Have you ever had a piece of "stainless steel" rust up on you or start to oxidize into a spotty mess? WTF, right?  It’s supposed to be STAINLESS. Truthfully a more accurate name for it is “rust resistant steel”, and not all is made equal. There are numerous grades of stainless, some made for various purposes, and some that’s just plain cheap crap. Now, for a backsplash, for example, you wouldn’t need seriously thick steel (the ‘gauge’), but you would want it to be water resistant and not oxidize with prolonged exposure to H2O. And for cladding, you’d need a certain grade and a thicker gauge so it doesn’t look all wavy once installed.  Without getting into the extremely dull chemical composition of it all, there are a couple of things to consider when selecting the right stainless steel material: gauge AND grade.

Generally speaking, we use grade 304 stainless steel with a #4 finish (a brushed consistency) or a mirrored finish (for specific aesthetic applications). It’s the most common grade of stainless, and arguably the most versatile, with a sufficient tolerance and tensile strength for most of our applications. It can be fairly easily manipulated for forming and welding, and is excellent in kitchen and outdoor areas, whereas some other grades are more brittle and not as easily used for fabrication. Also, you’ll never see corrosion near the weld joints with 304 (this is, of course, assuming the welding is done properly).

The grade and gauge are both important considerations when commissioning a stainless steel piece, and your fabricator should be able to recommend something appropriate. However, if you’re not terribly averse to learning about steel composition you can always do some educational reading on the Stainless Steel Corporation website where they have some helpful info.: http://www.stainlesssales.com/stainless-steel-grades.html 

Though you may have wanted to, you haven’t been hiding under a rock this past year.  So there can be no doubt you’ve noticed that brass is back in a big way. It’s everywhere you look.  Gone are the days where brass hardware and accents are being ripped out in favour of brushed nickel or stainless steel.  It’s being used very tastefully, for the most part, and usually achieves a classy, elegant look, as opposed to the tacky, even gaudy, character it’s often exhibited in the past.
Happily, we’ve had many an opportunity to work with this beautiful material, which looks gorge all shiny and new, and arguably even moreso with a black burnishing or bronze patina. Case in point, these fabulous 1/8” plate brass planters we recently made for a storefront with a bronze finish:

We’re also being asked more and more for brass furniture - table bases, chair legs/arms, specialty door handles. We’re absolutely loving some of the art deco door handle styles out there right now, and we’ve found some fantastic retro inspiration:

Perhaps some of our favourite brass projects have been the custom brass sinks and the giant brass canopy we made last year. This was our first indication that brass for kitchens was back in vogue, and for more than mere accents.

It’s a beautiful material, and can be brake formed, welded, burnished and patinaed in versatile ways. We believe we’ll continue to see a great deal of brass, with it’s endless interior and exterior applications, and countless finishes.