My own personal h*ll...as if someone imagined it just for me

mahatmacat1

12 years ago

Guess what I found today at my favorite boutique:

Here is a link that might be useful: for $7.99, now in our living room, *bent in half*

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Comments (36)

mahatmacat1
Original Author
12 years ago
Seriously, though: does anyone know how to unbend this kind of metal? It appears to be intact otherwise. Every time I think about the moment *before* some so-and-so had the brilliant idea of bending this thing in two to make it easier to put in the cart, my stomach turns over...
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Ian80
12 years ago
Was that really $7.99 or $799.00?

It looks to be something that can be repaired one way or another. How bad is the bend? Is it crimped? The site you linked to has it listed for $2800.00 so it would be worthwhile to check out some local metal shops.

Ian
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mahatmacat1
Original Author
12 years ago
Yes, $7.99 and $2,800 are the operative terms, given, of course, that 1stdibs is priced for a full-retail-plus audience. I have always loved the small, delicate Jere pieces and couldn't believe what I saw peeking out of a cart today. I know it's not a big thing in the large scheme of things, but I would like to know what to do. It's positively folded back on itself, so the farthest ends are only about 6" apart. I've got it standing on the bottom points now, and support in between the folded-parts.

I was wondering if anyone knows whether I can do anything myself or whether it would be just better to take it to a shop. Guess I'm headed to a shop.
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susan209
12 years ago
Keep us posted on how it turns out. A friend of mine has something similar over her sofa and I just love it. Good luck and I hope it's doable.
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Ian80
12 years ago
It looks like brass tubing so with some heat, patience and an old steel screen tool it is most likely repairable. Not seeing how bad the bend is or knowing wether it's tubing or rod its hard to say. Worst case scenario is you'll have to cut it and braze it back together. Can you post a picture?

Ian
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arcy_gw
12 years ago
Are you concerned that if you unbend it, it may snap in two? I would be. If it doesn't seem that delicate you could just bend it back, the crimp will only be noticed by you, I would bet. If it is a real piece and does have a true value over $7.99 it seems it is worth taking it to a professional and have them give it a try. At this point you really have nothing to lose.
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maddybeagle
12 years ago
I agree it's worth taking it to a professional metal restorer. It might cost a bit, but given the differential between what you bought it for and what it's worth, and given that you love it, I'd say it's worth it to have it done right. I had my banged-up family samovar restored by a local metal restorer and it was SO worth it!
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palimpsest
12 years ago
If it is Curtis Jere it is worth taking it somewhere to have it repaired.
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mjsee
12 years ago
If it is truly a Jere piece...take it to a pro. Now, how one FINDS a professional metal restorer, and how one determines whether said restorer is proficient or not...I'm not sure. I think I'd do a little research if I were you.
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mjsee
12 years ago
And if anyone comes across a Jere Owl sculpture in a thrift shop...give me a shout-out, will you? I keep losing them on e-bay--champagne taste and a beer budget.

sigh.
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runninginplace
12 years ago
If you have any vocational schools around your area, that could be worth a call. A good welder can do amazing things. My son worked several summers in the university machine shop, and is a great welder. You'd be surprised at the skill and delicacy of what can be done.

Other than that, you might try looking up machine shops in general. They are usually set up with everything necessary as far as computer operated gear and metal equipment. As others have said if this piece is genuine you will surely still come out way ahead. Heck, play your cards right and you will get somebody skilled who may very well be so intrigued he (it's almost always a guy) will do it for a minimal cost. This isn't something they do all that often, in fact it might be a first for them.

Good luck!
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mclarke
12 years ago
Contact the maker and find out what it's made of. That will help!
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cat_mom
12 years ago
I have no advice except to say I hope you are able to have it fixed perfectly, and at a decent price, too. I love it--it's quite beautiful!

(if you get it fixed, and ever tire of it.....!!!!)
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ptamom
12 years ago
A jeweler/silversmith can repair this. Stop in some local shops.
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mclarke
12 years ago
Oh, sorry, I wrote back before I finished reading. It's made of brass.

