Yoga Truck

Yoga Truck

Driving off the freeway ramp, I was about to turn into my place of work, and there across the street was a scene playing tricks on my eyes. It was a semi-truck that had partially flipped – actually had twisted - while turning the corner. Only the back of the semi fell to the side, while the cab was still upright, leaving a dynamic twisting effect in the body of the metal trailer that was reminiscent of a spiral stair! The scene was very calm and there were no onlookers at that time besides the driver and police, so in a way it felt like – as one friend coined it – like a truck in a yoga posture! Still, peaceful, and waiting until the next pose. And for us at Seattle Stair, it was hard to miss the similarity of a spiral stair and the look of the twisting of the metal trailer. Being directly across the street from Seattle Stair, ironically it was fitting. Seeing the Yoga Truck was a little piece of the unexpected in a usually predictable commute to work.

* As a side note, I want to mention that we all felt for the driver of the truck and his company and are truly grateful that no one was hurt by this unfortunate incident.

Phoebe Schraer
executive coordinator

Metalsmithed Spiral Tread Supports

Metalsmithed Spiral Stair Tread Supports

I am excited to share with you the magic that is happening in the building of this spiral. We are using a unique metal tread support system that is our design. This is something we’ve been waiting for the opportunity to do, and as we had hoped - the outcome is more sculptural than typical. The tread supports looked like a spine from a prehistoric being before they were erected and bolted to the center column. As is shown in the pictures, you can see Christian putting the treads on the supports for the first time. He is testing that they are level and that all the stairs are lining up correctly. He must also ensure the spiral lets you out in the right spot on the upper balcony. To build a spiral, not only must you have a vision, but you also need to remember your geometry and algebra before the magic can really happen. I love the look of the stair right now, before we add the railing. This is a sculpture in and of itself, and the rail will bring a completely different yet equally striking effect!

Phoebe Schraer

Executive Coordinator

Stairways - From France to Seattle

From France to Seattle

One Year with the Compagnons…

I am a new employee of Seattle Stair and how I wound up here has been an amazing journey, which when I began, I always hoped that I would be working with such skilled, passionate and interesting people as I have found here.

In August of 2011, I was chosen as the first American to take part in an international fellowship exchange program at the Coubertin Foundation in Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse, France with the Compagnons du Devoir.  My 11 months there were filled with workshop training, art, computer drafting, architectural history, mathematics and cultural events and trips.  I learned as much about a wonderful country and culture as I did about my work.

Shawn, who was has been bringing in French Compagnons for several years to work and live in Seattle, has graciously given me the opportunity to become part of the team here and I am loving every day, as I continue to learn and develop into a talented craftsman.

Nicolas Esposito - Craftsman

http://www.coubertin.fr/

http://www.afcoubertin.org/11.html

BEAUTIFUL TAHOE

BEAUTIFUL TAHOE

I have a lot of connections to Lake Tahoe.
• Framing houses there—Summer of ‘74
• Skiing with my dad—Winter of ‘76 (Squaw Valley, Heavenly Valley, Kirkwood)
• Honeymoon with Marilyn—Summer of ‘79 (still married)
• Last place I saw my dad—Late 90’s
• Buried my dad—1999

So it was with some emotion that I returned there for the first time in many years. I flew into Tahoe Valley Airport with my flight instructor on a beautiful fall day in early October. I was there to share our great story about custom stairs with area architects.

As we flew out the next morning and passed over the town of Truckee, CA it reminded me of rafting the Truckee River with my buddies at the unenlightened age of 20. Unenlightened indeed….and untrained, unguided, unhelmeted and unsafe. Only two guys overboard and we all lived to tell the story. It’s amazing we didn’t get swept out to the Pacific Ocean in the heavy spring runoff.

I will always look back fondly on the summer I spent there framing custom homes. It was a foundational building block for what I do now in custom stair design. Check out the aerial photo…….the houses I built were all in Tahoe Keys, visible on the left side of the image. Thank you Ron Triano, wherever you are.

My peak experience this trip? Dinner at Nephele’s on Ski Run Boulevard. www.nepheles.com/   I WILL be going back there again!  As soon as I land my first stair project in Tahoe.

