Things were still a little laid back as we close out the Christmas/New Year break. Four people were in the shop today with Julianne finishing off the first glaze on the upper section of wall for the NEB’s Fun World project. Next week we’ll be back to a full crew and full production as we begin 2025. Next week we’ll also be starting to work on the pieces for Vala’s Pumpkin Patch to be shipped to Nebraska later this year. Stay tuned for lots of progress…
Instant age
There’s a hidden parking lot behind the Hazelnut Inn where guests will securely park their vehicles while they enjoy the luxurious suites. As with every aspect of the Inn, both inside and out the parking lot is exquisitely detailed. We are fabricating a custom gate between the Hazelnut property and that of our house to allow us access. The gatepost is quite unlike any other and resembles a crumbling castle tower, complete with a plasma-cut steel dragon bracket.
When we got word of a Yarrow neighbour who was redoing their yard landscape, we laid claim to the mature trees which had outgrown their space. This gorgeous fourteen-foot-tall specimen taxed our abilities to the maximum, but we managed to dig it out and move it using our small tractor/backhoe and single-axle dump trailer. The rootball took a beating, but thankfully, the tree survived in grand style. we built the wall around it, and the tree now looks like it has been there for a long, long time - just like the Hazelnut Inn.
New beginnings
The New Year is a time to take a brief look back to measure how we did over the last twelve months and settle up accounts. Then, it is time to look forward to the next twelve months. Some projects are well underway, with others signed and ready to start next week. Since most of our customers serve the tourism sector, they desire their projects to be finished in time for the summer season. Our farm clients are mostly geared toward late summer and early fall. It is time to firm up all the details to meet those not-so-distant deadlines.
In the next couple of weeks, we’ll place large orders for all the materials and supplies we will require. In the studio, we’ll be busy working up the final designs, pricing and engineering to tidy up the contracts that will take us into the fall of this new year. Exciting new projects are also on the drawing board for 2026 and beyond. It takes many months of design, meetings, engineering, permitting, and planning to make sure everything is in place to ensure a timely start and finish for the projects into those years as well.
The New Year is always an exciting time and we look forward to even more fun!
