LG-HIMACS® course

The 25th of november we had our first Solid Surface course at Baars & Bloemhoff distributer of LG-HIMACS® for the Netherlands. For those of you who don’t know what Solid Surface materials are please take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_surface. Solid Surface will be one of our main materials giving us the freedom to create all kinds of free-form jointless products, interiors and objects for our clients. The main producers of Solid Surface are high tech companies like Dupont® and LG®. The material is mainly used for kitchen and bathroom design although we will make custom productions for these markets our main focus is on specialities like freeform elements. Our workshop and machines will be specially suited for taking on these kinds of jobs. Besides the machines the workforce also needs to be specialized. For this purpose we had this first exploration with LG-HIMACS®.

In the morning our instructor Sjaco fed us with all the ins and outs and do’s and don’ts of the material. In the afternoon we had to practice with the material. The main item was to glue pieces jointless together. Ernest turned out to be the best assembler of the pack who after sanding the piece had a perfectly jointless element. This element was polished until it wash perfectly shinning. One of the nice things about Solid Surface is that you can finish it in all kinds of levels from matt or satin to really shiny. If a stain is left on the material you can just sand it lightly and the stain will disappear. LG® gives a 15 year warranty on finished products.

First Machines Delivered

Friday the 6th of november our first woodworking machines where delivered. We had some heavy equipment helping us out with unloading a sliding-table saw, a dust extractor and a band saw. Everything is up and running and last week we made our first production. Later more on this.

I’m glad the workshop is actually producing. On the office side we are still redecorating the place. It takes some time to get it right and to have the security in place. For the time being we use doors as tables, work on laptops and have internet through a mobile internet dongle. It’s a bit of a hassle but it doesn’t spoil the fun.

First assignment in production

Our first assignment is the production of a kitchen, kitchenette and a reception counter for NAD™ who designed a modern architectural office in the north of the Netherlands. The items are finished in a high gloss snow white finish.

Team Complete

Monday we welcomed Wim on the team. Wim is a experienced woodworker who will be responsible for all our woodwork and the constructive part of our assignments. With Wim our workforce is complete. For now Solid Shapes™ is; Ben on CAM/CNC and manager workshop; Wim on woodworking; Ernest on CAD, planning, time-and-motion and woodworking; Sabine as general manager and myself as creative director.

Solid Shapes™ Takes Off

Yes, last monday we started our new business! Unfortunately our renter wasn’t ready with fixing up the place intime. This sets us back a week. At the moment we are very busy making the place feel at home. Upstairs we teared down some walls making our office one big place. On the first floor we also removed a wall making two small offices into one bigger meeting room. The floor of the rooms will be finished with a white epoxy coating giving the rooms a fresh and crisp look (pictures will follow). At the end of this week the first machines will arrive. So next monday we aspect to be working on our first assignment.