Shawn F. Christman
President
Seattle Stair and Design

Finding Meaning in a Dusty Shop

Summer has waned and now crisp autumn mornings accompany my awakening self to work. Each year this transition invariably draws me into reflection upon my current blessings. Presently, I find myself part of a passionate group of creative collaborators, encouraged to seek the epitome of quality, and supported in my endeavors by kind, intelligent mentors. It is an honor to be daily met by persons of integrity and witness their attention to craft, perseverance, and infectious joie de vivre. In this stair shop we are playing out an old story, part of a pre-historic movement, seeking beauty through manual creation and thereby providing the tangible reality so sought after by our imaginative brothers and sisters. Placing our weight behind the plane or guiding the chisel through tough end grain with practiced precision brings each of us closer to life. How fortunate we are to suffer these dusty days of triumph.

Michael Lane -Craftsman

Jewelry for the Home

Jewelry Designer Turned Railing Designer


I am thrilled with this new stair project on Lake Sammamish. Coming from a jewelry design background, the process of designing a railing is turning out to be similar to that of designing a ring or other special piece of jewelry. The goal is to come up with a concept that adds to and enhances (as jewelry enhances the wearer) making a statement that is an expression of the home owner, accentuates the beauty that is already there, and is pleasant to look at. When I was designing jewelry I listened to what my client wanted while taking cues from her taste, her lifestyle, and what brought her happiness. For the rail design, I follow the same protocol as well as looking at her furniture taste for inspiration and listening to her desire to accent the lake that is just outside the windows behind the stair. I am incorporating ‘petals’ of glass within the design elements that are the color of the lake, and highlight certain aspects of the overall design. They are like the jewels of the rail design, similar to diamonds or sapphires in a piece of jewelry.
Phoebe Schraer
Executive Coordinator

Lighthouses: Compressing Spiral Stairs

I've always been fascinated by lighthouses, have gone out of my way in my airplane to overfly one at too low an altitude and have toured several in my travels. When PBS has a lighthouse special, I always watch it. Obviously part of the fascination comes from the amazing circular stairs inside. They are intriguing from the standpoint that many of them are a compressing spiral, meaning since the tower is often tapered, they get tighter as the spiral climbs toward the lens. I have photographed this architectural feature somewhat extensively because I found it challenging from a design standpoint. I have plans and drawings for such a stair. One "bucket list" ambition I have is to build a climbing/tapering/lighthouse style staircase for someone's home or office before I'm too old to master its complexity. –Shawn Christman, Seattle Stair

If you haven't visited the Heceta Head lighthouse in Oregon, I highly recommend it. Google this lighthouse, purported to be the most-photographed one in the US, and you'll find some gorgeous professional photography of the interior stairs.

photo from Planet Eugene.com

Seattle Stair & Design Featured in Seattle Business Article

"A fierce devotion to modern craftsmanship and classical technique keeps one Seattle company several steps ahead," reports the magazine Seattle Business. "Shawn Christman... is settled on a comfortable couch in a SoDo storefront office that’s cluttered with scale models of magnificent winding stairways and tchotchkes of exotic woods, finely finished. But for the coffee table books in French lying around, this might be Geppetto’s man cave.

He is Shawn Christman, 57, who founded and presides over Seattle Stair & Design, which is thriving in a marketplace being commodified with off-the-rack stair kits manufactured by automated offshore factories.

His list of clients is impressive—and those are just the ones he can talk about. Seattle Stair’s recent jobs include 2,000 feet of curved wooden handrail and 1,000 feet of curved paneling for the massive stairs at Seattle’s new headquarters of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It built the steel-and-glass stair structure for the Barneys New York store in Seattle and the (curved mahogany handrails for the)Y-shaped staircase at the Bellevue Hyatt. It manufactured an array of 50 Victorian, hand-turned Western red cedar columns and other architectural parts for the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World. And while Christman is mum about it (wrapped as it is in non-disclosure agreements), the company is working on (the) O.W. Ranch, and a luxury vacation-rental destination in Kula, Maui.

In addition to these large projects, Seattle Stair has built hundreds of residential stairways in the Pacific Northwest, as well as in Japan, Alaska and Hawaii, particularly on Maui.

Christman calls his designs “a balanced mix of geometry, architecture and sculpture.”

Click on blog title above to read the entire story in Seattle Business magazine. Thank you for the wonderful story Leslie Helm and Michael Hood.

