MRS Metal Fabrication, Inc.

We were excited to win a generous cash prize for second place in the Feeney Architectural Products Photo Contest!

Feeney Architectural Products, located just down the road from us in Oakland,  is our favorite source for stainless steel cables and related hardware components.

You can see our winning photos below and check out other handsome cable rails at their winners website.

Thanks Feeney!

We have had the privilege this month of fabricating and installing an incredibly unique project in an Oakland residence designed by famous local architect Beverley David Thorne. The home is known as the “Millennium House” and it exemplifies Thorne’s tradition of steel residential structures. MRS fabricated and installed the spiral stair case, which is the centerpiece of the octagonal house. Here are a few progress shots:
Mr. Thorne is well known for designing the Harrison House in 1962. It was one of the Case Study Houses sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the residential housing boom caused by the end of World War II and the return of millions of soldiers.

We’re very excited about this project. Check back in a month or two for photos of the completed work!

We recently completed ornamental ironwork at 9 Brookbank in Orinda, CA. Our work included guard railings for three deck rail sections made from ornamental steel hammered pickets. We also fabricated and installed custom interior stair rails and a very long hand rail in the back yard. This beautiful house is now on the market and priced to sell!

City Slicker Farms is a non-profit dedicated to increasing food self-sufficiency in Oakland by creating organic, sustainable, high-yield urban farms and back-yard gardens. The Center Street Farm located at Center and 16th street is home to the weekly Farm Stand where locally grown produce is distributed to community members at sliding scale prices. City Slicker Farms also teaches Oakland residents growing methods that can be used to avoid lead contamination from the soil, such as raised beds and vertical growing with PVC pipes.

City Slicker Farms supports six community gardens throughout Oakland, so their budget gets stretched thin providing essential maintenance at each site and funds are not always available to undertake special projects. MRS is leveraging its resources to build an ornamental metal fence and decorative iron walkway gates at the Center Street Farm. We are applying for an “Arts in Action” grant from Oaklandish and will be hosting an informal fundraising party. Please let us know if you have other ideas for sources of funding! The fence and gates will not only protect the Center Street farm, but will also bring public participatory art to the community.

The ornamental iron gates will be located at the south side of the garden on 16th Street. All metalwork will incorporate hand-forged decorative organic elements (vegetables, butterflies, vines, etc.) to reflect the prosperity of the garden and the fruits of the community’s labor. Local resident volunteers will take part in selecting these decorative features and their initials will be engraved in individual elements. The main gate will feature a historic, native oak tree to symbolize the strength and roots of Oakland communities.

We’ll keep you posted on our progress to raise money for the Center Street Farm project!