WINTER AT MASTERWORK PLAQUES

Winter Storm Jonas has officially passed and has left an impressive cover of snow over New York, Brooklyn and much of the East Coast.  Many of us spent the weekend indoors, looking out our frosty windows, but the warming temperatures have already started the gradual melting of the whopping 26 inches that have fallen over the city.  Despite the slow commute to work and our slightly damp socks, most of us are happy to see that winter has officially arrived.

Now might not be the most opportune time for us to feature photos of Brooklyn on our blog, but the timely storm has coincided with the release of our last resolution for 2016.

GETTING INVOLVED IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Masterwork Plaques is surrounded by many small businesses in Williamsburg, and we love being a part of this dynamic and artistic community.  2016 has a lot in store for us at our studio, and our goal is to get to know other artistic and entrepreneurial small businesses in the area, with the hope that our involvement will have a positive affect on our plaque designs, business practices and creative thinking strategies.  For the more daring locals out there, anxious to bundle up in warm scarves and furry snow boots, we’ve put together an abbreviated list of our favorite artsy Williamsburg spots that have been a source of creative inspiration for our studio. 

THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT

This alternative library holds over 33,000 artist sketchbooks that can be submitted by anyone across the world.  This seemingly endless collection of creative journals and has been an overwhelming source of inspiration to our designers.  Artists' individual styles and clever designs are jam packed into this storefront space.  The Art Library serves as a “reading room” where anyone can scan through the many shelves filled with artwork, but many of their sketchbooks can be viewed online as well.  We have found ourselves with a sketchbook in hand, jotting down inspirational notes for new plaque designs on many occasions. 

THE JOURNAL GALLERY

Located down the street from Masterwork Plaques is an impressive converted garage space that hosts the works of many emerging artists (check out those stunning water jet cut letters!).  The Journal began in 1999 as a ‘zine that has expanded into a quarterly periodical with an accompanying gallery.  This spot has been a great destination spot for a 5-10 minute short break from our business day.  As we mentioned in our healthy workspace post, a short break can actually get the creative juices flowing and keep us more focused during the day.  The Journal’s last show was listed as one of the best gallery exhibitions of 2015 on pasunautre.com.  Their first show of 2016 opens this Wednesday, January 27th.

CHOPLET CERAMICS STUDIO

Located on Grand Avenue, Choplet Ceramic Studio functions both as a gallery and workshop space for ceramic artists for all levels (novice and experienced).  Founded by Nadeige Choplet, this ceramics studio offers all sorts of ways to try out throwing on the wheel and traditional hand building, while also providing ample space for the more advanced ceramics artist.  Our CEO and project manager have both taken classes and visited the gallery space at this studio, and it is a great source of inspiration for our more three-dimensional bronze projects.

The human body isn’t meant to sit in front of a computer for eight hours a day. At our studio, we are fortunate in that depending on the project, our work can actually take us away from the computer, whether it is to begin carving a bas-relief portrait or assemble a pattern for a bronze plaque.  These projects force us to move around the studio, and in the warmer months, sometimes even allow us to move our work outside on a nice day.

However, the majority of the week takes place at our desks, and sitting for extended periods of time is not beneficial to our overall health.  Our third resolution for 2016 is to invest our time in better habits at work, which as a result, will make our day happier, healthier and more focused, so that we can work better with you.  Our team sat down (and then stood up!) to discuss ways we can introduce healthier habits into our workplace culture. 

TAKING FREQUENT BREAKS

Studies show that taking regular breaks actually increases productivity by 6-11% throughout the day.  In fact, a 15 second break taken a few times an hour is said to reduce fatigue by 50%. We’ve downloaded the free Time Out app, which gently reminds us to take a break on a regular basis.

STAY ACTIVE

Here in New York City, many employees eat lunch at their desks or simply do not take a break to eat at all.  This habit actually reduces productivity because it does not give our brains the time to rest between tasks.  We’ve made a pact to step away for an extended break at least two times a day, in addition to taking lunch outside the office. 

