Copper
“The humble half-brother to Gold.” Imagine life without Copper! Even the wire that carries the electrical current for the monitor you are using at this very moment relies on this metal.

Cuprum-Cu
This metal can be traced back about 5000 years to form some of our original tools. Its beauty as a metal and mineral, occurring in Turquoise, Malachite and Azurite as well as others, allows it to produce a vast spectrum of beautiful colors. It is also documented as a healing metal and a necessary trace mineral for good health. Our respect for this humble metal should, by now, be obvious. The beauty and malleability of this metal has always been an attraction for decorative metal as architectural accessories and tableware. From the end of the 19th century and well into the 20th, copper was used as detailing for architecture. Beautiful copper cornices and crown molding and other details were popular because it was an inexpensive and completely maintenance free metal to weather the elements, and also because of its workability as a metal for stamping, forming, bending, rolling and spinning. Japanese metalsmiths used copper to make unusual alloys (to us), making it capable of being cast while retaining its rich color. One such alloy is Shakudo, an alloy of 92% copper and 8% gold, producing a beautiful rich brown color.

We have the experience and ability to do hand raising and spinning, fabrication, forming and forging. Copper rivets make an interesting accent in fabrication and are very practical as fasteners. In this website, you can see custom designed copper range hoods for kitchens using some of the techniques I describe here, including rivets. Copper can also be etched, or used as a base metal for electroplating. Call us!