "vibe" and the look of just over 200 stores in many different US markets along with a warehouse/furniture/artifact/signage production facility to support them! Now, I'm again spreading my talents around not knowing what new project or opportunity is around the corner and loving it. This blog/portfolio shows only some of the work I have produced over the years. I encourage you to dig back a ways. Some interesting things in here! Contact me at punke.paul@gmail.com with questions, comments and inquiries.

Nov 12, 2010

Wood, Wood, and More Wood at Twin City Grill


I recently made a trip to Minneapolis to work on the remodel of a restaurant (Tucci Bennuch) that I worked on at the Mall of America when the mall opened 18 years ago.  There was another store (Twin City Grill) owned by the same group that opened shortly after where I did wood grain till my body was a wreck.  I should have added chiropractic fees into the bill!  When I was finished I dashed out of there so quickly that I never got any photos.  Since I was working at "The Mall" I went and did some needed touch ups and finally got some photos.  Some areas are actual wood and others, mostly the curved parts of the ceiling, are painted.  After all that work, hardly anyone realizes it.  I guess that's the beauty!