Tag Archives: sculpture

The Down Light Showcase Pedestal: A Museum Quality Showcase

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!

Made in the U.S.A.

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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Pedestals: A Weighty Issue

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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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Artist Highlight: Andrea Rich – From Woodcut to Sculpture

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Since 1980, internationally recognized woodcut print maker and artist Andrea Rich has traveled the world observing wildlife in their natural habitat. Madagascar, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Africa and Europe are some of the places outside North America that she has visited in search of interesting subjects.

While predominantly recognized for her woodcuts, it is Andrea’s sculptures that really caught our eyes. The animated yet true to life posturing of her art pieces are spot-on and endlessly engaging.

“…(S)ometimes the most striking feature is the form or posture of the animal,” Andrea explains on her website, “When the form captures my eye, I find it most pleasurable to let go the consideration of color or composition and the animal’s relation to the surrounding, and simply concentrate on the form alone. Sculpture seems an excellent medium for this new interest of mine.”

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To learn more about Andrea visit her website www.andrearich.com. Andrea recently ordered a number of our Affordable Portable Pro Pedestals, and we are grateful that we could be of help. You can also take a look at our sculpture pedestals.

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Artist Highlight: Eric Cahan, Sunrises and Sunsets

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Eric Cahan’s fine art photographs and sculptures inspired by color, nature, and memory are consistently shown in galleries in and around his native New York. A devotee of contemporary art, Cahan’s influences include Mark Rothko, James Turrell, and the Light and Space movement, a brand of minimalism that originated in Southern California in the 1960s and focused on perceptual phenomena such as light, space, volume and scale. When he visited Turrell’s Roden Crater Project, Cahan felt an intense connection to the visionary masterpiece. As Turrell stated, Cahan believes that “light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation.”

The photographs in the ongoing Sky Series are initially captured as sunrises or sunsets. Cahan uses as many as four different cameras ranging from 6 x 7 film to digital. Employing dozens of graduated filters traditionally used by filmmakers, his objective is to create a window into a time and a place, and to demonstrate how memories and colors shift and become abstract. Cahan produces chromium prints of each image numerous times until the result is seamless, free of banding or blemish. Beyond technical description, the picture evokes the presence of, and the artist’s reverence for, nature at its most sublime.

Made from the same surface material as surfboards and sailboards, Cahan’s polyester resin sculptures are three-dimensional interpretations of his photographs, similarly meant to capture light and conjure the sensation of looking into the sky or the ocean. “My work is meant to capture a moment in nature, asking and empowering the viewer to be fully present, involved, and uplifted. I want the viewer to be drawn in, and be completely absorbed by, rather than separate from, that fleeting moment in time.”

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We are indeed grateful that Eric selected Pedestal Source to build custom fixtures for displaying his fine art pieces, and look forward to watching the expression of his creativity for years to come.

ericcahan.com twitter.com/ericcahan

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