You need to find a metalworker. You're probably dealing with heating and annealing and all that. Best left to a pro.
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mclarke
12 years ago
Ooooh, here's an idea! Look for someone who repairs brass musical instruments, like trumpets or tubas. There are places that specialize in this... especially places that repair school instruments, which take a notorious beating...

Like this place:

Here is a link that might be useful: Brass repair
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dainaadele
12 years ago
Cheap fix idea if you really would rather keep the expenses down: Get tube cutters and get a clean cut just before the area where you bent it. (Tube cutter will do it so it does not have a crimp.) Then slide a smaller wire/tube inside both ends to act a a guide. Attach it to the wall with both pieces lined up. Voila!
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mahatmacat1
Original Author
12 years ago
Good morning, folks! Yes, it is 'veritable' Jere, signed just like the one at 1st Dibs. It's a kind I've always loved, with the many small little parts, although I didn't throw the "Rhapsody" I found a few years ago out of my car either : )l it's up in DD's room now, and she loves it (she plays flute).

I have to say, now that I see it in person, I can't imagine what a pain in the neck it would be to package and send. If this ever leaves our house, it will be to a local person. But considering how much I love this piece, it won't be soon...

And yes, the concern is that if we tried to bend it back ourselves, it would either break or crimp somewhere. I so appreciate all your thoughts on what to do to restore this piece; mclarke, that is *brilliant*. Just brilliant. I just googled and found a similar place to the one you link to, only about 3 miles away!! How lucky. If they aren't the people to do it, I see that the place we bought DD's flute also has a serious band instrument repair (they service the local prof. symphony orchestras too) dept.

I'll take a pic today so you can see the beautiful but contorted thing. Just out of curiosity, and *not* that I would do anything with it now, ian, but what's a steel screen tool? I don't find it by googling, at least not yet.
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mclarke
12 years ago
mclarke, that is *brilliant*. Just brilliant.

Oh, thank you so much! You made my day! I so seldom feel brilliant. (Okay, I often feel brilliant, but it's nice to have someone actually say so, lol!)

But seriously, I'm thrilled you found a place near you that might be able to rescue this wonderful thing.

Keep us posted!
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les917
12 years ago
Evidently C Jere is not an artist, but a company-created name by the home decorative art company Artisan House:

wiki article on C Jere

It is a great piece - they still sell it at Artisan House. I love metal sculptures, so I hope that you can get it repaired. If not, tho, the idea of hanging it as two separate pieces could work very well.
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mahatmacat1
Original Author
12 years ago
That's right, les, and an article in a recent issue of Modernism Mag. talks about what Jerry Fels did before coming up with the "Curtis Jere" large-scale metalwork partnership -- they were Renoir and Matisse of California! I have (only) two of their pieces too [I think one Renoir/copper and one Matisse/enamel, a necklace and a bracelet, not matching] and I had no idea of the connection before I read the article. No wonder there are some enamel pieces in the CJ oeuvre.

Here is a link that might be useful: I love this...
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mjsee
12 years ago
It's the enameled owls I covet...the wall ones. No money for them right now. Not even the smallish ones...let alone the one I've linked. Ah well. I can LOOK.

Here is a link that might be useful: WANT. (But not at this price!)
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mjsee
12 years ago
hey, flyleft--is it you that's collecting the mcm enameled plates? There are some pretty ones up on ebay right now...
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mahatmacat1
Original Author
12 years ago
mclarke, take a bow : ) I took the piece to the local brass instrument repair guy, who told me that we *shouldn't* heat it, because the solders near the bend would get heated up by conduction and branches would start popping off. He said it would be better to try to bend it back and if it broke, then solder it. But heating it would also make it weaker there forever.

SO, with no further ado, he put it on the ground, had me hold one end of it, and gently bent the other side back toward the ground--et Voila! A huge, delicate metal prong-y thing that scratched my car (which is 13 yrs old, so no big issue) when I put it in the back seat!