Taking a walk around the block is particularly enjoyable in our neighborhood.  We can volunteer for the nearby dog shelter and walk a dog for twenty minutes to temporarily unwind during a stressful day.  Others of us have installed an app on our phones called Sworkit which provides five-minute work out routines, perfect for a break between emails or after a big project is completed.

DRINK WATER

Most of us already know that the average person should be drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day, equaling about two liters.  At work, we’ve found it is easy to stay put at your desk, answer emails and lose track of time.  Especially if you aren’t in the habit of consistently drinking water, the day can go by and after the morning coffee, you haven’t drank anything at all.  We’ve decided to keep a large water bottle at our desk, which can be carried easily with us to lunch or to plaque design meetings, so we all stay on track and stay hydrated.  Here’s to a healthy and active 2016! 

The plaque arrived on Monday...It turned out beautifully. The members of the board asked me to pass along our appreciation to you and the others involved in creating the plaque. We are very happy with the results. Congratulations to all of you for a job well done. The plaque will be admired by many people and for many years. - Sandy in Wyoming, July 2014

Small businesses rely on client feedback.  Not only do client reviews help prospective customers decide whether they should purchase a plaque, reviews also provide valuable feedback for our studio.  Customer reviews are one of the first things people see when they perform a search on Google and Yelp. Online reviews, specifically, provide “social proof” to people unfamiliar with our small company, based on the opinions of others with similar needs. 

Our resolution for 2016 is to encourage our clients to comment on our business.  We often receive kind words from our customers via email, once a plaque is installed, and we share a portion of these reviews on our website. Going forward, we encourage our clients to write their reviews directly on our Google + and Yelp! business pages, so that your opinion can be shared with a larger community of people.

During the month of January, Masterwork Plaques will be posting a weekly blog entry spelling out our new year's resolutions for 2016.  This past year has been a time of change and growth for our studio, and we are planning on growing even more in the year to come.  

The first step is telling you more about who we are.

MASTERWORK PLAQUES IS A SMALL BUSINESS.  

Don't let this deter you.  As a small business, we can be personable, attentive and flexible when it comes to working with our customers.  Masterwork Plaques is a workshop of highly skilled metal artists, and though there may be fewer of us on staff than our competitors, we work quickly and efficiently with years of metal-making experience.  Your custom project receives our close attention.

OUR STUDIO IS UNIQUELY EXPERIENCED.

Masterwork Plaques creates custom bronze plaques for the following uses:  building management signage, commemorative and dedication plaques, national register plaques, water-jet cut lettering, bas-relief portraits, inset medallions, awards, logos, donor plaques--the list goes on and on.  If you can imagine it, we can probably create it.

Our studio carries a selection of different metals at a variety of price ranges.  While cast bronze plaques are the most popular choice, we also offer aluminum plaques, brass plaques, and stainless steel plaques, in addition to zinc, copper, and muntz plaques.  Each metal has its own range of benefits, and the variety of metal options allows our customers to select what works best for them.

MASTERWORK IS BASED IN NYC, SHIPPING NATIONALLY.

Our design studio is located in Brooklyn, NY within a community of skilled artisans and entrepreneurs of many trades.  We take advantage of our location as much as possible.  We believe in supporting local businesses and do our best to work with small companies in the surrounding area.  Providing finely crafted, American-made products to our customers makes us proud.

Our studio can ship to clients across the country, and can often ship overseas.  We have clients in all 50 states, and have shipped to Canada and France among other countries.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Masterwork Plaques is a custom plaque-making studio, interested in creating one-of-a-kind plaques for businesses, building management, dedications and commemorative occasions. Our studio came into being from the desire to revolutionize the metal plaque industry, which is filled with mass-produced signage and standard memorial plaques.  We founded a business where each plaque is created from unique designs and materials of the finest quality.  We believe that plaques made to commemorate the special events in life should be, well, special!