Historical Origin And Design Inspiration
The first dwellings to occupy the site, in 970 were part of a Viking trading camp. In 1270, Robert De Muscegros built the first defensive fortress, known as a motte and bailey castle. These lands were later granted to Thomas de Clare, who built the first stone structure on the site. At this time Bunratty town had grown to a population of 1,000.
In 1318, Thomas's son Richard de Clare, Steward of Forest of Essex (new holder of the castle) was killed in the Battle of Dysert O'Dea during the Irish Bruce Wars 1315-1318. The castle and town were completely destroyed by the victorious O'Briens.
In 1332, soon after being restored for the King of England, the castle was once again razed by the Irish Chieftains of Thomond under the O' Briens and the MacNamaras. In 1353, after lying in ruins for 21 years, it was rebuilt by Sir Thomas Rokeby, but was almost immediately attacked again by the Irish and was held by Irish hands thereafter.
The present structure was completed by the MacNamara family around 1425 but 50 years later was in the hands of the O'Briens, the most powerful clan in Munster.
In 1646, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Barnaby O'Brien, the Earl of Thomond, allowed a large English Parliamentary garrison to land in Bunratty. The castle was besieged and taken by the forces of Confederate Ireland under Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry.
Scottsdale Art Factory carries on the American Arts And Crafts Movement of the 21st century, in the same way William Morris and John Ruskin (founders of the Arts and Crafts furniture movement in circa 1800 England) inspired Gustave Stickley (founder of the American Arts and Crafts movement) in America circa 1900. Frank Loyd Wright, Charles and Henry Greene (inspired architects of the ultimate cottages such as the
Gamble House in Pasadena California) are credited with raising quality standard to its highest level in their day. All of these great master craftsman also inspired the Marabella Brothers in the early 20th Century (founders of SAF circa 1913).
Every creative enterprise is always built on a foundation that was laid down by its predecessors. Creative people are also dependent on the groundwork laid down by those who came before them. H. J. Nick, artist and direct descendant of the Marbella brothers, and Scottsdale Art Factory have built on these foundations and have raised the bar of quality even higher. Thus setting a new standard and offering the finest one of a kind handmade furnishings found anywhere in the world in the 21st century.
We Build Commercial And Residential Doors - All Styles And Sizes
Choose From Our Designs Or Use Your Design And
We Will Build To Our Hand Made Standards
All Scottsdale Art Factory Doors Are Designed In America and Built In America Using Solid Natural Air Dried Timber And Hand Forged Steel And The Finest Fabrics And Leathers, By The Hands Of True American Master Craftsmen.
All products are made under the supervision of world renowned artist H. J. Nick using only the finest materials. We never use engineered cores or faux materials such as paste boards, veneers, masonite, MDO plywood, melamine or oriented strand board panels with expensive wood sounding names such as walnut or hickory veneer etc. We also use only the finest fabrics and leathers.
Purchase American Made - Invest In "Your" Future.
Investment Quality, Equals Appreciable Asset Furniture , Destined For Antiquity.
We build only proud to own family heirloom furnishing, rich with family history and priceless heritage. This process begins with you and your family personalizing each piece with your own special design requests.
H. J. Nick supervises the details and drafting process with his design team, and upon your approval, we then build your product. Once you receive your item, you can enjoy it secure in the knowledge it will increase in value and become a cherished family heirloom that is guaranteed to stand the test of time.
Order As An Original Work Or Limited Edition Product
There Is Never A Charge For Re-design
Every Door You Order Includes Your Choice Of Hand Rubbed Fine Furniture Finishes & Textures
Hand Rubbed Furniture Finish Details As Shown: Mahogany Oil Stain Beech Wood. Our finish process includes five to ten coats of hand rubbed furniture quality clear oils or water based non-toxic lacquers. It is applied, cured, rubbed and re-applied depending upon whether your order is Limited Edition or old growth Original works.
Every surface of this product is fine finished including the under sides and hidden areas. These doors are built to investment family heirloom quality and are finished to be virtually maintenance free and will stand the test of time. You may choose the natural color or from over 400 standard stain colors, or computer color match to any stain color from a sample you provide. Most of our finishes are water based and earth friendly.
You may order any single color or texture finish at no extra charge. Fine Finish Information: Important details about our finish process: patinas, sealants and wood finishes.
Hand Carving Is Available To Your Design Choice
Hand Carving Information: Important details about the kind of carving you can expect when you order from Scottsdale Art Factory.
Colorized Carving: You can order any carving colorized. In order to achieve a colorized carving, multiple stain colors are used. The stains are hand applied and blended with an artistic eye to achieve an enhanced natural appearance.
All Steel Is Coal Fired, Hammered By Master Blacksmiths The Old Fashioned Way And Patina Finished.
At Scottsdale Art Factory, we take pride in our traditional, superior quality workmanship and craft our products from only the finest steel. Our master blacksmiths have been classically trained, and utilize old world techniques such as coal firing, anvil hammering and hand forging to create the finest handcrafted hardware available anywhere. All of our steel work is hand patina finished by heat applying iron oxides to achieve a natural patina finish that will stand the test of time.
Nothing is Drop Forged. We create works The Old Fashioned Way using solid hand forged steel, (drop forging is a poor quality, casted copy of a hand forged work of art). Nothing is wrought iron; wrought iron is simply a softer and less sturdy form of metal that cannot compare to stronger hand forged low carbon steel.
Master Blacksmithing: The kind of hand forged metal work you can expect when you order from Scottsdale Art Factory.
All Our Hand Forged Steel Is Hand Patina Finished To Stand The Test Of Time
Patina Finish As Shown: Various Colors Of Hand Applyed Iron Oxide Patinas. All steel parts are hand patina finished the old fashioned way by iron oxide hand applied with high temperature heat.
We never powder coat or faux paint our steel, it has been our experience that paint and powder coating methods do not hold up over time. You may choose from many natural iron oxide colors, and all our patina finishes are water based and earth friendly.
You may order any single color or texture finish at no extra charge. Every surface of this hardware is finely finished including the under sides and hidden areas. Each item is finished to be virtually maintenance free and to age with grace to stand the test of time.
Our Guarantee: We Guarantee Each Item "Forever" " No Questions Asked, backed by over nine decades of fine craftsmanship.
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Doors - Solid Wood
Gates - Wood With Iron
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