Teg

csoculi,o40

Les Georgettes

,

BERING

A replica of the

Downtown Menorah

on a keychain

range from $30 to $850. The pieces will
building in Midtown, Erikwith his
be sold from the Detroit Design Center
wife, Mae, and young daughter, Norah;
Gallery when it opens in the spring, but Israel with his wife, Amanda.
they are available for purchase now
The Nordins grew up in a Sterling
The Nordins have been steadily
Heights household filled with music,
working in the city for some 20
and each of the six kids were expected
years. In 2000, the brothers opened
to learn an instrument and play a sport.
the Detroit Design Center in a
Their mom, Elayne, was a painter
12,000-square-foot Michigan Avenue
before getting too busy with six chil-
factory that once housed their father's
dren. Their father, Ron, was a musician.
steel company. It's the nerve center of
The family frequently visited the DIA,
their operation, a place where creative
and Israel took a ceramics class at the
and literal sparks fly.
College for Creative Studies (CCS) in
They work at one-of-a-kind sculp-
the eighth grade. It seemed to his young
tures, dining room and coffee tables,
eyes that the museum and school were
from wood, copper and glass, taking
the bright spots in a gloomy landscape.
civic, residential and commercial com-
He graduated from CCS, Erik from the
missions that average about $30,000 but University of Michigan.
have been as high as $100,000.
"Our inspiration comes from a cli-
They created a functioning saltwater
ent's story and we envision things out of
aquarium of blown glass corals and sea
materials that are familiar to us:' Israel
grasses that sits in the Quicken Loans
explains. "We slowly push our boundar-
building, its animal inhabitants almost
ies. Our message is oftentimes a simple
as pretty as their habitat. They've been
message. We want people to feel com-
doing trophies, one of which was com-
fortable with our work" *
missioned for Wolverines coach Jim
Harbaugh, who then commissioned
the Nordins to make MVP plaques rec-
ognizing MVPs back to 1914
and beyond 1982.
"That was another honor,
to do the custom piece:' says
Israel, 40.
The brothers helped found
the Detroit Design Festival
and created the DBurst New
Year's "bar a 250-pound disc
that has become part of the
city's own "ball drop" over the
Chase Tower. They are work-
ing on signage for various
neighborhoods.
All of their work is invested
with a shared passion for
material and attention to
detail. They collaborate
closely, hashing over ideas
that become better ones for
solving a design. Their clients
often agree with the refine-
ments they make. The broth-
ers are so close, they live on
either side of an apartment
Detroit skyline letter holders

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December 15 2016

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