As the Buffalo Rising offices come along it is interesting to see that different factions of people (artisans and businesses) that we have found along the way to help customize the space. Now that the custom Rigidized Metal’s HVAC system has been installed (photo), the rest of the features are coming together. We tried to utilize as many local sources as possible during the build-out, and during the search, we hooked up with some fascinating sources. Our landlord, Savarino Construction, was instrumental in letting us have creative control over the interior design. With the help of architect Brad Wales, we were able to able to conceptualize the future look of our new office, and our hopes were to find an innovative approach.
The lighting plan was trickier than we had imagined, and after spending countless frustrating hours searching for lighting that would be unique, cost-effective, and available, we turned to Roy and Sionen at Lightmakers to come up with a presentation. Within two days we were fortunate enough to have these two out-of-the-box lighting designers nail down a grand plan (that we have not altered since). Instead of going with standard electric fixtures, Roy and Sionen went the extra mile and even ended up designing a custom fixture, which they will assemble by hand at the site.
The steel work stations are being hand-made by Brad Wales and John Spielman with the help of Jeff Gabriel Designs. The custom stations will give our employees the ability to spread out, while the details of the work stations include hidden wiring, Rigidized privacy panels and to-be-determined add-ons that will be decided on as the sections are constructed. The work-station designers have collaborated on such projects as Spot Coffee, the artistic UB bus stops, Gallery 164, etc.
The next piece of the puzzle that should have been easy and ended up being a nightmare was the bathroom and kitchen fixtures. We wanted something different, but once we saw how much ‘different’ would cost we found ourselves in a jam.
It was then that we contacted Artisan Kitchen and Baths located on Amherst Street near Wegman’s. After one walkthrough we were hooked on their over-the-top showroom (in a gorgeous warehouse setting)… one visit to Artisan is all it took. Our sale’s person named Jeff sat us down with catalog after catalog of name brand items and offered suggestions on everything… from design to specs. This was amazing because we had assumed that we would not be able to find anything remotely close to Artisan in the city. The showrooms have a ton of in-stock (and in some cases working) appliances (like the coffee machine in the photo). Even though we did not go for the top-of-the-line items, we still found hard-to-find, quality products that we needed to obtain our C of O.
We continue to find and utilize as many local businesses and artisans as we can possibly find, and in doing so we have ultimatley saved time and money.