Tag Archives: Pedestal Source

Celebrating Mothers with Love and Pedestal Discounts

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Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday, May 12. That means you only have 4 more days to decide how you are going to celebrate the wonderful mothers in your life. Mother’s Day, specifically in the United States, has been celebrated since 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it to be a national holiday that was to be held every year on the second Sunday in May. Of course, we Americans were not the first to celebrate our mothers, so let’s take a look at how this tradition began.

Ancient Greeks honored their mother of the gods on a special day, Romans honored their version of the mother of the gods, Christians honored the mother Mary, and the English gave servants a special holiday in order to visit their mothers. According to familytime.com, “Julia Ward Howe is credited with first suggesting a day to honor American mothers and to celebrate peace in 1872… Howe organized annual Mother’s Day meetings in Boston.” It took years to formalize the day, but “in 1913, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for federal government officials to wear white carnations in honor of mothers on the second Sunday in May.”

Mother’s Day is now the day that mothers receive cards, homemade goodies, treats, clean houses, breakfasts in bed, gifts, and many other pampered luxuries. The question for those who have mothers or mother like figures is what to get for them and how to show them your love and appreciation?

Pedestal Source wants to help you celebrate and spoil your mothers by offering a special discount of 15% off any pedestal that is not already on sale. Better hurry, this deal will only last until Mother’s Day. Simply call our store at 1-800-333-9953 and mention the Mother’s Day discount and you will receive 15% off any pedestal you choose as long as it is not already on sale.

Give your mother something she can place her other Mother’s Day gifts on, give her something she can keep for years to come, give her something that will help decorate her house, give her something that says “I love you and I want you to have something special.”

Mother’s Day is 4 days away, what are you getting for your mother?

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Give Your Space a Sleek, Elegant look with Cherry Pedestals

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Do you have a display piece that needs the perfect pedestal to help make it stand out? Whether it’s for your home, your art studio, or even your office, a cherry pedestal has the simple elegance to let your piece be in the spotlight. The lighter cherry wood makes the pedestal unobtrusive so it doesn’t detract from the piece, instead making the show-piece the focal point. The cherry pedestal also offers something stylish to look at and is more than just an ordinary stand.

When buying pedestals for your office, maybe for your plants, or for an art studio to showcase artwork, you want something functional that lifts the desired piece to eye level, but doesn’t take up a lot of attention. A big table can take up a lot of room and make your office or studio feel smaller by its size. The simple design of the pedestal gives the plant or art piece a sturdy base to sit on, takes up little room depending on the size, and is pleasing to look at without detracting the focus from the main piece. It also gives you more options to move the plant or art piece around the room rather than keeping it against a wall.

The cherry wood pedestals are the perfect choice when looking for something graceful for your artwork, showpiece, or whatever it is you want to display. They come lighted or not depending on what your purposes are. The lighted options create a dramatic effect when used to display glass or relief sculpture art pieces, while the directional light option is perfect for any acrylic, crystal, or glass sculptures.

No matter your need, if you want something effortless and tasteful to display your prized pieces on, you can’t go wrong with a cherry pedestal. The real cherry wood veneer is easy to clean, darkens naturally over time, and very durable. Each handcrafted piece can hold up to 200lbs and no matter the size you need, contact Pedestal Source and they can accommodate you.

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The Down Light Showcase Pedestal: A Museum Quality Showcase

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Down Light Showcase Pedestals

“It belongs in a museum!” These famous words of Indiana Jones always pop into my head whenever I see something precious, rare or valuable in the world today. Indeed, so many objects are museum worthy or display worthy, from fine art, to historical objects, to memorabilia, whether found in an actual museum or in a personal collection. But after discovering the precious piece you want to display, the next realization is this: It needs a museum quality display case to showcase it. A display showcase that will enhance the beauty, not distract from it.

Pedestal Source is proud to announce our latest product: The Down Light Showcase Pedestal. Made in the same tradition as our other high quality display pedestals, the Down Light Showcase Pedestal is handmade in the U.S.A. right here at our facility in Fort Collins, CO. This lighted display case combines a simple, aesthetic beauty with innovative engineering to put all the focus on your precious piece. Whether you’re a museum curator, a gallery owner, a jewelry shop owner or a private collector, the Down Light Showcase Pedestal gives you a quality, museum display case that you can be as proud of as you are the piece you’re displaying.

Let’s look at some of the features of the Down Light Showcase Pedestal:

  • Overhead and/or ambient under lighting.