Touring with Journalists with an Eye on Design: Seattle Stair & Design's Stairway Studio Showcases Skill and Artistry

Recent visits by design media remind us of what makes our workspace so special. After measuring off site, it’s here that we design and construct our staircases. In our workshop showroom you hear the rattle of a hand-held chisel as a craftsman works a beam of Santos Mahogany. A wisp of dust rises from the rail, carrying the scent of cinnamon on the air. You follow a flash of light around the corner and enter a vast, sun-lit space. The flicker of precision welding equipment illuminates something tall, with elegant lines and sweeping curves, rising toward the rafters. You approach, your hand reaching for the smooth, polished bannister.

Beach Stairs: Seabrook Does it Right

This time of year many of us head to the beach. In Washington, that's often a tricky trip traveled down a high bank rather than on a sloping path to the sand. The Seabrook neighborhood did a great set of stairs to their community's beach. It's mammoth in size and just right in scale to those big beach dunes.

Concrete Stairs? Not in North America but...

I love this circular stair I recently saw on DigsDigs.com. It is actually made from concrete! While this would never pass code in North America, I enjoy it so much...
The opportunity of graphics across the surface of that elegant curve-- gorgeous.

Creative inspiration. I have my mind wrapping around a laser cut sheet of steel or Lumicor right now.

-David Shuler

Farewell to Arnaud

On Arnauds last day we held a Hawaiian BBQ. Because of the Visa restrictions we can only keep an intern from the Compangnons for 12 to 18 months. While we were so fortunate to have been able to have Arnaud for 18 months - the time passed so quickly. He is such a talented young man full of grace and personality.
He will be missed by all of us. We wish him well and hope to hear of his adventures whether in France or ?

Arnaud is pictured in the red shirt closest to the camera.

Stairs That Strike Us: Paris "shop stair"

While on my honeymoon in Paris I saw so many stairs that made me just go WOW. But somehow this stair just stole my heart. Dating back to the early 1600's this stair has been doing its duty with such simple style. From time to time you may find this on my computers desktop as it brings me a smile whenever I view it.

- David Shuler, Seattle Stair

Staircase Design & Build Business Thrives: Even After Wetlands, Fire and Flood

In Seattle Stair & Design’s history it’s literally faced wetlands, fire and flood. (Wetlands: in the form of $40,000+ paid to the County in fees to study “industrial” land Shawn Christman had purchased in 1982 for a new workshop and headquarters that turned out to be an environmental buzz saw trap of protected wetlands. Fire: in the form of a raging one in 1992 that swept through the studio, wiping out hardwood inventory and more. And flood: as the result of a legendary Seattle deep freeze in 1996 where the entire sprinkler system let loose, flooding two floors with 8 inches of water and destroying raw materials, damaging equipment and sidetracking the company’s entire team to mop-and-bucket duty for weeks. The bright side? The waters miraculously stopped just short of engulfing a spiral staircase representing two months of work and just nearing completion.) Despite obstacles like these, Shawn’s ever a risk taker with a big wave surfer’s mentality of riding the next big wave.

Photo of a snowy Seattle staircase from the West Seattle Blog.

A View from Above: Warm White Oak Arcs on Our Stairs

Our good friend, Kat, exclaimed when she saw this image, "I want to go down those stairs barefoot."

Floating Stairs

The Staircase Railing of a New Seattle Landmark: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

This international organization, the world's largest nonprofit, knows the importance of making a good first impression. The project's architects did a wonderful job of creating a design that lifts the eye six stories. When you walk on this stair you have a sense of floating. The 2,000 feet of rail we crafted adds to the subtle minimalism that practically disappears. Take a look at the "before" photo we shot during construction. Gorgeous, don't you agree? Photo by Benjamin Benschneider/ NBBJ/ DJC.

“Interior Décor from Master Craftsman”- Seattleite Reports on our Entryway + Stairway Designs

We were thrilled to be interviewed and featured by Seattleite which wrote in introduction, “Led by a locally-raised innovator, stairs and railings receive a luxurious makeover at this prestigious firm.” To read the entire article please click blog title above.

Our Stairs Push the Limits: Forcing New Methods of Design Build

The DMY International Design Festival is in Berlin this Week and during its DMY Materials Innovation Workshops designers and architects will jointly develop new scenarios and applications based on innovative material developments. They say “70 % of all product innovations are based on new materials. Materials and their production have become the drivers of innovation. The focus is no longer merely the technological function, but foremost the ability to transfer functional excellence in user-oriented products.”

