Cleveland Institute of Art graduate and HGR customer works as industrial designer

Greg Martin recording paper cyanotype

 

(Q&A with Greg Martin, director of design, Kichler Lighting)

Why did you decide to go to school at Cleveland Institute of Art?

I went to a college-prep Catholic high school with not even a generic art class. In spite of this, all I knew is I wanted to go to art school. Despite the best efforts of my teachers, my parents, and the school counselor (whose career testing indicated I was best suited to be a farmer), I convinced my parents enough that they agreed to let me apply at CIA. CIA was the only choice as I knew it was a great school, and it was close to home (meaning I could save money and live at home). I started at CIA intent on going into illustration, but changed course last minute to industrial design. Continue reading Cleveland Institute of Art graduate and HGR customer works as industrial designer

3D designer also creates sculptures with objects found at HGR

Matthew Beckwith, partner at Photonic Studio, and HGR Industrial Surplus customer

(Q&A with Matthew Beckwith, partner, Photonic Studio)

Why did you decide to go to school at Cleveland Institute of Art?

I originally wanted to be a car designer. CIA was a better fit for me than other schools focused on automotive design that were located in Detroit and San Francisco. After trying cars for a year, I decided product design was a better fit for me.

What is your best memory of CIA?

Some of my best memories from CIA came from classes taught by Richard Fiorelli. His classes had a hands-on approach to working with materials that delivered results I would otherwise not think to sketch out. This hands-on concept of “play” to iterate concepts is something that has stuck with me throughout my career. Continue reading 3D designer also creates sculptures with objects found at HGR

Retired Cleveland Institute of Art industrial design instructor finds inspiration at Euclid City Council meetings

Richard Fiorelli Cleveland Institute of Art

(Courtesy of Guest Blogger Richard Fiorelli, artist and retired instructor)

How did you first become involved with Cleveland Institute of Art?

When I was in fourth grade, I received a scholarship from Euclid’s Upson Elementary School to attend Saturday children’s art classes at Cleveland Institute of Art.

What is your best memory of CIA?

In fourth grade I discovered that the art school had a candy machine and a 10:30 a.m. morning break from the strenuous task of creating children’s art. I was pretty much hooked from that moment on. Continue reading Retired Cleveland Institute of Art industrial design instructor finds inspiration at Euclid City Council meetings

2018 F*SHO at HGR Industrial Surplus

F*SHO

 

Back for a second time at HGR Industrial Surplus, but in a different space in the front of the building in our Incoming/Receiving area, we’ll be hosting Amanda and Jason Radcliffe’s F*SHO, a contemporary and industrial furniture design show, for one night on Sept. 14 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. It’s still free and put on courtesy of 44 Steel. There’s still beer and a DJ spinning some tunes. But, this year we will have a variety of food trucks so that the food doesn’t run out! Last year was such a success with more approximately 3,000 attendees that you won’t want to miss it. If you did, you can read about last year’s show here.

As more details become available, we’ll be posting them here on HGR’s blog and on our Facebook and Twitter sites. Stay tuned!

If you are interested in exhibiting at the show, contact Jason or Amanda at 44 Steel at info@44steel.com.

HGR Industrial Surplus and local furniture designers raise more than $600 for hurricane relief

44 Steel desk
Desk by Jason Radcliffe of 44 Steel

3 Barn Doors table for HGR Industrial Surplus hurricane-relief auction

Rust Dust & Other 4 Letter Words lamp table
Lamp table by Larry Fielder of Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words

HGR donated items from its showroom to three local furniture designers – 44 Steel, 3 Barn Doors and Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words. These designers took their materials to IngenuityFest 2017 and did a live build of a desk, a table, and a reading lamp and table. The three pieces were auctioned through HGR’s eBay site and raised $606 that is being donated to Fresh Arts, a nonprofit arts organization in Houston, Texas, that is funding the Immediate Disaster Relief Fund for Texas Artists to help artists in the area rebuild after the hurricane. Thanks to everyone who participated for this good cause!

 

Euclid Chamber of Commerce’s Coffee Connections held at HGR Industrial Surplus

Euclid Chamber of Commerce Coffee Connections HGR Industrial Surplus

Euclid Chamber of Commerce Coffee Connection HGR Industrial Surplus coffee and pastryOn Oct. 3, approximately 25 members of The Euclid Chamber of Commerce and the business community visited HGR Industrial Surplus for an hour to mingle, network, take a tour of the facility and learn more about HGR while enjoying coffee and pastry catered by Manhattan Deli. Attendees included the City of Euclid police chief, City of Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer-Gail, radio celebrity Mark “Munch” Bishop, the executive director of Shore Cultural Center, and many others.

