Our company was profiled in the December issue of 5280 Magazine .. click here to link to the article  or read below

These are a collaboration with our friends Jim Brushaber and Jason Lucas. Jason painted the tops with a metallic paint and water effect that has metal fleck suspended in the epoxy. The edges have subtle striping from Ebony Macassar veneer. Pics really don’t do these justice. See them in person at the CAI showroom in the Denver Design District.

With help from our carpenter Jim Brushaber, we created fine art tables to help designer Heidi Marquardt fill the clubhouse at Prana in Lafayette, CO.  In addition to this piece we created another round top the same size as well as two bar height round tops (images in the furniture section of our site).

We just finished a group of pieces going to a high-end residential building in China.  That’s right, we are exporting to China.  The piece, which was one image comprised of six-43×79 inch panels, was commissioned by @lewisgrahamart.com.  It will serve as a visual backdrop, extending skyward behind a three-story staircase in the sales center of the building.

Profile Feature: Green by Design :: by Vicky Rosenberg

303 Magazine , Profile Feature by Vicky Rosenberg

April, 2011 :: Edited version below, the article can be seen in it’s entirety at www.303magazine.com

“Interior design is a form of art, but it’s art that anyone can master if they have an eye for it.  For some, it’s a natural gift to bring a still to life.  Others need a little help transforming a space into a nook of their own.  Grant Louwagie and Jared McKenzie Hankins brought their visions together to create Blender Design Group, a visual solutions company specializing in custom fine art and furniture, as well as graphic imagery.  Their pieces adorn the rooms and walls of hotels, galleries, and residences locally and nationwide, and the guys maintain an attitude that anything is possible as long as you can think outside the box.  It’s easy to limit yourself due to price points and/or availability, but there are ways around designing a space, and it all depends on your resources and creativity.

The most important part of creating your own corner is to ‘buy things you want to look at,’ according to Hankins.  Why purchase a couch that is uncomfortable or art that doesn’t appeal to your eye simply because someone has branded it or labeled it “cool”?  What’s cool is what’s cool to you-after all, if it’s your property, whose eye will it catch most often? ‘Understand there are no rules.  Don’t worry about what others are doing or what you’re seeing in public,’ Hankins points out and Louwagie agrees.

Trends in interior Design can change just as quickly as designs in fashion, but the price tag on art, furniture and other home accessories make it a challenge to replace home wardrobe seasonally. So, when accessorizing a bedroom or a loft, why not opt for something that looks high end but that is also I your price range and that will be aesthetically pleasing to the eye several years later?  Hankins even suggests trying things yourself.  ‘Don’t take on steel grinding, but at least attempt,’ he says, explaining that he got into creating with resin this way.  A client had requested a piece, but would have cost $20,000, so Hankins found a way to recreate the client’s request at an affordable price simply by using different materials.”

“And of course, keep in mind the environment.  Louwagie (and) Hankins mention that the green movement is here to stay, but even more so is the local push.  Individualism, the blurring of lines between architecture and interior design, incorporation of abstract art into furniture, contextual pieces, more durable products – all of this becomes possible with local market providing a broader spectrum from which to choose.  And boosting the economy by putting money into local businesses – well, that’s just another bonus.”

The designers of the newly renovated JW Marriott in Cherry Creek, David Ashen and Paige Powell, did a lot of things right when considering what artwork they placed in the hotel.  First and foremost, they selected all local artists.  We were fortunate enough to place a handful of works in various mediums throughout the hotel including: the Lobby, Presidential Suite, Executive Suites, two elevator landings and Consierge Lounge (see below). Secondly, they picked good art. And third, they had the forethought and budget to have an event to showcase the art and artists.  The event on May 12, called ‘Reveal’, was located in a ballroom on the second floor of the JW Marriott and featured good food, beer, an upbeat quartet, as well as the artists they selected from around the state. This is a particularly kind gesture considering we place dozens of pieces around the country every year and rarely see where they end up.  If you own a piece of art, send the artist or gallery a picture of it, or better yet, throw them a party.  You will end up getting a lot of art in return.

God I love this country…As much as I love crappy reality television, I may love “special TV offer” product ads even more. Meet “Pajama Jeans” the fashion sensation that’s sweeping the nation. With features like, contrast stiching, brass rivets, and a sexy one size fits all boot cut fit, whats not to love about this product?

Oh yeah…did I forget to mention you can sleep in them?
Are you tired of passing out drunk, only to wake up with heavy, soggy, and stinky cotton jeans on? Well cheers to this, the proprietary “Pajama Jean” fabric also wicks away stinky urine to keep baby drunkard happy and dry!

Edge Bar, Four Seasons Hotel, Denver Colorado

When our friends at Lewis Graham Art Consultants said they were doing an art proposal for the new Four Seasons Hotel in Denver we were excited to say the least. They told us they were working with a really talented designer and had a lot of art to place. They gave us some loose parameters and asked us to start sending images. We had done site specific artwork for them in the past, but nothing of this scale, or this public.

We hunkered down, unplugged the phone, and began a 2 week painting binge. We thought if we could present enough cool images, certainly they would choose at least one of our pieces to go in this Denver landmark to be. Well, 1 year and 40 pieces later we are not only “in the 4 seasons” we are “all over the Four Seasons”.  Although many of the works were giclées on canvas, there were a couple significant areas where we were able to show off our epoxy artwork and customization capabilities. One of these pieces is “Tornado at Sea”

Located in the Four Seasons lobby’s Edge Bar, the piece measures roughly 3.5ft high by 22ft long. It is broken into 7 panels, 3 fixed and 4 on sliding doors to reveal 2 huge flat-screen TVs (in case you’d rather watch football than stare at artwork). The piece is and abstract landscape depicting a tornado (far left) clouds, debris, and breaking wave (far right).

Although I pride myself on only supporting seedy dive bars, I must say this is my “new favorite bar”. Not for my usual reasons (cheap beer and sketchy clientele), but for its incredible ambiance.