THE MOBILE-MAKING PROCESS
Design
To begin the design process, we gather as much information as possible about your space, including dimensions, design elements, architectural drawings, images, and/or graphic renderings. With local projects, we visit the site in person. For projects that aren't local, we can travel to your location for an onsite evaluation for the cost of travel expenses and a consultation fee, although this is not frequently necessary.
Using the information we've acquired, we design a hanging mobile, kinetic sculpture, or ceiling feature specific to your space, collaborating with you as necessary to ensure the piece fits your space, style, and budget requirements. Our designs start as computer-rendered images and evolve, when necessary, into a 3-D rendering. Sometimes we create a scaled prototype to ensure proper balance, movement, and form. Since mobiles and sculptures are a three-dimensional art form, often with continual movement, 3-D renderings and mock ups give you and us a better idea of how the finished piece will look and behave.
Material Selection
Based on the mobile's aesthetics, form, desired behaviors, weight and strength requirements, as well as your budget, we work with you to determine the best materials for your piece. With an in-house mechanical engineer and industrial designer, we have a thorough working knowledge of material behaviors and attributes. And with more than 10 years of mobile-making experience, we have plenty of hands-on experience with a wide range of materials—from glass to fabric to high-tech plastics to all types of metals.
Fabrication
During this stage, we build and, when possible, fully assemble your mobile in our 2,400 square-foot shop. Our 25-foot ceilings allow us to assemble large-scale projects on site, but we are in no way constrained by the size of our shop. We are skilled at fabricating large-scale pieces that exceed even the height and size of our shop. We have the in-house resources to cut, bend, form, grind, weld, paint, and fabricate on site.
Freight
Our primary goal is designing and creating the perfect piece for your space. But our second goal is awfully important, too: getting your perfect piece delivered to you safely. We carefully disassemble, package, crate, and ship your piece so that it is easily reassembled upon receipt. If you opt out of our installation services, we provide detailed assembly instructions, including photographs—and even video when necessary—to ensure safe and proper assembly.
And remember, we are in no way limited by geography. We have shipped pieces from our Portland, Oregon studio to nearly every state in the union and to international locations as far as South America, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Installation
When possible, we travel to your site to install your piece, ensuring a safe, proper installation. We work with you to make sure to proper installation equipment is onsite, and we provide our own safety equipment and tools, ensuring a smooth installation process.