On their tour, they learned of HGR’s auction of one-of-a-kind handcrafted furniture by 44 Steel and Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words to benefit hurricane relief.

 

hurrican relief auction furniture HGR Industrial Surplus 44 Steel Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words

One-of-a-kind pieces of furniture by local designers to be auctioned for hurricane relief

These Cleveland-area industrial/contemporary furniture designers (Jason Radcliffe, 44 Steel; Larry Fielder, Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words; and Aaron Cunningham of 3 Barn Doors) visited HGR Industrial Surplus to find inspiration for a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture to be built live during Ingenuity Fest, Sept. 22-24, 2017.

The pieces are on display at HGR Industrial Surplus, 20001 Euclid Ave., and will be auctioned by HGR with all proceeds going to aid an arts organization in the Houston area to rebuild and offer programming in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

A picture tells 1,000 words. Here are the “before” and “after” photos showing the items selected from HGR’s inventory and donated to the designers. The “after” pictures show the finished pieces on display in HGR’s office and how these designers took industrial surplus and repurposed it into a functional object for home or office use.

BEFORE:

44 Steel maple workbench
44 Steel: Maple-topped workbench
44 Steel positioner
44 Steel: Two positioners
Rust Dust & Other 4-Letter Words magazine dispenser
Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words: Magazine dispenser
Rust Dust & Other 4-Letter Words mixer
Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words: Mixer
Rust Dust & Other 4-Letter Words wrench
Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words: Wrench
Foot Shear purchased by Three Barn Doors for use in HGR Industrial Surplus hurricane relief auction
Three Barn Doors: Foot shear

AFTER:

44 Steel desk
Desk by Jason Radcliffe of 44 Steel

 

Rust Dust & Other 4 Letter Words lamp table
Lamp table by Larry Fielder of Rust, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words
3 Barn Doors table for HGR Industrial Surplus hurricane-relief auction
Table by Aaron Cunningham of 3 Barn Doors

MEET THE DESIGNERS:

Jason Radcliffe of 44 Steel
Jason Radcliffe of 44 Steel
Larry Fielder of Rus, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words
Larry Fielder of Rus, Dust & Other 4 Letter Words
Aaron Cunningham of 3 Barn Doors
Aaron Cunningham of 3 Barn Doors

If you are interested in bidding on any of these pieces, from Oct. 4-13, 2017, you can click a button from our home page to see more information on each item and designer then place your bid. Winning bidders will be required to pick up the item from HGR or pay actual shipping cost.

 

HGR Industrial Surplus hosts Euclid Chamber of Commerce Coffee Connections, Oct. 3, 2017

coffee at Six Shooter Cafe

On Oct. 3, the Euclid Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its  next “Coffee Connections” at HGR Industrial Surplus, 20001 Euclid Ave., Euclid, Ohio, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Chamber members and members of the community are welcomed to attend for complimentary coffee, pastry and a tour of HGR’s 500,000-square-foot showroom and newly renovated sales and administrative offices that are furnished with one-of-a-kind furniture, fixtures and accessories made by HGR customers Jason Wein of Cleveland Art, Aaron Cunningham of 3 Barn Doors, Larry Fielder of Rust, Dust & Other 4-Letter Words and Industrial Design Student Brenna Truax.

Registration is encouraged but not required on euclidchamber.com/events.

This is a great opportunity to network with other local business leaders and learn about a Euclid business and what it does. HGR’s showroom always is open to the public during HGR’s business hours and includes new and used manufacturing equipment, industrial surplus, tools, machinery, construction supplies, and office equipment and supplies. HGR buys and sells, literally, anything and serves as a conduit between customers looking for affordable, used machinery, equipment and supplies and manufacturers hoping to recoup some portion of their initial capital investments.

F*SHO comes to HGR Industrial Surplus; win a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture by a famous designer

F*SHO ad

In two weeks, the F*SHO, a contemporary furniture show and brain child of Jason Radcliffe of 44 Steel, will be coming to HGR Industrial Surplus. Join us Sept. 15 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 20001 Euclid Avenue, Euclid, Ohio. Entry is through the back of HGR’s building.

There will be approximately 30 furniture designers showcasing their work while a DJ spins tunes, and food, courtesy of SoHo Chicken + Whiskey, and beer flow freely. Everything’s free, except the furniture!

In 2015, Jason competed in FRAMEWORK, a furniture and design reality-TV show, hosted by hip-hop superstar Common on SPIKE TV. The winner of that show, Jory Brigham, who also teaches furniture building, will be coming from California to premier a new piece at the F*SHO, and Jason will be heading to California to teach a class at Jory’s studio.

