Copper Sink Custom Patina Creation

We begin with an exchange of ideas, and often we receive samples of tile, cabinetry, and other items to use as inspiration for our custom patinas. In the case to the left, our customers wanted to pick up the color of the tiles they were using on the backsplash in the kitchen. They had mailed us two samples, as they are varied in color and intensity. At that point, our fun begins! We have a large selection of proprietary materials that we use to create colors and textures. We are aware that there are companies that offer products to patina copper, and on rare occasions, we may use one or two for areas of a patina. For the majority of our patina work, we are using products that we developed ourselves. The reason we are able to achieve colors, patterns, and textures that others cannot achieve is due to my experimenting over 20 years ago. Oddly enough, I was not aware of products that could be purchased to patina copper way back in 2001 when I wanted to experiment with copper patinas. I went online and researched products that might react with copper and ordered dozens of items. I don't want to get too specific, as our methods are a closely guarded secret. When I got my complete list of products and placed my order, I immediately received a phone call from Homeland Security. They were wondering what I was doing and indicated some of the items I had ordered were quite poisonous. It took a bit of explaining on my part. They did not know what patina meant, nor did they know what an apron front copper sink was. All in all, we were laughing at the end of the call. They told me to be careful, and we have always been very careful. Each product has its own paperwork that we have readily available, and proper gear is worn to ensure safety. What you may notice in the lower right hand corner are some signatures of our artisans and a drawing of a dragon. Our customer requested a specific kind of dragon - one without wings. Andres, who is our master patina artisan, drew one for them. 

Nothing makes us happier than providing special works of art for our customers. We believe our customers enjoy the process as much as we do. Every custom patina we do is different. There are no duplicates. 

The art is signed by the artisan that created the patina artistry. Often, this process can take several weeks. Weather has quite a bit to do with the timing. Patina generation is much faster when the weather is hot and humid. Thankfully, we are in the hot/humid capital of the U.S. - Central Florida. That being said, winter months are difficult for us. Patina generation is quite a bit slower. As an example, the simple patination of the interior of a 36" bowl might take 2-4 hours in the summer. It can easily take one to two full days in the winter. The custom patinas on the front of the aprons react somewhat similarly. They react faster in the warmer months. We cannot rush "mother nature" however, we can anticipate her and work within those limitations. 

These custom patinas are as unique as you and I are. Everyone has different tastes. We see these sinks like most people might see children. We love them all and hate to see them leave. There have been some that I truly wished I didn't have to ship out to our customer so fast. I wanted to enjoy looking at the artwork for a while! By the way, we also do custom stencil work, as shown below. We lightly weather the apron, custom design and cut a stencil, then use a darker patina in the stencil area. 

Copper Farm Sink with NexGen™ workstation and a custom stencil