We couldn't agree more. On a current project, we needed to be able to demonstrate the integrity of glass treads to the structural engineer on a recent project. 600 lbs of sandbags, then a 225 pound construction worker jumping on the load eventually satisfied him.

"DMY International Design is a festival of product design that takes place in Berlin once a year, you can read the www.ithunter.org article on it here. Photo from the show by It Hunter."

Fashion and the Stair Railing

We find our work being like couture fashion in many ways. Take a look at this stitched, leather-wrapped handrail we did. It's like the tailoring of a fine leather jacket.

Designer Thom Filicia Visits Seattle: We Share our Book of Stairs

Thom Filicia of Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and House and Garden Top 100 fame paid a special visit to the Bellevue Masins Fine Furnishings where he was signing his new book Thom Filicia Style. I enjoyed talking spiral stair challenges with his manager, plus meeting Mr. Filicia, who was so kind as to ask for a copy of our own little book… a picture book of projects we like to keep in
our lapel pocket. He then signed my copy of his book with the exclamation, "Your Stairs Rock!" Why thank you Thom. Your new book is filled with great design inspirations.

- David Shuler, Seattle Stair

Photo of Seattle Stair & Design's David Shuler with Designer/Author Thom Filicia

Centuries of European Architecture and Cathedral Building Enriches Our Stair Designs

Ten years back Seattle Stair & Design’s founder Shawn Christman set off for Europe in search of the Compagnons du Devoir (“Brotherhood of Duty”), the elite guild of woodworkers who built the great cathedrals and chateaux of France. History tells the guild first appeared at the time of Solomon, and by the twelfth century AD was active in the construction trades in Europe. For nine centuries the Compagnons gathered the brightest talent, forming a fellowship of craftspeople who traveled the world beautifying civilization’s greatest cities and handing down their skills from master to apprentice. Masterpieces from Mount Saint-Michel (photo shown) to the Louvre, from the Scottish highlands to the sands of Santa Fe were the result. But where, in this age of mass-produced commodities, had the Compagnons gone?

An enduring tradition: Shawn discovered a tradition that was very much alive. The guild was at work all over Europe, building masterpieces that represent the peak of centuries of development of the finest European joinery. Shawn toured their headquarters and training shops. He studied their history, met with their leadership, and ultimately achieved his goal – to become the first North American stair maker certified by the Compagnons as an approved destination “Stage” for their apprentices and masters. Because of this relationship, an apprentice Compagnon can earn credit toward the completion of his 7-year Masterpiece by studying for a year under Shawn and the team. At any given time there is usually a Compagnon craftsman in the Seattle Stair & Design studio, working alongside the Seattle-based team. The staircases we produce for our clients represent the fusion of this old-world craftsmanship and modern techniques.

Artisans, Architects, Designers and the Odd Ballistic Specialist: Seattle Stair & Design’s Team of Experts

Vast and varied, our network of pros includes glassmakers, steel fabricators, engineering specialists and specialty suppliers who work with us to bring everything together seamlessly. As a project’s dedicated staircase specialist, we manage the entire process, guiding the owner and project team through staircase construction from design to installation. Balancing aesthetic beauty and feasibility is a passion. For the building contractor we represent a total, no-hassle, comprehensive solution – the “Swiss watch” of your construction project.

Why the ballistic specialist? We needed to ensure our glass treads would not shatter and guillotine someone standing below the staircase. With persistent research, David Shuler, our Sales Manager, discovered a ballistic film that embassies around the world now use on their windows to prevent flying glass from car bombs from killing the occupants.

The photo here shows us testing the glass tread we built- here we're topping it with 600 pounds of sandbags plus the strength of a man. Tough stuff!

23 Years of Stair Building and Making a Big Entrance

Since 1978 Seattle Stair & Design’s skilled craftspeople have fused old-world traditions with modern techniques in some of the continent’s finest homes and commercial spaces. Shawn says, “A good staircase is always inside the front door, so it’s an element of first impression. It’s the first thing you see when you come into a house and the last impression you get when you walk out the door.” Early on Shawn operated out of the back of his 1965 Oldsmobile F85 Cutlass, serving clients with small entryway and stair projects in urban Seattle and rural Washington. Today Seattle Stair & Design, housed in a 10,000 square foot historic industrial building, has one of the world’s top celebrities, plus a renowned private philanthropic foundation on its tight-lipped client list, and with equal passion still creates stairs and entryways for more modest homes and commercial projects around North America. Clients include the “O.W. Ranch” on Maui and Barneys New York.

