Matthias Pliessnig

Matthias Pliessnig

Pliessnig is an industrial designer who specializes in making boats, wall panels and benches by steam bending wood.  Pliessnig's market includes business lobbies, schools, hospitals and hotels.  Steam bending requires many years of experimentation and testing to perfect. I was very impressed with his persistence with experimentation with such a tedious thing to work with throughout the years. He uses light oak wood as his primary wood to do this. This wood is cut, bent, sanded and put together using copper rivets and many clamps. It is then sanded and polished. 

This was definitely one of my favorite speakers at Hallmark Symposium. I found his forms and use of steam bending really interesting and also inspirational. It was great to see a unique use of material and process in industrial design. This was the first time I have seen something like this and I'm excited to see what he will take on in the future. 

 

Star Signs

Star Signs

Star Signs, LLC provides custom fabrication and installation of commercial signs, large architectural signage and graphics products. They provide complete project management to ensure the success of each project. In design and fabrication, Stars balance issues of design, technology, quality and cost to ensure they fulfill the expectations and vision of their customer.

They primarily use aluminum when creating signs but try to work with whatever the client wants like acrylic and digital signage.  Some of their unique materials include:
• Custom steel mesh and steel fabrication
• Custom patinas and faux finishes
• Stone and masonry
• Custom illumination

Like Reuter Organ Company, Star signs uses a CNC Router to easily cut out complex shapes and patterns. They form their signs using primarily a roller press and join parts together by welding and using adhesives. They have options to either paint, texturize or add lighting to finish the sign. 

Their work can be found all over Kansas City and various places across the country. They have worked with some of the biggest companies in the area including the main Boulevard Brewery Sign and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art entrance signage, both pictured below. Some of their other work includes : Legends Shopping Center, Kauffman Stadium wayfinding, JQH Arena wayfinding, Atchison, KS Hospital Directory and many more.

Boulevard Brewery

The Nelson-Atkins Museum

I was surprised at the range of signage they were capable of doing for a single company. Their work ranged from LED lighting to video signage. We were able to see large scale exterior signage as well as small scale interior wayfinding and graphics while touring their warehouse. 

CNC Router

Reuter Organ Company

     

Reuter Organ Company

Since 1917, Reuter Organ Company has been making, reconditioning, refurbishing and upgrading custom pipe organs in Lawrence, Kansas. Every part of these organs are made and put together in one warehouse, making it one of only four remaining organ companies worldwide to do the same. Reuter makes organs of many sizes for churches, schools and concert halls. Each organ consists of 61 pipes      (made out of copper, zinc, tin and led) as well as exterior and interior wood ( poplar, basswood and whatever the customer wants). Reuter goes through 12,000 pounds of led and tin a year for their more common smaller organs. It was interesting to find that the keys are made out of cow bones and the valves either used goat, sheep or kangaroo skin. Pipes were first cast on a stone table that would then be shaped and cooled. They also had a high-tech CNC router that could be programmed to cut difficult and large shapes. The only thing that Reuter has assistance with is all the electrical components that are installed towards the end of development. The average organ takes about 12 weeks from start to finish. This was a great experience for me. It is the first time I have been able to observe a complex product in production from start to finish

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