FALL RIVER — The town’s mills have been as soon as the epitome of mass manufacturing, however inside an area that when held the nation’s largest textile firms, two individuals working side-by-side produce custom-made objects which might be one in every of a form.
Sandi Castleman and Daniel Gilbey personal Sandcastle, a {custom} furnishings firm at 104 Anawan St. that for the previous 35 years has created the whole lot from enterprise and restaurant shows to tables to radiator covers — even cat habitats. The whole lot they make is constructed to order and crafted by hand.
Like sandcastles, Castleman and Gilbey create merchandise out of individuals’s imaginations; in contrast to sandcastles, their furnishings is constructed to final. It’s the other of a spot like IKEA, which mass-produces low-cost and flimsy furnishings — the place “you don’t purchase it, you hire it,” Castleman mentioned.
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What makes Sandcastle’s furnishings particular?
“We solely use wooden — no composite something,” Castleman mentioned.
In addition they pleasure themselves on making furnishings that’s eco-friendly, pure, sustainably sourced, with no or little unstable natural compounds.
“Our plywood is PureBond, which is a soy-based glue as an alternative of a formaldehyde-based glue,” Castleman mentioned. “And my paint — you’ll be able to eat it in case you like, nevertheless it’s disgusting.”
In a area of the nation that is lengthy been reliant on radiator warmth, Sandcastle makes a speciality of creating custom-designed radiator covers of each form, dimension and elegance, making them into items of furnishings that combine seamlessly into the remainder of the home’s décor.
“We don’t use metallic in any respect. There’s no actual unhazardous primer for metallic. And the whole lot that we do, once we do radiator covers particularly, is all chemical-free,” Castleman mentioned, noting that when a metallic radiator cowl heats up, compounds within the primer can break down and off-gas.
One type of radiator cowl Sandcastle builds makes use of string to recreate the metallic grille, forming an intricate woven mesh that is delicate visually however surprisingly sturdy. Holding one such cowl, she famous it took “2,843 screws for this job, and virtually 3 miles of string. It’s actually resilient — you’ll be able to bounce infants off them.”
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How did they get their begin?
Castleman and Gilbey have been married 41 years. “However we have been working collectively for 35 of these, so it’s extra like 80 years,” Castleman mentioned.
She studied on the Artwork Institute of Boston; he’s initially from England and studied electrical engineering. Collectively, their sensibilities mesh. They received their begin designing enterprise shows for journey firms within the Boston space. Sooner or later, Castleman mentioned, a buddy requested them if they may construct a nightstand — and from there, the furnishings enterprise has grown, largely by phrase of mouth.
How did they find yourself in Fall River?
Sandcastle moved from the Boston space to the Anawan Avenue mill constructing — as soon as a storehouse for the American Print Works — three years in the past.
“I knew nothing about Fall River once we got here right here,” Castleman mentioned. “I simply knew we wished a mill area, and we didn’t need to go north.”
They fell in love with the vibe on the Anawan Avenue mill, and stuffed their workspace with their creations and collections — the whole lot from midcentury kitsch to their very own artwork. They’ve since determined to dwell right here, too.
What sort of stuff can they construct?
If you happen to can think about it, Castleman and Gilbey can most likely construct it. They’ve created a {custom} bourbon cupboard for Firefly’s BBQ in Marlboro utilizing the staves from charred oak barrels. They’ve constructed a radiator cowl designed to appear to be a jukebox, and rebuilt an previous console radio right into a cat’s litter field. They’ve created {custom} kitchen islands, tables — for a shopper in Fall River, she mentioned, they made a dresser with a built-in hamper.
“I like it when somebody comes they usually say, ‘I need a dresser. And I need a dresser the place I can take three pairs of denims and fold them in half they usually match the drawer with none further area, and I need to shut it with one finger.’ Which has occurred,” Castleman mentioned.
“If you should buy it in a retailer, you don’t need us.”
How do I get in contact?
As a result of the whole lot is custom-made, costs are quoted for every venture. Go to Sandcastle’s web site at webuildstuff.com for examples of their work and to get involved.
Dan Medeiros could be reached at [email protected]. Help native journalism by buying a digital or print subscription to The Herald Information at present.
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