Obviously today (Valentines in case you didn’t know) is a day for love – whether you receive a huge bouquet at work (11am and I’m still waiting, thank you text is composed and ready to send), or relish the handmade cards sent to you by your off-spring, of which the thought that has gone into can mean so much. So here I am searching for angles for linking a furniture blog to Valentines day without being cheesy, predictable or trying just to sell you a table that we have painted the colour of love for you…not an easy task. Please bear in mind that we do make red tables, whether bistro for that romantic meal for two, dining for a larger love party or coffee for a more laid back evening of mutual appreciation but I’m sure that if you bought your significant other a table for Valentines, it probably wouldn’t be appreciated quite so much as a dozen red roses, chocolates or something more personal and special (note – check ring size before purchasing).   Valentines was romanticised thanks to Shakespeare and Chaucer. Which should be taken into mind when we see how so many of Shakespeare’s lovers meet their demise. We carry out all furniture design, manufacture and delivery within proper health and safety protocols so no early demises here. Likewise, daggers, cauldrons and poisons are also banned substances in the workshop. In the Middle Ages, girls and boys would pick a name from a hat to choose their Valentine, and this would be pinned to their arm for a week. This is the origin of the saying “wearing your heart on your sleeve”. In the IronFire office there are only two girls, so we would not want to have to spread ourselves so thinly in the name of fairness. We will therefore not be partaking in the wearing of our hearts on our sleeves but Kiran has brought everyone in Jammie Dodgers with hearts on if that counts? For the Romans, Valentines was a jolly old time in which they celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The dogs and the goats did not have such a jolly old time though, as they were sacrificed and then their skins were used to whip the Roman women with in the belief that it made them fertile. We don’t use any dog or goat products in the production of our furniture, in fact they are all 100% vegan. We also do not believe in whipping our workers for any reason; fertility, efficiency or otherwise. (He’s smiling underneath the mask). If you have not received any letters of love, don’t fancy being hit with a goat skin or sharing your crush with everyone on your sleeve, don’t despair. February the 13th is now known as Galentines day – a day to celebrate with your platonic girlfriends (you’ve missed that one this year unfortunately) or just hold on until tomorrow (February 15th) and treat yourself to some flowers on S.A.D (Single Awareness Day).   But here at IronFire, we’re just going to carry on eating our Jammie Dodgers before we all give up biscuits for lent a day late!        

Online furniture photography: it’s all about location

As an online furniture manufacturer, we know it’s hard to visualise how furniture can look in a home. We also believe that great photos of our furniture is a really useful tool for us. Striking images of our products are really important for our website but also for our social media. We also wanted to help our customers see what we do when we are designing and manufacturing our tables, chairs and other IronFire products.

A ‘hero shot’ involving as many of our products as possible has been a goal of ours for a while now.  We have however had to take several factors into consideration. Firstly, which products to include? Our range is so diverse that this has been a real learning curve for us!

Then we needed to consider in which context to photograph them. Our current favourite finish is using a Yakisugi process. This involves burning the wood to create a stunning finish, and has proved popular with customers.

At the same time another favourite is our rustic oak.  It’s a safer option than our funky reds and blues but a true classic that’s popular with clients. It is a versatile option for any domestic or commercial setting of course.

With the colour sorted, we now needed a location.

As our furniture has an industrial theme, we wanted somewhere that fitted our style. In our heads we had visions of an exposed brick wall background. Sufficient space is also an issue, so sourcing the right location for photographing online furniture became our holy grail!

Lots of Googling ensued, but nothing was quite right…until we remembered Sam’s Kitchen in Frome! It’s an Edwardian building on Catherine Street. Downstairs there’s a busy bistro and cafe but upstairs..exposed brick walls, wooden floors and high ceilings.  There’s a huge window and so plenty of natural light and everything’s Hygge style and cosy with a log burner. We had hit the jackpot and the generous owner was up for letting us use it out of hours.

Usually a perfect spot to relax with one of Sam’s famous hot chocolates, Ironfire took over as they closed. We rapidly transformed the space, not only into an IronFire living room, but also into an IronFire dining room.

 

Sam’s Kitchen in its natural state!

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On a (strictly business of course) research trip round the Pubs in Frome we had met up with Drew Gardner.

We were fascinated to discover a photographer with an extraordinary and quirky style. We just had to use his skills once we’d been up and seen his etchings (well, shared a pint or two) .

Our faith was repaid and Frome’s own Cecil B DeMille bowled us over. Thanks Drew! You can contact him here.

Our range of online furniture looked completely at home!

In fact it was exactly how we had envisioned a range shot looking  featuring as many of our products as possible. Not to mention the first outing of an IronFire bench, our newest design.

We can’t thank Sam enough for allowing us to use this space.

Sam and his team have since relocated and are now catering an event near you or from their beautiful Barn just outside Bath. Find all the contact details here  We know first-hand from being on our shoot just how welcoming they are, how relaxing they make things and how great their food is. In fact we can’t recommend them enough – from one local business to another  – Thanks for all the support!