How often do beautiful pieces of art fail to stand out simply because of poor lighting? At Pedestal Source, we have years of experience in displaying art and other valuable objects. We know that certain pieces need lighting from above, and some are better illuminated from the bottom. That’s why we give you the option of either low voltage LED top lighting, or ambient under lighting, or both. There are an amazing variety of looks that can be obtained when using the changeable color LED under light system.

  • Laminate or wood veneer finishes available.

There’s no need to settle for one finish, one color. Choose from many real wood veneers and laminates so that you get a great display showcase that not only highlights your object to perfection, but suits the room around it.

  • No visible door hardware or wiring.

Nothing distracts from your fine art like clumsy door locks and intrusive wiring tubes down the side or corner of the viewing area. Our engineering team has developed an innovative system that keeps the sight lines clutter free. All you see is what is meant to be seen: your piece being displayed. Check out the video below for more details on how to access the display  area.

  • Completely customizable – imagine the possibilities!

So you’re looking at the picture of the case and thinking, “It’s nice, but I really need something like (fill in the blank)”. At Pedestal Source, we have always prided ourselves in making our products customizable. The Down Light Showcase Pedestal is no different. Whether it’s the overall size, the acrylic viewing area, the finish or even adding storage, you can be sure you will be getting a great custom made showcase that meets your needs. You can even interchange the display platform. Imagine a mirrored platform underneath a sparkling piece of jewelry!

At a time when there is much discussion of U.S. Manufacturing jobs going overseas, we pride ourselves on the fact that all of our display pedestal and showcase products are made right here at our facility in Colorado. You can also rest assured you are not only getting a quality American made product, you will be getting first class customer service to go with it.

Whether you’re looking for a museum style case to display your fine art or collectables, or you are a jewelry shop owner that wants an eye-popping jewelry display case, The Down Light Showcase Pedestal will put the focus clearly on the item inside of it. Couple that with the confidence of knowing you have a superior, made in the U.S.A. product, we’re sure you’ll treasure this case almost as much as your piece! Well, maybe not, but either way, we think Indiana Jones would approve.

Watch the video below to see the features of the Down Light Showcase Pedestal in “action”.

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They Say It’s Your Birthday…

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It’s funny how the older I get, the older “old” gets.  For example, when I was 15 and my oldest cousin turned 19, I felt sorry for her.  She was so….old. But, of course, as the saying goes~youth is wasted on the young.  Case in point, our fearless leader, Greg Glebe, turned 53 this week and back in the day when I was a wee lad, I would have assumed he was headed to the old-folks home.  But, to the contrary, Greg is in the midst of the most creative time of his life (not withstanding the creating of his three lovely daughters).  Our gift to him this year is wonderfully symbolic of his creative energy and drive.

As all you faithful followers of this blog may remember, Greg gathered all of us together earlier this year for the First Annual Xylem Design Mud Run. This was part of Greg’s brainchild to build a culture within the company of closeness, team-building and self-awareness.  And perhaps a little desire to kick our butts! We took the shirt that Greg wore that day along with a photo of us all covered in mud from the run and framed it in a beautiful frame made by our talented master woodworker, Brad.

This gift is symbolic of so many things about Greg ~ his leadership, his desire to create a close team of employees (that creates wonderful contemporary pedestals and products and service for you!), his ability to think out-side of the box and his willingness to get his hands (or his whole body) dirty when the task calls for it. His energy manifests throughout Xylem Design and creates amazing products and customer service for our devoted customers. Happy Birthday, Greg! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for all of us who work here at Xylem Design and all our loyal customers!

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Xylem Designs Beginnings, Part I: Who is Greg Glebe?

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There’s a certain contradiction I have become aware of since starting to write this blog post about the history of Xylem Design, Pedestal Source and it’s CEO and founder Greg Glebe. He’s completely not into “self-gloss”. His level of uncomfortable-ness is as apparent as his disdain for the concept of hero worship in our culture today.  Yet to understand the company, you must understand the story of Greg and what makes him get up in the morning. Without trying to make Greg into the hero he doesn’t want to be, let’s look at one of Greg’s highest values: “leaving your ego at the door”.  So let’s leave that ego at the door and step inside the Xylem Design shop here in Fort Collins, CO.  One thing is inescapable when you walk in that door and that’s this: There is a vibe.  It’s not necessarily uber-cool, and certainly not swanky, snarky, or hipster deluxe, and definitely not egoic.  I’m talking about the vibe that comes as a result of a person’s personality.  That person is Greg Glebe.  It’s apparent this company has taken on his personality.  That personality? One of confidence, humor, creativity, humility and most important – service. This certainly comes as no surprise, especially given information like this article in the Phoenix New Times archives some 20 years ago. Make no mistake, Greg is CEO of a for profit business today.  But it’s a business that is trying to do more than make that profit. It’s trying to make an impact on people’s lives. The lives of the customers, employees and vendors. What compels a person to help someone without any tremendous gain for themselves; to look around and say, “Nobody’s doing anything for that person, I’m gonna do it”?  A look into Greg’s upbringing may help to explain.

