Custom carpets offer clients a unique view which in many cases can't be seen anywhere else. While what we are about to show you is a commercial setting, exciting custom work can make one-of-a-kind residential designs as well.
This job uses a bundle of techniques that make it very special and a great showpiece for custom carpets.
A New Logo Carpet for the Yankees
The New York Yankees maintain a spring training facility in Tampa, Legends Field. The Yankee logo in the VIP suite was due for a makeover. It had faded and lost its edge.
The old logo
The powers that be had specific requirements. The new logo must look exactly like the old one, only without the lawyers-gone-wild "TM" you see lower right.
Since all of the printed and electronic versions of the logo had been tweaked over the years and are not exactly the same, our guys had to trace the old logo to make a pattern for a new one.
Aaron Mitchell carefully traced the old logo to make a pattern for a new one.
The new logo would be built and installed within the carpet that was to fill the whole rest of the room. That custom carpet had to be cut at the Addison/Dicus workshop.
The Legends Field is architecturally a coliseum. The VIP suite inherited a difficult shape from the coliseum. Its back wall is curved. Its front wall is shorter. Fitting and stretching a carpet in a room with odd angles is never easy. To get it right, Bob and Aaron made a another pattern.
Above you see Aaron working on a giant pattern of taped-together rolls of paper.
Here is the traced pattern of the logo on the workshop floor. All of the parts were cut out and matched to the carpet.
A weird puzzle.
And bingo! The pieces joined together. Next step: install this new logo into the carpet.
Bob preps the back of the carpet to receive the logo. The logo had to be installed and secured in the carpet upside down. Most custom carpets are fabricated upside down.
"It's a nail-biter when you turn the carpet right side up," said Bob. "You are always nervous that what looked right upside down is backward right-side up."
It's looking great! Here Bob is beveling the edges of the letters and other graphic elements on the logo. We'll see the affect of that shortly.
A giant serpent. Thirty-three feet! Bob Ford, Aaron Mitchell, Mike Bailey, Chris Sharpless and Brenden Cleveland had to snake the carpet up four flights of stairs
Here is a "portrait" of the logo. You can see the vibrancy in the new colors.
The designer chose carpet manufactured in Italy called Monte Carlo. It's made of wool and beautifully dyed.
"I love this carpet," Bob said more than once.
You can see the raised lettering and graphic elements due to Bob's beveling.
One last look at the old logo. What a difference!
The Second Time Around
Sharma Fernandez, who originally did the executive suite and all the other rooms of the complex, was happy with the outcome.
"I was thrilled to be asked again after 25+ years to refresh this room. I was lucky to have Bob Ford, who is an artisan, and he did a great job! Wendy Gold at Addison/Dicus found the best carpet company with perfect colors. I love these pictures, but the colors look even better at the site."