Her love of concrete inspired her to contact Solus. “I wanted to see how I could learn more about concrete and mold design. I liked the Solus product and I even liked the building. I thought maybe I could talk to someone or take a tour of the company,” Karla explained.

Her keenness got the attention of Solus president Brad Carpenter, who was impressed enough to invite her to use Solus facilities to create a product. He also connected her with resident mold specialist Tanya Salas, one of the founding members of Solus Decor.  “I am grateful for all the time that Tanya has spent with me here, and her guidance.” Karla was able to shadow Tanya and learn the ropes enough to feel confident to embark upon, and create her own extra curricular product, from design to completion.

Karla’s inspiration came from mid-century living room chairs with a twist. She wanted to take this look outdoors and keep it outdoors by using the weather resistant combination of white maple for the backrest and base, and Solus concrete for the seat.

After making the forms and molds and helping to pour the concrete, Karla faced her biggest challenge: how to connect the wood and concrete media securely.  “I’ve learned to slow down the process”, she said. “Things sometimes take longer than expected. I tell myself that other people do this everyday and that I can figure it out as well”.

Karla takes great satisfaction of being able to make something by hand and feels that the end customer will get the sense of care that goes into making products this way. Karla says her future lies somewhere as an entrepreneur in the furniture design field.

As Karla completes her Outdoor Living Room Chair design, Solus wishes her well at both Emily Carr and in her future endeavors.  Who knows, you might even see more of her products here as well!

Solus products will be making appearances at both the BC & Calgary Home shows.

You’ve appreciated these beautiful products on their own merits, now can also see them creatively utilized in various landscaping and construction company designs.

You can also enter to win theElevated Halo 36 in Cinder at the Best Homes Magazine booth in Calgary!

Please see details for both shows below, and enjoy the beautiful display productions that these companies have laid out for you.

BC Home & Garden show.  February 22 to 26, 2012  at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, Canada.  (http://www.bchomeandgardenshow.com)

Feature Garden: Houston Landscapes (http://www.HoustonLandscapes.ca) will be showing Fraser Squared surround and Span in a gorgeous outdoor room setting.

Dream Garden #5: Beneath Your Feet Landscaping (http://www.beneathyourfeet.ca/) will show the original Low Halo.

Booth 717: With Impact Landscaping (www.gowithimpact.com) – will show the 26″ Hemi Fire bowl with Plinth.

2. Calgary Home & Garden Show (www.calgaryhgs.com) Feb 23 – 26, 2012. BMO Centre and Corral, Calgary, Canada.

Booth 291: Oasis Construction Landscaping  (www.Oasis-Landscaping.ca) Will show a 36″ Hemi Fire bowl.

Booth 1203: PurLiving Backyard Spas, Furniture, Decor (http://www.purliving.com) will be showing an Elevated Halo

Booth 283: Best Homes Magazine (http://www.besthomesmagazine.com) – Will show a Cinder coloured Elevated Halo – and you can enter their competition to win it from the show. Competition details at the Best Homes booth.

Sometimes the installation of a new fireplace may leave you with extra space on either side of the fire feature.

We have seen some terrific ideas come to life before our eyes from designers and home owners over the years, especially with the use of built-in displays or functional storage systems.

Take a look at some of these Solus installations and then read this terrific article that came via Houzz this week by Pangaea Interior Design from Portland, Oregon.   http://bitly.com/AhS4Ra

We love the way they use the Solus, Hemi 36 Firebowl in their open air Sky Yard! http://www.thedrakehotel.ca/dining/venues/sky-yard/.   

The fire pit creates a great setting for those who need to light up and stay warm, as well as for gathering around and talking away into the wee hours.

We know of a few creative collaborations that have ignited over this firepit.  Cheers to many more!

Thanks to everyone who came to see us at the 2012 edition of the Interior Design Show.  We had a great time on The Fireplace Specialist (TFS) booth, where they displayed Solus surrounds, tiles and even an Elevated Halo with “bling”.

Elevated Halo with Glass "bling"

TFS is a full service Solus dealer that is located in the Greater Toronto Area.

Hope you enjoy some of our favorite things from #IDS12, Toronto Canada. Here’s a short video http://youtu.be/LxdpP_iV5p4?hd=1. Looking forward to next year’s show already!

It is thanks to many referrals from designers, contractors and homeowners that Solus is now in it’s 15th year of business and approaching installation 4,000!

That’s not just 4,000 projects and products, that’s 4,000 happy relationships.  And that’s before Facebook and Twitter came about.

