What is Sparkwerx Sculptural Steel?

The Now.
We live in a world which has become dominated by products meant to last only a short time, but with the benefit of seeming very inexpensive. Many people have become used to "looking for value" by buying the cheapest, and in doing so, have settled into a routine of change and replacement. Buy, use, break, replace. Buy, use, break, replace. Have you noticed that the only value that gets generated is for the manufacturer? Seeking to produce "the cheapest standard" to meet this demand for value, manufacturers have allowed industrial design, even basic proportioning and aesthetics, to slip through the cracks. We get a product that does its job, for a while, but fails on endurance, usability and style.

The cycle chugs on. Every few years, we throw a dead product in the landfill, hop in the car, drive to the super store, buy a new cheap product, drive home, set it up, and wait for that product to die or fall apart. Repeat. At the same time, we "cast a vote" for the manufacturers of cheap products, and push out those who struggle to do better. It's incredibly inefficient with materials, a huge waste of human and machine time, and doesn't give us the product we really want and need. It looks inexpensive in the store, but ends up expensive in the long run, not only to us, as humans, but also to the world as a system and a home.

The Vision.
Enter Sparkwerx Sculptural Steel. It's cool furniture and accessories designed to do their job and then some, and last practically forever. It gains it's aesthetic from simple, well proportioned, timeless, structural lines, but gets it's real beauty from the inherent, natural look and feel of steel, allowing it to complement most any style, from the most modern to the most antique. And, it's designed to be priced to pull people away from "the cheapest standard", and give them a true alternative. (That just means, "hey, you can afford it!") The world wants and needs stuff. We get that. If you've ever stared at a particleboard, some-assembly-required, thingee and asked "... can't I just find a real, honest-to-goodness, hand-made, work of art that lasts forever, for just a little bit more than the cost of this wasteful trash??" Sparkwerx says yes!

Who is Peter B. Judkins, and why should I let his stuff in my home?

Designer, craftsman, unrelenting inventor and part-time philosopher, Peter B. Judkins made his first mark on the physical world as the neighborhood kid upon whom all the old ladies relied to fix the leaky sink, broken lock, or sticky thing that was wrecking their personal dream houses. His indispensable handiness made all the go-carts, firecracker launchers and multitude of adolescent scientific inventions completely forgiveable. Cute, even. He began making furniture at 14, building engines at 15, and has been making things work and making things better ever since.

So, school or anything?
Oh, you want mainstream credentials? Sure, he's got those! Peter attended Brown University, earning a degree in English Literature in 1984. Peter minored in the scientific disciplines, focusing on elements of natural design and crystal structure in chemistry and geology. (Hey, you asked.) To get a handle on how things really work, you might say. Peter spent summers honing his carpentry and contracting skills, emerging from school with an imagination brimming with ideas and a fully developed small business as a residential builder.

What's he done?
For the past decade and a half, Peter has lead a double life, beautifying the physical world by day, and fighting crime in a rodent suit by night. No, not really. For work, Peter has created an impressive list of construction projects, including residential construction, construction management, and institutional building management. Peter is a hands-on guy. He's created exceptional custom work in fine homes in Potomac, MD and Georgetown, DC, finished the inside of upscale legal offices and clad the outside of open steel office buildings. He's created both artwork and interior architecture for restaurants, nightclubs and offices. His unique and humanizing vision has been applied to such diverse spaces as churches and psychiatric hospitals. If it can be built, he can build it. If it's a material, from wood to composites, including light, electricity, and water, he's worked with it to a point of proficiency.

Wow.
No kidding. But wait, there's more. On the purely creative side, Peter's been busy too. Restaurant and nightclub work generally afforded him the most artistic expression, and in some cases full or near-full artistic control. But for pure enjoyment and artistic expression, it's been furniture for himself and his friends. (Did I mention he was nice?) His best work has been inspired by love, and given as presents, or created for his own wizard's workshop (his pet and art filled home) as the need arose. (Necessity truly is the mother of invention.) Sparkwerx is the culmination of a lot of time working closely with materials and people, often in conflict. At some point, Peter developed a unique style, some of which you'll find within the Sparkwerx Sculptural Steel catalog pages. His artistic ability has grown from experience with things and people, and has been inspired by the natural order of the world.

Copyright © 1999-2003 [Peter B. Judkins]. All rights reserved.
Revised: March 15, 2003 .