"Let's just do it in nickel, that won't be a big deal — right?"
Famous last words, often repeated in the world of design. Soon after we released The Hallie with brass hardware, we were getting requests for a nickel finish option. Changing a socket and a few finials to nickel sounds laughably simple on its face, but a quick look into our resources for metal parts spotlighted that things that look simple rarely are.
Some of the pieces weren't available in nickel, so what comes next? This is where custom nickel-plating is amazing, and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of nickel plating companies across the country ready to help. But what we needed was particular, a super fine finish on a relatively small scale, and where we needed it was even more specific: in the Hudson Valley region.
At Quittner, we pride ourselves on prioritizing local sourcing whenever we need something done that we don't do in-house. To fulfill this goal, we've developing manufacturing partners for everything from CNC work to casting to powder coating. Over time, we've also brought some of the skills we didn't know previously into our workshop either through expanding our personal skills set (like, say, learning to make lampshades). But there are some things that we don't do due to space, equipment requirements, or the time it takes to become an expert. One of those things is nickel plating.
Cue a many-months-long hunt for a local nickel plater who could provide the level of finish we require as a design practice, the reliability we need as a business, and the proximity to meet that Hudson Valley region requirement.
Finally, someone returned our call. Yes, call. Up here, these craftspeople are old school. They don't have regular hours or websites, and they're working out of barns with old beams and bad reception. However, they are also badass. They work hard and show up when they say they will and do beautiful work — and we're lucky to get to work with them.
With a nickel plating source lined up, we were finally able to move forward with releasing The Hallie in polished nickel in all three porcelain colors: white, black, and mugwort.
We hope you love them, on your ceiling or wall, as much as we do.