Finishing a Firepit for a Solus Customer

Our products are not mass produced. Every single Solus product is poured, made and finished with a customer in mind. Whether it is a direct order, or through one of our value added, full service resellers,  a family or project name goes on every shipment that leaves our facility.

Crated and Ready to Go!

As Brad Carpenter says, “We are a little bit ‘gob-smacked’ (a good British expression – even though he’s not British)  at 4,000 installations! And with time and a little luck we will approach 5,000 Solus installations by the end of 2013”.

That being said, if you are in the Toronto area next week, you can see us at the International Design Show 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  We’ll be in booth 734, with our friends The Fireplace Specialists.

It’s great to be looking forward to cement another 1,000 concrete relationships!

We are truly excited to be participating at #IDS12 Toronto! We will be displaying and demonstrating Solus Fireplace surrounds, wall tiles and fire pits at  The Fireplace Specialists’ booth, 734.  The Fireplace Specialists are one of Solus Decor’s value added, full service re-sellers located in the Toronto area.

Martes from Solus will be there.  Come and see us! Martes will have a special gift  for designers on Professional Trade Day.

#IDS12 runs from January 26 to 30, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Check out their web site form more information, and see you there!  http://www.interiordesignshow.com/

In the run up to the Winter Olympic Games, Solus had the honour of crafting a wall tile installation based on a precise design for Vancouver’s most prominent sports club. Elton Huard of Huard Custom Stone & Tile installed the large concrete tile at the dressing room entrance.

With 11 years of experience installing hundreds of Solus fireplace surrounds and tiles, Elton was the right man for the job. He was able to focus on the project, work around the media, and complete the project on time.

The work was painstaking. Elton matched the curves from the concrete tiles to a pattern etched on the stainless steel dressing room doors, whilst manipulating rectangular tiles to create an angled slant. We wanted to know more about how he pulled together such beautiful work.

“The tools I used are the ones I use on all my Solus jobs. A 36 wet saw, a five-inch grinder with a diamond bladeand another grinder that smoothes the edges down, and a small stone to sand the curve.”

Elton would cut the angles on his wet saw, then dry fit each piece using the 109” radius template that he created. He would then hand grind his line and smooth the curve with a small piece of sanding stone.

“The product from Solus that we used on the (team) dressing room was the concrete with fiber in it which gave it strength, made it better for cutting and very durable… Solus tiles are heavier, and in this case quite large, they were 16 x 54, I believe.”

Elton continued to explain the differences and similarities between Solus concrete tiles and other materials: “The main similarity is it cuts like a limestone but is strong like a porcelain. It chips like other tiles and stone we use, so to avoid the chipping when handling the tile on the stainless steel, we would tape the steel with painter’s tape.”

When asked about his long standing relationship with Solus, Elton enthused, “Solus has been excellent to deal with … they are very helpful. I feel we work together as a team to maximize the customer service, and making the product look as good as it should.

I always stand back and admire the work we do, I take a lot of pride in these installations and always try my very best to make things look as good as I can. I love what I do. I find it very satisfying when I am finished the product … You guys stand behind the product you make, I stand behind anything I install.”

Elton’s words can be taken quite literally as the site of this Solus hand cast large format concrete tile installation is often used as backdrop for televised team interviews.

For more information on how to locate Elton and other Solus independent concrete installers in your area, please contact us at 1 877-255 3146.

New York City based industrial designer, Joe Doucet, was recently featured in the New York Times Home & Garden section. He included the Solus Hemi 36 Firebowl in a special “Shopping for Fire Pits” article in the New York Times.  You can enjoy his comments about fire pits in general via this link http://nyti.ms/zPHrnL.

Many people contact Solus and want to know if they can assemble and hook up their new Solus firepit on their own.  Well, there are two parts to the answer of that question.

If you are using Liquid Propane, the simple answer is – Yes you can!  With a little help from two strong friends, (four friends for the FireTable and 48” Elevated Halo),  you can place and connect a liquid propane fire pit yourself.   We’ll show you how in a video that we’ll send you with your new fire pit purchase.   You will also have a full set of instructions for both the actual burner and the assembly of the fire pit.

If you are using a Natural Gas supply, you and your strong friends can place the Solus Firepit near its final location, but a licensed gas fitter will need to come and run the line, as well as hook up the appliance to your gas feed.  They will ensure a safe and proper seal for your hook up and make sure that there are no gas leaks.

Interested in more information?  You can view some more of our uncrating, lava rock and fire stone set up and lighting video at www.solusdecor.com/firepit-instruction-videos/.

You can also contact our sales department at 1-877-255-3266 and let them know that you are interested in setting up your own firepit, and they will steer you to the right information.