Handicraft Brass

Handicraft brass is a Mottahedeh specialty.  Do you sometimes notice that the brass items in stores are quite simple or inexpensive and not made terribly well?  Look at Mottahedeh brass.  We hope you notice these things:

• There is a lot of detail work

• The weight is heavy

• The decoration and shape are extravagant.

• The shapes are derived from Antiques.

There are many ways to make brass.

• Cast liquid (or molten) metal into a mold

• Construct pieces from sheet metal

• Hammer metal into shapes using a process called repousee

• Solder individual pieces together using a welding torch

• Grind cylindrical metal on a lathe

• Etch surface designs with acid

• Chisel designs with a hand tool

• Cut out designs by piercing with a saw blade

We use all of these. 

No piece is mass-produced in the common sense.  Most companies choose simple shapes to make because these are easier to produce.  People are willing to accept very few variations in treatment in this modern age, because they are used to mass production and other companies can ensure uniformity, But some pieces can only be made by hand.

We do it the hard way; each piece is by hand. 

Therefore, you can choose simpler, more uniform brass, or highly decorated, one-of-a-kind pieces, with variations of the artist making the item.  Sorry to say, if you like the extravagant pieces, you can’t have complete uniformity.

You will pay more for Mottahedeh. 

As you rub your warm gold colored brass in the coming years, it will become more lustrous and the variations will speak to you saying “This is something special.”