In addition, you will have a chance to win a piece of furniture designed by either Jason Radcliffe, 44 Steel, who works with steel, or Aaron Cunningham, 3 Barn Doors, who works with wood. They will select items from HGR’s showroom to use in the furniture design then will be building the two pieces live at Ingenuity Festival on Sept. 22-24. Contest details to be announced shortly. Stay tuned!

Industrial design student donates functional objects that she made for HGR’s newly renovated offices

Brenna Truax industrail design student donation

You may have read the blog written by former Walsh Jesuit High School Student and current University of Cincinnati Industrial Design Student Brenna Truax’s visit to HGR for scrap materials. Then, we did a blog about some of the desk organizers that she was in the process of creating at Akron Makerspace for our newly renovated sales and administrative office. They are finished! She delivered them on August 15 before going back to school. We love them and are calling dibs on them already. Check them out next time you are in the office. In addition to desk organizers, she created a coat rack and a planter with items from HGR. Thank you, Brenna and good luck in your sophomore year! I know that we will see more of you.

Brenna Truax industrial design items donated to HGR Industrial Surplus

Have you visited our front offices lately?

HGR's new spacious sales office

If not, you’re in for a surprise; so come by for a visit if you’re in the area. If you have stopped in recently, you may have been one of the people walking through the office who exclaimed, “Wow, this place has changed. How spacious. Cool tables.”

Turner Construction is putting the finishing touches on the front-office renovation. The entire area was gutted and rebuilt. We now have a large, welcoming reception desk, more room to move and amazing sales desks made by Jason Wein of Cleveland Art. There are new and larger restrooms, additional offices for staff, a nice conference room, and a new customer lounge and showroom entrance.

We’re still working on the art and furnishings, but you’ll notice that we went with an industrial design to stay in alignment with our business model and the history of the facility.

We want to thank you for your patience during the renovation, especially with trekking to Aisle 6 for the bathrooms. Don’t feel bad, the sales staff was in the same boat.

Some of the best times to visit include sale days on the second Saturday and fourth Thursday of every month or during our Wednesday free lunch (cookout in the summer and pizza the rest of the year).

We hope to see you soon!

HGR's new sales desks by Jason Wein of Cleveland Art

Former Walsh Jesuit High School student designs industrial products

Brenna Truax

(Courtesy of Guest Blogger Brenna Truax, a sophomore University of Cincinnati industrial design student)

I am a 2016 graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School, where I excelled in math and sciences, while developing my interest in the visual arts. I became interested in photography and co-founded the school’s Photograph Club. I completed several sets of senior pictures for my peers. The art teachers at Walsh Jesuit, Mrs. Doreen Webber (emeritus), Ms. Karen Forfia, and Ms. Cheryl Walker provided guidance and unique perspectives.

The University of Cincinnati’s Design, Architecture, Art and Planning Department is nationally recognized in industrial design and architecture. I originally planned to pursue a career in architecture and learned of the industrial design program while on a tour of the university. I immediately recognized my deep interest in product design.

In early May, I was contacted by Mr. Eric Dimitrov, my former physics teacher at Walsh Jesuit, regarding the opportunity to design industrial-themed office equipment and art for HGR Industrial Surplus’ newly renovated offices in Euclid, Ohio. After meeting with Gina Tabasso, HGR’s marketing communications specialist, we toured the facility and collected various items to use for my projects and for Walsh Jesuit’s Fabrication and Engineering clubs. So far, I have used the materials to design a series of desktop organizers, a coat rack, and a planter. Thanks to Mr. Dimitrov and Akron Makerspace, I am working to complete these projects by the end of July.

Stay tuned for future photos of how they turned out!

Teacher helps industrial arts student with projects

Brenna Truax welding

(Courtesy of Guest Blogger Eric Dimitrov, Walsh Jesuit High School teacher)

I am a high school teacher (I see you help Euclid and other high schools) who has a student, Brenna Truax, currently enrolled in The University of Cincinnati’s industrial design program. In the program she will be in a studio space where she will working with various media, including wood, plastic and metal. Our school is great but does not offer industrial arts; so, I have been helping her prepare. I am a self-taught welder (actually bought my stick welder from HGR), and I have been working with her to craft some industrial-art-based projects. In the photo, we’re working to make a light from a cam shaft.

I told her about some of the art and cool furniture HGR has. And so, we will be making a trip to look at it. I cannot promise that the final project(s) would look nice enough for your new office space, but it is for a student to learn on and work with. I am thinking big nuts, gears, shafts — materials we can work to weld into a sculpture or shelving or table legs.