MAY 2024peg_rail : indulgence
NOT A SALE / RATHER, A SHIFT IN FOCUS
Sales are for those who profit off the labor of others.
We’ve decided to concentrate on one piece for the next few months: the peg rail. With this focus comes a price reduction, but only for this limited timeframe. Discount was in the current mailing list - if you missed it, sign-up and send us a message.
Read below for a long-winded explanation which touches on design, business and what we consider tangential topics.
If that sounds boring, just head to the SHOP.
INTROWe have a few thoughts regarding what it means to be a creative entity participating in whatever stage of the supposed “free market system” we’re currently in.
Rhetoric aside, we’re open to experimenting - this is just that, albeit a rather simple exercise in “focused production.”
We’re a small operation, a term we use lightly: only two people, and most of the time just one. Up until now, most pieces were made-to-order which was reflected in the pricing. We’ll still be open for trade orders but priority will be given to peg rail production. This includes both our simple, utilitarian designs and our more one-off-ish ones.
DESIGNA peg rail is one of the most simplistic ways to organize a given space. For a designer or maker, it’s not the most glamorous project to work on but it’s an item we’ve become a bit obsessed with.
If a painter can spend a lifetime depicting landscapes, can the same focus be devoted to a simple peg rail?
One can definitely find less expensive pieces that function as a peg rail, but we’re confident you won’t find a rail that is as well-made, considerately designed and handcrafted with as much intent as ours. If you value such attributes, as we do, then you’re in the right place.
The goal was not to reinvent the peg rail, but rather explore the form further and make something (for lack of a better description) that seems too nice to exist. This has always been a main driver of our output; this idea to make something that is both anachronistic in form/style & approach (and class target, more on this at a later date) and also novel in design or concept. Only recently does it (finally) begin to make financial sense for AWN - now that we no longer rent a workspace, coupled with the fact that we are owner-operators.
COMPOSITE RAIL: WEDGED TENON DETAILINTENDED USERA bit of a generalization but our experience showcasing work and speaking with people in person can be summarized as follows: the ones that truly “get” the work aren’t always the ones that can afford, or perhaps justify paying the prices we ask.
And we’re kind of in the same boat. This may not be a popular opinion, however it is one that is shared with many of our fellow artisans trying to navigate various creative/design businesses. But that’s capitalism, right? Workers & artisans making fancy things for the classes above them.
Alongside the unquantifiable desire to create, an almost equal driving force in our pursuit of design & furniture making has been to make things that we otherwise couldn’t afford. That was our “way in” to art, design, architecture, etc. Fortunately, over time we’ve been able to solidify a very modest “space” (in almost all the meanings) which allows for our work to continue.
TRUE COSTAs of this writing, we (Patrick & Leah) design, fabricate, finish, photograph, package and ship every piece labeled ‘AWN’. That includes web design, graphics, logo - everything. In that way we are not necessarily a brand - we’ve always preferred the label of ‘creative studio’.
No outside input, for better or worse.
The ongoing purpose of this AWN project is to continue exploring design & craft. Our goal is also to make connections with other like-minded people; to converse and build interesting things. Not investment funded marketplaces or profit making events for 3rd parties, but actual owner/operator communal projects. Our economic system has always been organized in a way in which the individuals engaged in the actual labor are compensated the least. You can probably guess where I’m headed, but regardless of your ideologies re: capitalism, things can always be better.
If any of this resonates, get in touch. In our opinion, the absolute minimum thing we need is ‘ownership’ - not just of each individual “business” but collectively in terms of being in control of infrastructure both in person, online, events, etc. Otherwise all creative entities are paying rent, which is kind of feudal and futile.
*There were many words deleted from this essay. There is much more that can be said.
Better to leave it there, for now.
-Patrick & Leah
HARDWARE
An essential and yet often overlooked element even when considering supposed higher-end (and higher-cost) peg rails is the hardware. Not only do we use solid brass and steel screws with a very specific head profile, but each of our various rail designs also include solid brass screw bushings. These are designed and machined by us on vintage “screw machines” or production lathes, and are complimentary to the scale and form of each rail.
Designed alongside; not an afterthought.
Both aesthetic and functional, the bushings highlight the hardware and spread the holding force of the screw across a wider area of the wooden rail face, providing much more strength than needed. We’re biased, but in our opinion a furniture maker or company that doesn’t design and/or make their own hardware is compromising any supposed vision. Keep your eyes open for that - wait until we start talking about hinges…
*If that last line sounds like you or your business, hire us - we can do the hard (ware) part for you. ;)