Long before the first easel or pedestal came off the assembly line, Greg was being brought up by a unique confluence of parental traits in suburban Philadelphia.  His mother – artistic, humble, very spiritual and practically a saint by all accounts; and his father, innovative, creative and a renaissance man of sorts.  Both intelligent, caring individuals that were known as a safe haven for people in their community.  Anyone looking for wisdom, advice or even just someone to lend an ear could come to the Glebe household anytime.  “[My upbringing] is the underpinning of why I get up in the morning,” says Greg. “It’s not all about making the almighty buck.”  Perhaps this intersection of creativity, hard work and innovation along with being well grounded is what provided the foundation for what was to come in Greg’s life.

With that picture of his early life in mind, it’s easy to see how Greg was already doing woodworking by the time he was in the 7th grade.  With constant access to his father’s shop filled with machines that would soon become his tools not to mention his muse in some way, Greg quickly developed a taste for designing and to go with it, the skills to bring his designs to life. These skills afforded him the opportunity to transition into construction and carpentry jobs throughout his teens.  At 18, he found himself headed west to Washington state; falling in love with the town of Fort Collins, Colorado along the way; the city to which he would one day return.  A few years later in his early twenties, he would find himself in the art gallery business, where he would create the product that became the flagship for Xylem Design for many years: The Bi-fold Easel.

Greg was once called a “hyperactive-genius” and admittedly,  is not your classic CEO. He loves inventing and getting his hands dirty.  You can see that what makes him tick is more than the skill of a tradesman, and the inventiveness of a designer, both of which he possesses ample amounts.  It’s really where those two things intersect with compassion and service.  He sums it up this way: “All the stuff that we do here in the world is about becoming better people. Becoming better people involves doing what you love to do and then finding where it intersects with serving people. If you’re good at something, master it, then find a way to make a living doing it. Hopefully master something that you love. If you’re doing it right – it feels right.” So as you can see, making easels and art pedestals is our business, but making a broader impact in people’s lives is our work. Stay tuned for part II of our series in a few weeks as we look at the early days of Xylem design.

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Custom Pedestal Job: Brushed Aluminum Cylinder

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We received a call last month from a first time client.  We love first time clients. It’s a chance for us to show some one new who we are and how we can serve them. And here’s the thing about this new client, they are the Midwest’s largest manufacturer of gas and diesel engines. This was a chance for us to offer our service to a huge audience. Who, by the way, have a huge audience of their own.  And here’s the other thing about this client~they made a pretty tough request.   They wanted a cylindrical shaped pedestal made out of real brushed aluminum.  The words sound simple, the actual process of shaping that aluminum is not. Enter our pedestal pro, Loren. With patience, persistence and a desire to get the product just right, Loren was able to create just what the company wanted.  It was amazing. It actually looked like a piston from an engine.  Loren is not only an expert craftsman, he’s an artist.  If you’re looking for a specialty custom pedestal, give us a call.  We not only have great customer service and competitive pricing, we have creative pros like Loren standing by to make your vision a reality.    www.pedestalsource.com

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Custom Pedestals: Nimbus Data and NYE Lubricants

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Here at Pedestal Source/Xylem Design, we just finished up two custom jobs recently that we wanted to show you.

The first was a job for Nimbus Data. The customer needed a sleek “eye catching” pedestal for an upcoming trade show.  They requested a high gloss black laminate finish with their logo cut out and white light illuminating out the front panel. They also needed the top to be fully lighted with a blue tint. A blue filter was installed on the top to illuminate blue tint. Here’s the finished product:

The second job was for NYE Lubricants.  This customer requested an over-hanging pedestal with recessed lighting underneath the overhang. The sides included brochure compartments along with a toe kick on the bottom. In addition to having the ambient lighting on the top we provided directional corner spotlights to enhance their displays. Here is the finished pedestal:

Both of these custom jobs required quick turnaround schedules of about two weeks, and both of our customers were thrilled with the results!  Do you need a custom pedestal? Give us a call today at 1.800.333.9953. Our design engineers will work with you to develop your idea into an attractive custom fixture you need.

