Equal parts Willy Wonka, Walt Disney, Jules Verne and Mad Max all rolled into one… This inventive “mover of metal” creates fantasy on a grand scale.
One of my favorite things that I’ve come to love in creating and curating cool ‘stuff’ for this blog is the rush and sense of discovery I feel when I stumble upon an amazing, inventive individual, or team, following their passions and making those around them all the richer and happier because of it. Jon Sarriugarte is one such man.
I first became aware of Sarriugarte, a Oakland, CA-based blacksmith/metal artist extraordinaire while thumbing through a recent Restoration Hardware catalog and spied his unique lamp and lighting designs being offered through the store. A little ‘Googling’ later and I entered a wonderful, colorful world full of all kinds of whimsical creations, courtesy of the mind of this self-described “Oil Punk” entrepreneur.
From his sprawling 44,000-square-foot Kraft Building complex, full of like-minded artists and metal workers, Sarriugarte turns out an astonishing array of cool “stuff” such as his line of custom lighting and furniture. My particular favorites however are his futuristic, metallic car creatures that look as if they would be right at home on the set of Mad Max—Beyond Thunderdome!
A fixture at Burning Man, Jon and his wife Kyrsten Mate, a sound designer who has worked on Oscar-winning films, were awarded a grant and asked to create something very special. The result?… Serpent Twins, (shown in video above.) Simply amazing!
Randy – A Life Designed
