When I tried to come up with a better title for this year’s review, I got hung up on making it rhyme again.  So, I gave up and decided to make mistakes and favorite gates the second annual title.

 

MISTAKES OF 2019

 

I’m not sure that everything on my list is really a mistake.  These are all examples of learning opportunities when things didn’t go as planned.

 

Shipping Gates

We learned how NOT to pack a gate we are shipping via FedEx that is going to Maryland.  Our fancy faux-wood paint job was messed up.  FedEx owned up to mishandling the package and sent us a check.  We’ll be using that to fly Jeffery to Maryland to touch up the gate in the Spring.

 

I’m hopeful the trip will get scheduled when the cherry blossoms are blooming in DC.  If so, I’ll go with him, snap some pictures of the gate, and show Jeffery around my old stomping ground. There is a silver lining to this “mistake”!

 

No Margin

We love what we do and the people we work with and for, but we found ourselves (especially Jeffery) really burned out at the end of the year.  At some point, there was no time for anything but work.

 

My plan is to schedule more fun time.  That includes a trip or two away from home, but also some time hanging with friends.  Consider yourselves warned.

 

Learning Curve

Since we really do NOT build cookie-cutter style gates, and since my husband always wants to try something new, we dove into aluminum this year.  It’s great to work with, but it is different.  With different came a learning curve that slowed us down some in production.

 

The only reason I put this in the “mistake” category is because we didn’t cover our learning curve, but that comes with the territory when you are building custom products.  We’ll be more efficient at it in 2020 because we are really excited to work with aluminum.  There are so many benefits, like: no rust EVER, lighter weight gates, more metal profiles, and more design opportunities.  Not to mention, we don’t know anyone else building custom gates out of aluminum around here.

 

Review

My mistakes list is much shorter this year than last.  I’m not entirely sure that it means we made fewer of them.  We may just be too tired to remember them all.

 

Our bottom line looks a bit better because our mistakes in 2019 weren’t as costly as the 2018 ones were. We didn’t have to totally rework projects, so YEAH for that.

 

We are excited about the calls coming in for us to ship gates.  We love serving Parker County, and we will never ever want to give that up.  However, it’s a thrill to be able send our artwork further out in the world.

 

OUR 2019 FAVORITE GATES

Moving on to the fun part of looking back at last year’s projects … let’s look at our favorites:

FRANKIE’S

Using a sky track to put the beastly 12″ x 16″ x 20′ faux-wood-painted gate header together on the job site made this Frankie’s favorite gate.  “The fact that we welded it from the inside so you can’t tell it isn’t wood was super cool as well,” he recalled.

 

JEFFERY’S

“I finally got to incorporate a true “braided” pattern design in a gate,” explained Jeffery. “The others we have done were just a weave.”

 

The design the client selected was a herringbone which is a pattern that Jeffery used in his rawhide braiding days.  He gave the client the option for that or the gaucho during the drafting process.

 

KOLBY’S

The first first general contracting gate project that Kolby was with us to participate in was the one we did for the Avery’s.  He said he enjoyed being a part of the multiple phases of this project and that is why he picked it as his favorite.  He said he also enjoyed seeing what is involved when we faux-wood-grain paint.

 

KATHY’S

I loved this project.  We didn’t design it.  The architect for the project in College Station did.  But, this modern-rustic gate with its simple metal details makes a statement. I’m hopeful we get more projects that are like this style.

 

WHICH IS YOURS?

Did you see an interesting gate in 2019? It doesn’t have to be one of ours! Send us a link to a pictures of a gate you loved.  I like adding interesting gate pictures to our Pinterest Board for future reference. I’d love your help collecting more ideas.

Have a great 2020!