30 Sep Custom Torches Adorn a Stone Moon Gate in Maryland

Patrick and Ann in Maryland own one of my very rare 52 inch Great Bowl O’ Fire Sculptural Firebowls™. But they also have something that no one else has as yet— custom Prometheus Torches that are not only plumbed for gas, but can be turned on and off from anywhere using his phone! Patrick was kind enough to send me a bunch of photos of their project, including process photos of how their contractor customized the torches. One of the coolest things about the project was that the gears used to decorate the torch handles were salvaged from a family member’s factory. Here’s the email from Patrick that accompanied the photos:

You may not even remember me but, I promised you some photos of the torches and the Great Bowl O’ Fire.

The gears came from my father in law’s light bulb factory in Newark, New Jersey. When he decided to retire and close the factory several years ago, I went through the four story building and filled a thirty foot U Haul truck up with all sorts of unique items from chairs, benches, lab equipment etc… Some of these items had not seen the light of day for over thirty years.

I was and still am in the process of cleaning out the garage when this landscape project started. I had actually planned on bringing the gears to the scrap yard, I am so happy I did not. So, Bob Michael (the installer) and I started trying to figure out what to do with the base of the torches. Below are some of the visual ideas we came up with. I thought you would appreciate the creative process. Needless to say, I am holding onto the remaining gears for future torches.

So, not only do we have these awesome, one of a kind torches, they possess sentimental value to us, since the gears came from Mr. P’s factory. That part of it is priceless. We could not be happier with the finished product.

Bob set us up with an app for our phones that allows me to turn them on from anywhere and we have. If there are any drawbacks or something we didn’t consider, it would be the amount of propane we use when they are lit. As you can see, the flames are huge and we like them like that.

I look forward to working with you in the future.

Patrick