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"Table Talk"

The table.
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Not any table-the centerpiece and backbone of Michele May and John Schlesselman’s vision; a vision that has been in development for a long time, beginning over a year ago. How does one piece of furniture come to be such an iconic part of a new business?
Barb Carol TableBarbara, Carol and Winnie.
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What makes it so special? "



It will be used, in a beautiful backyard garden setting, as a work space and gathering place. Herbs will be planted and prepped, meals will be prepared and served. Dinners with family and friends…business dinners, romantic dinners for two… Where did this table come from? How did it get where it is today? Well, the journey has been long and often arduous but you must remember that great art takes time and, in this case, lots and lots of time! First came the concept, born out of need. Having people over to sample and dine is just not easy to do when there is no central gathering spot, no table to hold the products and support the plates, cups and cutlery. A table was the best approach and as it was going to be outside in New Mexico's ever-changing weather it couldn't be just any table. So began the process of designing not only a beautiful centerpiece but one that would survive New Mexico weather and hold up to continuous use for years to come. Now that a concept was identified, where do you go from there? Enter John Schlesselman, Michele’s creative, business and domestic partner. When John introduced Michele to Kelly Crafts and its owner, Paul Kelly, it was a match meant to be and Michele began consulting with Paul on her ideas for the table. Paul Kelly is an artisan. His business, Kelly Crafts, creates custom conception, design and construction taking the customer's imagination and delivers usable art that is ergonomically comfortable and structurally sound. Paul and Michele collaborated on the design and Paul built the table to her specifications while offering advice and ideas to make the finished product as amazing as possible. Colors were discussed; Michele definitely wanted lime green The lime green paired well with the teals and blues and darker wood that Michele liked. She also wanted at least two captain's chairs and was on board when Paul suggested benches for the rest of the seating. Table size was chosen to accommodate eight diners, a good size for a nice, manageable dinner with a good mix of people. Because of the colors Michele wanted Paul also suggested using copper sheeting for the top of the table and bench seats and came up with the idea of etching the copper. He also developed the process for finishing the copper tops. Designing a piece of furniture is only one piece of the puzzle. Once the design is complete, how do you bring it to fruition? Putting together the table, along with the two captain's chairs and two bench seats, consists of much more than buying a few pieces of wood and nailing them together. I visited with Paul at his workplace and showroom and asked for a thumbnail sketch of what is actually involved. Once the design is agreed upon, it is necessary to secure the right products for the construction. First is the wood. The choice of wood needed to take into consideration the atmosphere the table would be living in – Michele's backyard garden. Since this was to be an outdoor table the wood had to be able to stand up to the dry, hot New Mexico summers and yet resist the monsoon rains, winter cold and spring winds. Once obtained, the wood, which comes in large pieces, needed to be ripped to width and cut to length. When this was completed the basic design was cut into the various pieces of wood and drill holes were punched through where needed. After a rough sanding the custom design features were carved into the wood. While the wood is important, it is even more important to properly treat the pieces to withstand the use and weather abuse that the table and seats will be subjected to in the years to come. This called for multiple coatings of linseed oil for each individual piece. The tops of the table and the two side benches were covered with continuous pieces of copper sheeting which was etched by Paul with an acid spray and treated with a finish to prevent rusting. They were then covered with Ultimate Overall Clearcoat, the same finish used on automobiles. Using the Clearcoat finish brought its own set of unique problems. Once applied, and each piece of copper required two applications, the coating takes up to eight hours to dry. While New Mexico heat is great for drying the New Mexico breezes and winds tend to kick up a lot of dust and debris. Each time the coating was applied there ended up being dust and dirt spots that needed to be removed. The spots were sanded down necessitating an additional application of the Clearcoat thus requiring yet another eight hours of drying time. Two days without wind during springtime in New Mexico are had to come by and it was next to impossible to get a clean finish on the copper. The answer – find an automotive garage where the table top and benches could be sprayed inside the facility and subjected to the drying process used on automobiles. (Thank You Superior Body Shop. Texas NE. ABQ, NM 505-)This allowed the top and benches to be out of the wind and the specialty drying machinery cut the drying time to about one hour for each application. Once the location was secured the table and bench tops were completed without a hitch. The table came to its new home on June 2nd. It was delivered and installed in Michele's backyard garden and fit the space allotted to perfectionly! On Saturday night, June 4th, the table was christened with a small dinner party honoring both it and Paul Kelly. Once Paul arrived for the evening the final piece of the process was completed – bolting the copper clad top to the table base. The table, two captain's chairs and two benches have settled nicely into Michele's backyard. It immediately brought up memories of sitting at other tables from the East Coast to the West Coast in the summer on clear summer nights with a cool, subtle breeze. Good meals and good conversations – new memories are definitely on the menu! Stay tuned for more to come from around the table!