Hire Local Artists for Custom Work

You’ve probably never heard of Kyle Drummond. He’s a charming self-proclaimed introvert who lives with his family in Ellicott City and is a full time software engineer. But in the evenings and on weekends, he indulges his passion for metalwork, creating one-of-a-kind pieces for clients who are lucky enough to find him.

I met Kyle when I was running a pop-up gallery on Main Street in Historic Ellicott City last December. Cindy, his wife and biggest advocate of his work stopped in several times, finally asking me where I found my artists that were represented in the store. I thought she was asking for herself but then she literally dragged a reluctant Kyle in one weekend, to let me know that HE was the artist and maybe I could take a look at his work. One look at his website and I said, “Bring me everything you have.”

That chance encounter has led to a string of commissions for Kyle. Friends of mine purchased one of his candlestick holders from my gallery and when they mentioned that they were looking for someone to design and build a railing for the stairs into their newly renovated lower level, I pulled up Kyle’s website. They were sold and contacted him within days.

Collaborating closely with the couple – considering their style, the location in the home, and their desired end result – Kyle presented several sketches and small metal mockups of his designs. Once they chose the final design, he hand built the railing in his metal shop/studio and installed the railing when it was finished. Since then they have commissioned him to do two additional railings for their Roland Park home, one has already been installed on the front porch, the other is in process for an addition being built.

I didn’t need a railing, but I needed a coffee table.

Several years ago, my husband and I purchased a gorgeous slab of maple at a DIY show with the intention of making a coffee table. We wanted it to be cool, original, to earthy, and natural. Should it be industrial looking, elegant, crafty? We could not decide so we did nothing and it gathered dust in the corner of our living room – until we met Kyle and asked him to design and build a base for us.

After coming to our home to take measurements of the wood, and getting a sense of our lifestyle, room size and other furnishings, he brought us back not one, but three different options for a base design. And it was a tough choice. Thankfully it was a unanimous one for my husband and me.

When the base was complete, we were treated to breakfast with the Drummond family at their home and given a tour of Kyle’s shop, where he attached the top that we had finished to the base he had created. It was a match made in heaven.

Along with Kyle, there is a plethora of local artists that you may or may not know. I encourage you to consider having custom work done by any of these incredibly talented people. If you don’t know where to look, check out these sites:

http://www.kdsculpts.com

https://www.facebook.com/The-Bog-Tinkers-116767195026830/timeline/

https://www.facebook.com/events/644188429057115/

http://jillorlov.com/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/reneetantillo/

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/morgan-frailey/8b/5a0/a0a