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Pedestals: A Weighty Issue

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Walnut Pedestal

Color. Size. Shape. These are the common variables that we get the most questions about when customers are ordering our pedestals.  We also receive many inquiries about options such as turntables, toe kicks and finishes. But outside of those, one of the most common questions we receive is this: How much weight will one of our pedestals hold? A quick glance at our website suggests that all of our products are sturdily built, but what about that 200lb Buddha statue you just paid a pretty penny for? Will it be safely displayed with no worries about whether or not your pedestal will support the weight? The last thing you want is for your piece to be compromised by a weak display pedestal.

The truth is, it’s rarely an issue for most of our customers.  For example, our Black Laminate Pedestal can easily hold up to 200lbs, and that’s a conservative weight rating.  But for some customers, it is a concern. Here a few things to think about when displaying a very heavy object on one of our pedestals:

  • Is it a tall object or sculpture?  Often times the issue becomes one of top-heaviness, and no matter how much weight the pedestal will hold, the issue at hand can be how easily the object can be tipped.  Often times to help with this, we will put an easily removable false bottom into the pedestal that will allow the customer to place something such as a sand bag into the pedestal to give it extra weight and mass.  Replace the false bottom and you’ve got a much more stable center of gravity for a tall, heavy object.
  • The next consideration plays off of the first: Where is the object being displayed? Is it a high traffic area? Will it be tucked in a corner or displayed free standing in the middle of a room? Are there small children frequently near the object? A high traffic area where a pedestal can be easily bumped coupled with a tall, top heavy object is a recipe for an accident.  Our recommendation is to display your tall heavy objects away from doors or entryways into rooms to avoid such problems.  If small children are present, you may need to consider anchoring the piece to a nearby wall or ceiling, or anchoring the pedestal to the floor if possible.
  • And lastly, what is the weight distribution of the object like? Basic physics tells us if the weight of a heavy object is focused onto a small point in the center of the pedestal, the top could possibly be compromised. Whereas if the weight is distributed more evenly across the entire surface of the pedestal, it is more than capable of bearing the weight load.  Most sculptures have a big enough base to distribute the weight to a reasonable level with no worries.

So how do you know when heavy is too heavy? That’s where our customer service team comes in.  Our team works closely with our designers and production team and are skilled at anticipating your needs; solving the problems you didn’t even know you had!  We can often  easily determine with a few questions if our standard construction will bear the weight of the object you are displaying. If not, our pedestals can be modified with extra bracing to support your treasured piece. “We really are about service, we’re not just order takers. And we’re not just sales people trying to close the deal. We want to know that you’re getting what you want and need”, says Pedestal Source/Xylem Design CEO and founder Greg Glebe.

Pedestals are a fairly simple product, but there are a few things you have to get right. One of them is being sure it will hold the weight you are putting on it.  With a few questions and considerations, you can rest easy that your most prized sculptures will have a safe, great looking display pedestal for years to come.

Here’s a video we made a while back demonstrating the weight capacity of one of our pedestals.

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Culture Club

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The Pedestal Source/Xylem Design Culture Club is not for fans of obscure 80′s bands.  It’s not that kind of Culture Club.  But we did have our second meeting of what we call the Culture Club last week.  While it’s certainly an opportunity to hang out and have a meal with our ultra-cool co-workers, and to discuss a few of the ins and outs of the pedestal display business,  it’s really more about sitting down as a group and not only discussing what the culture of our company is, but moving towards the definition of what the culture will be.  This is achieved through defining our values; first individually, then collectively.  Each employee has been given a long list of values and asked to rank each one in order of importance.  Then, after everyone’s thoughts and opinions are heard, our fearless leader Greg Glebe will take a lot of the input and formulate it into the “Stone Tablets” that reflect his values for the company.

The #1 rule of the Culture Club is this:  Leave Your Ego At The Door!  The ego is always and only self-serving. We value serving each other and serving our customers and vendors.  The #2 rule of the Culture Club is this:  Don’t forget about rule #1!  This is part of what we call the “basic” values: honesty, integrity, kindness, respect, and humility. Without the starting point of these basics, the discussion of our cultural company values is a moot point.  So when our employees bring these basics with them, we have a good, common starting point.

Greg came up with the idea of the Culture Club, and believes that by defining what we value, we can move more intentionally towards nurturing a culture that draws the best out of everyone.  As the meeting progresses, certain values rise to the top. Values like:  ”Wowing the Customer”, “Over-communicating”, “A Fun Work Environment” and a desire for “Continuous Self-Improvement”.  As we move forward with our Culture Club meetings, we hope to move closer and closer to defining what that culture will look like. Because ultimately, culture is the key and values are the constant point of reference that great cultures are built on. Making pedestals may be the nuts and bolts of our business, but our mission is so much more.

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