He did seem to respect the work in the piece -- he examined it and wanted to know what I knew about the makers. He also evidently does repairs for the local high-end furniture shop, does work on remote-control airplanes/rockets, and basically does everything related to metal. So you guided me to the right place, you *brilliant* thing : ) Thank you for making my Goodwill h*ll into a Curtis Jere heaven!

And mjsee, no, I haven't bought an enameled plate since my last little Jade Snow Wong piece several months ago. What are you liking? I'd love to see them.
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amysrq
12 years ago
Doin' the happy dance for ya, Fly!!
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mahatmacat1
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, amy : ) Of course now I'm balking at taking down the piece I have over the mantelpiece, because I'm appreciating how it works with what I have *on* the mantelpiece...I've got the CJ on a sofa with a moving blanket underneath it. Can't have it anywhere where people would really possibly get caught in it...it needs some big space...

Ha--actually, we're about to put in a pantry (yay!) that will give us a wall that looks out onto the family room area, but is pulled back a bit and will have a credenza in front of it, so no one could get hurt...maybe I'll put it there! That might be a great idea. It may have to live on the sofa for a while longer (one of our cats who sleeps there isn't too happy about the prongy-ness of the new decor, though)
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mjsee
12 years ago
Flyleft--

Linked the little dish I was thinking of. The Jade Snow Wong stuff has been out of my reach of late...though I love it. Still trying to decide if I'm going to bid on the piece I've linked... much depends on whether I get some other pieces I'm currently bidding on. (Luckily those auctions end before the linked one!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Jane Glass green and gold bowl
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mjsee
12 years ago
And then there's the these cool ones...

Here is a link that might be useful: Arpad Rosti enameled pieces
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sweeby
12 years ago
Isn't this site great! Someone has a question -- someone knows the answer. Fabulous!

Another great find Fly!
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mjsee
12 years ago
sweeby---it purely is. ;^)
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mahatmacat1
Original Author
12 years ago
Ah, mjsee--I think we have a high percentage of taste in common : ) Want to go thrift shopping/estate saling sometime? : )

Those are all great pieces you're considering--your posting led me to search and I found these that I could see working framed together and made into a *wall piece*.

I agree, sweeby, about the wonderfulness that is g'web. Wish mclarke would see this thread so she could get her second pat on the back : )

Here is a link that might be useful: The teak parts would make some interesting negative space
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allison0704
12 years ago
fly, I was going through old magazines today and ran across an appraisal article on C. Jere from Elle Decor, Nov 2010. Page 128. It's only a two page article, but interesting.

It's not on their website. Do you subscribe/have past issues?

Here is a link that might be useful: Elle Decor - Nov 2010 Cover
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User
12 years ago
fly: did I miss a pic of the piece that you got ? Would love to see...c
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breenthumb
12 years ago
Fly, glad you got that back into shape. It's really nice. Have you considered the lighting on it? I've had a brass "tree" in the family room for years. The surface has swirls as if they took an orbital sander to it but what that does is give it depth, catching light. I've always thought it would be nice to have a soft spotlight on it but never did.

Mine would never bend. It's thick and heavy. I've tried to post a picture but PB or GW is giving me a problem. Doesn't matter what mine looks like anyway. Sandy
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mjsee
12 years ago
flyleft--I would LOVE to go thrift-shopping with you! I can't get the pictures of the coasters to load...I'm going to try again later. I bought a couple of small,low, tile-topped side-tables on ebay--not certain if they can stay in the LR. I'll try to post pictures later.

I really want to go on a MCM thrift-shop road-trip. NC is NOT good pickings...even though much of the high-end stuff was made here in the '50's-'60's. Tastes here ran to the traditional. I live in Chapel Hill--lots of MCM houses...not so much with the furniture.(All those folks moved on before I started collecting) ;^)
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mjsee
12 years ago
Fly--those coasters are awesome! A wee bit above my pin money for this month...I've got 'em bookmarked in hopes that the price will drop again. ;^)
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My own personal h*ll...as if someone imagined it just for me

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