Rockledge Design Studios contemporary art, furniture, sculpture, home accessories and more crafted from metal sculptural arts designers.
Fred Garbotz, Christopher Royal, Patrick Pacifico, Keith Mastropaolo, Louise Matlock, Dan Crowley, Peter Zorich, and Steven Kokinis
Rockledge Design Studios designs and produces contemporary art furniture, sculpture, sculptural accessories and architectural elements from designers Fred Garbotz, Christopher Royal, Keith Mastropaolo, Fred Babb, Dan Crowley, Peter Zorich and Louise Matlock.
Rockledge Design Studios features the Christopher Royal Collection. With chairs based on the miniature chair designs created by the artist Christopher Royal. RDS has combined Christopher Royal's outstanding designs with their quality-driven furniture engineering and construction capabilities to create what is one of their most popular series.
Among other popular RDS designs are the He / She Barstools, counter stools, chairs, coffee tables, end tables, dining table and more. Make sure to check out the Magazine racks, small sculptures, tabletop bowls, sculpture bottle holders, wine caddies, candle holders and and much more.
Christopher Royal "Exclamation" Chair
Browse and purchase from the collection of "Rockledge Design Studios"
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About the Rockledge Design Studios Artist - Artist Biographies:
About Christopher Royal
Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Christopher Royal grew up in the south and went on to study Theater at the North Carolina School of the Arts from 1982 to 1987. After graduation, he moved to Chicago where he worked as an actor for six years. In between acting jobs, Royal began making and selling a successful line of contemporary jewelry and in the process learned to manipulate a full range of metals. His quest to create something truly unique and his fascination with architecture and design led Royal to create a series of miniature chair sculptures made from brass, copper, steel, glass and intricate beadwork. In January of 1995 his art chairs caught the eye of the window designer for Tiffany & Company, and she displayed the entire line in the windows later that month. Royal went on to design and build sculptural display pieces for countless Tiffany windows over the next several years. At the same time, Royal's "Art Chairs" were selling in galleries across the country and eventually became so popular that he could no longer keep up with the demand of producing such labor-intensive handwork. This led to the creation of a new line of miniature chairs cut from nickel silver, which have the added allure of function. Each chair has a clip incorporated into the designing in order to hold photos, place cards, business cards, etc. Royal's "Clip Chair" designs have been extremely popular and continue to sell in fine stores all across the world. In the fall of 1998, Royal met Fred Garbotz of Rockledge Design Studios, and the two began discussing plans to translate the miniature designs into full size chairs. This has developed into a full line of furniture including chairs, barstools, tables, lamps, mirrors and accessories and more.
About Fred Garbotz
Fred Garbotz was born in Rhode Island and grew up on the East Coast. After completing his B.A. in Business Administration at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, Garbotz continued his education at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. There, in the 1970's, he majored in both art and architecture. He then began his studies under several mid-western sculptors. His unique and playful style of art was born under their tutelage. For the past 20 years Fred has worked primarily in metal as an art form. He began with copper and brass, then evolved into steel and aluminum, and now combines all metals plus glass for accents. Today his work spans a wide spectrum including both sculpture and furniture. He prides himself in creating pieces that marry form and function. "To me, my art is fun. Using the human body in a simplified form, my furniture becomes more than function. I like to think that there is an underlying personality in each piece that speaks out to you in a light and friendly way." His sculptures, whether twelve inches high or twelve feet high, also reflect this philosophy that art is to be enjoyed.
About Louise Matlock
Even as a teenager, Louise Matlock threw her considerable energies into various forms of creative arts, mainly oils, interior design and decorating - even some acting. Although she enjoyed these explorations, none of them provided that special appeal that was truly satisfying. After sampling climates from Ohio to Manhattan to the Virgin Islands, she settled in Melbourne, Florida, a surprisingly "arty" area. And so, one unforgettable day, she was introduced to sculpture. This was for her, love at first sight. This was what she had been looking for - for a long time. She set about to learn from those sculptors she'd been admiring: Fritz van Eeden, Ellen Pavlokos, Burt van Scoy, Bob Coon, Yvonne Weinstein and Stephanie de Barney. Louise taught clay sculpture at the Brevard Art Center and Museum, and tutored her more promising students. Her works have been displayed at museums and galleries, and she has won awards, including "Best of Show." Her most exhilarating artistic experience is what she now lives each day... thanks to her recent association with Rockledge Design Studios. It has changed her perception of art. Her earlier sculptures were serious, often intense explorations of social issues. Now she finds great satisfaction in a quite different style which she calls "fun" art. These days, most of her graceful designs are an amalgam of art and function, and she is encouraged by the public's enthusiasm for her work. Louis credits her mentor, Fred Garbotz, founder of the Studios, with being a master of combining artistry and whimsy and function, and for bringing her actively into the Studios - a whole new world for Louise.
About Fred Babb
On a Hot, Sticky day in August, 1947, Fred Babb was born in Aitkin, a small town in rural Minnesota. He eventually became one of eight siblings positioned somewhere in the middle of the family constellation. Between 1947 and 1982, a lotta stuff happened, but there's not enough room here to put it all down, and besides, its none of your business. It is, however important to mention that in 1952 his family piled into their sleek Hudson and moved to California.. One year later, Fred remembers picking up a drawing pencil for the first time, and, instantly he heard a VOICE from above say "Put down that pencil and do your chores". It was, of course, his dad - but he prefers to think of it as his first almost religious experience. During the formative years, his major influences included - MAD Magazine and Soupy Sales and later on the Kinks and Bob Dylan. He had a few bad influences, too, but we won't go into that. ANYWAY, Fred learned early on that although art was real fun, being broke was not, so in 1982, after 22 different occupations since 1962, we find him quickly burning out as a painter-furniture refinisher in Boston, MA. Fed up with the job and his boss, Fred convinced his lovely and supportive wife, Julia that there was GOLD Art out west in California to be mined - so the family: Fred, Julia, Amy, and Christopher moved to Folsom, CA - just outside Sacramento. After 9 years of House Husbanding while Julia worked - which by the way was the eye-opening experience of his life - for it was here that he realized how men have "got it made" going off to work - hanging with their friends and bringing home the Bacon. In 1984, Fred buys a Kiln and begins making small ceramic sculptures with faces in them. During one firing, and explosion occurs and one face is sent off into a spiraling orbit, ending at the bottom of the kiln. That face, after a few months of sitting on a studio shelf, was eventually painted and became a pendant for Julia. Many friends commented on it and said that it should have earrings to match. So Fred and Julia together developed a line of ceramic jewelry called Ear Heads. Because that's what they were - Earrings and pins that were faces. Eventually, the line grew to include other products such as T-Shirts, Clocks, Cards, Magnets and Mugs. They have over the years acquired a somewhat irreverent bent, poking fun at human behavior and how it relates to art. In 1991, Ear Heads officially became WHAT IZ ART and a store of the same name was opened in Cambria, CA where Fred and his family moved in 1988. The moral of this true story is: if something blows up in your kiln, it's not necessarily a bad thing
-Fred Babb
All Images and Text copy on this website are © Rockledge Design Studios, Inc ®.
Rockledge Design Studios contemporary art, furniture, sculpture, home accessories, metal sculptural artists Fred Garbotz, Christopher Royal, Keith Mastropaolo, Fred Babb, Dan Crowley, and Louise Matlock.