Wood Carvings and Decorative Flourishes on Stairs

The artists and craftspeople at Seattle Stair & Design workshop often share a fondness for childhood memories of whittling and carving with wood. Today they turn their talent to gorgeous gems of wood specimens like mahogany, creating breathtaking entryways and staircases that showcase their skill.

Our Stairs Arrive by Truck, by Boat, by Crane

Delivering shop-built stairs involves a multitude of transportation modes. Many of our projects are second homes and weekend getaways on remote islands. Add to that the urban condos in busy downtown cores, and our project managers have become expert at bringing in completed projects ready for install. Whether
Jackson Hole or Maui, downtown Seattle or the Grand Floridian in Orlando, our decades of experience make the stairs arrive beautifully and on time.

Photo of a recent work by Seattle Stair being brought into a private residence by crane high above Seattle's downtown.

Stairs that Strike Us: Loretto Chapel

In the coming months we’ll share with you remarkable projects that we’ve discovered in our travels and research. The kinds of stairs that stop you dead in your tracks as you look up (or down) at them. The Loretto Chapel with its legend of a miracle and its connection to The Compagnons is one. Click here to read its whole story: http://bit.ly/bzAHv

photo from the Loretto Chapel.

Opening our Doors to Seattle Stair & Design Friends and Clients

Our annual party was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with so many friends, clients and partners. Great music, drink and food made for a warm welcome as guests entered our showroom home… checking out our works-in-progress, like this staircase you see Shawn standing in front of.

A View from Above

Here, Bamboo Grass practically waves in the breeze in our Eco Resin panels.

Tradition Shines

Sometimes it's all about tradition. Here's one of our staircases with crisp white paint and dark handrails. Striking.

Traveling with a Master Stair Builder? Naturally, Our Eyes Open to Stairways Everywhere

As a jewelry designer by trade, I have a great love of beauty, design and craft and use of quality materials. I see a beautiful stair as, similar to jewelry, the final accessory that completes the outfit, or in this case, the mystique of a building. In many cases, stairs, like jewelry, can become the primary expression of beauty and uniqueness that completes a design or a look.

Looking to be inspired? Head to Iowa. On a recent business trip there with Shawn and Marilyn Christman, owners of Seattle Stair and Design, we detoured to the local university with its historic buildings and Iowa’s original capitol building, circa 1856. We strolled through the buildings, discovering grand stair after grand stair of wood, cast iron and steel, and tile. The capitol building itself has the most beautiful spiral stair.

It was fascinating to watch Shawn, a master, measuring and examining each detail of these creations. He jumped into master teacher mode and used it as an opportunity to share with me detailed explanations of the design and building techniques that were used, what is changed from today, code issues, craftsmanship, materials, and more. I felt incredibly lucky to have this first hand, apprentice like training handed to me as I too was taken by the beauty and craftsmanship of these historic, grand staircases.

–Phoebe, Seattle Stair
Photo from Old Capitol Museum, Iowa.

Dilemma Leads to Invention: a New Way of Building Stairs

Back in 1982 on a project nearing completion on Whidbey Island, Shawn Christman arrived on the jobsite to find a staircase substructure framed with the kind of warped, wet scrap lumber leftover at the end of a job. Nothing was true. Absolutely nothing was plumb. It was nearly impossible for Shawn and his small team from the then four-year old Seattle Stair to come in with their hardwoods and finesse a usable and attractive stair out of the mess.

This maddening experience propelled Shawn to invent a better way to build a stair.

Research led him to an old-time stair-maker whose work had landed in the Smithsonian. Shawn studied the century’s old technique of designing a theoretically perfect construct to fit the hole (here, a stairwell). He spent years perfecting the process where he and his crew would come in and measure that hole then “disappear” back to their studio for a few months to create a hand-in-glove structure that would be brought back to the job site, installed, and best yet fit perfectly and be pleasing to the eye. When factoring in the complicated geometry and artistic rigors this is no small feat.