Check out the progress on a big wildlife center in Pennsylvania!

In this behind-the-scenes segment, we show you the intense work involved in molding a person and making lifecast figures!

When I wear my Project Management Administrative Assistant hat, I get to order a lot of material and hardware. Most of the time it’s bolts, electronics, steel, and plywood. However, there are times our clients want to make the visitor go, “Wow!”. This Wow idea shows up early in the Design process and everyone here hopes we actually get to make it. Then the idea survives Design budgeting intact and becomes part of the Pre-Production packet. It’s gonna happen! Design hands the idea over to the Production department and our fabricators grin and shake their heads. “What will they think of next?” But they enjoy a challenge. Well, here’s the challenge:

This exhibit will be installed in a nature center in Pennsylvania. The ghost-like figures are visitors provided for scale. The backpacker will be a sculpted figure with steel running through his back to help support this mountain of outdoor recreation equipment. And guess who gets to order all of it? The majority of it is arriving via FedEx and UPS. Some of the more generic and chunkier items we are sourcing locally with the help of our amazing man-about-town, George.

So there is a tidal wave of camping supplies slowly spilling out of the Receiving area over at T-mart. I get to open it all up, and I have a blast. But there’s another part of this exhibit that describes the logging and CCC history of the park, and these require props. Historical props. The client will be providing a lot of vintage clothing, but I needed to track down a two-person logging saw, an axe, a wooden suit hanger, and a stoneware jug. Ebay to the rescue! Since I really enjoy old stuff, I consider Ebay a no-fly zone just to save my bank account. But this time I could indulge myself for work. How sweet is that? I get to stroll through the biggest antique store on the planet!

To top it off, I never know when my Ebay finds will show up. I head downstairs when the delivery truck shows up, wondering what strangely shaped package will be at the front desk. So far, the sellers have been surprisingly fast. The axe is awesome. It’s like Christmas in September. And that doesn’t even include the items for the animal models. Glass eyes? Unpainted fish? Black bear taxidermy blank? Porcupine scat? I’ve got you covered.

Check out the behind the scenes footage of the treehouses we built for Morton Arboretum and a little bit of Tony’s homemade guitar!

In the Shop this week we’re working on projects for Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center, Morton Arboretum and doing some lifecasting!