Crafting Custom Kitchen Components: Circle City Copperworks
A carriage house hood over a kitchen stove by Circle City Copperworks. Photo courtesy of Jordahl Custom Homes in Fargo, North Dakota.
Combining both form and function, copper is becoming a popular choice for home interiors and restaurants across the country, bringing its classic beauty to kitchens, bathroom, fireplaces and more.
Brandon Reeve, owner of Indianapolis-based Circle City Copperworks says his team completes an average of 50 sinks, 50 countertops and 25 range hoods on an annual basis from the custom orders received through design and remodeling firms all across the country and locally.
Kitchen, bar, prep and bath sinks encompass the components which are usually combined with faucets.
Unlike other metals, copper is easier to clean, making it a natural choice for the kitchen and bath. “We recommend that people not use abrasive scouring pads because they don’t need to with these sinks,” Reeve says. “You can just spray it with soap and water and be very unaggressive with cleaning the sinks.”
Reeve describes the sinks as having a living finish since copper self-heals.
“It lasts forever, and it completely endures,” Reeve says about why copper is a great choice for sinks and other surfaces which are used every day in residential kitchens or in restaurant settings.
“Any scratches will blend in and self-heal, in time, and it will change to colors like green, purple and bronze,” he says.
Some of the sinks Reeve’s team receives as custom designs involve double basins and less than typical or standard shapes, and in certain cases, they have decorative outer sections, like with fasteners and portions which extend as far out as nearby cabinetry.
Two locations of Five Horses Tavern in the Boston area have project pieces by Circle City Copperworks, including copper bar tops, a copper beer tower and copper plates and letters for restroom doors.
“It’s really in to have something different nowadays,” Reeve says about growing interest in copper for kitchens and in other areas where food and drinks are enjoyed.
He and his team have also done custom orders in the past for a copper fireplace mantle and a fireplace surround, aside from their usual products.
Once engineering drawings are sent from design and remodeling firms for their clients, Reeve adds that it generally takes four to six weeks to complete a piece, depending on the current workload of his employees.
Circle City Copperworks sources its copper from the Coated Metals Group location in Indianapolis.
While Reeve estimates that his team has built orders for customers in states across about three-quarters of the U.S., he notes that Boston and the state of New York brings in a lot of the demand.
Reeves points out that when their work is finally installed, they often receive pictures of the final placement.
“My coppersmiths love seeing pictures of installations,” Reeve says.
“It’s a very good niche,” Reeve says about his company’s work. “A lot of people could fabricate a range hood in stainless steel, but not in copper.”
Resources:
Also in this Issue:
- The Copper Legacy of Jacob Bromwell
- Copper: Raw and Honest
- Crafting Custom Kitchen Components: Circle City Copperworks
- Copper Garden Art with a Kinetic Twist
- Rare Hellenistic Bronze Sculpture On View at Getty