Classic Design Studios

Glue up forms for large plywood arches. Small parts to a larger project.

When we purchased this building in 2015 we were full of excitement and had no idea where it would bring us. Now, after lots of hard work, is a lively place again, housing a wonderful creative community of people and businesses. This Summer the top floor Y Dormitory will be available to rent for anyone wanting to enjoy this special building and explore Astoria and the beautiful Pacific North West. More info on booking and availability of the Y Dormitory will follow soon.

Proud of all we accomplished this year , with much help from the wonderful circle of friends and family we have all around us. Happy new year!

We've done a lot of work for Chandlers Restaurant in Boise, Idaho over the years. Here are some new photos of different drum lights I designed and made for . Last pic also shows one of the bar cabinets made for this restaurant.

Thermoformed acrylic with aluminum rings and translucent wood veneer. Lit with LEDs. The largest one is 42” diameter.

We're proud to share that the City of Astoria, Oregon has awarded the former YMCA restoration project the Dr. Edward Harvey Historic Preservation Award. We are honored and grateful for the city's support and their acknowledgement for all the hard work done turning this building into the lively and special place it is today. There's more big steps ahead us and we're excited to keep on working to accomplish all our dreams and ideas for this great building.

Much gratitude to everyone involved, my partner , my family and sweet folks and Lucy, dear friends, especially and all the great people who are working inside this building you are the ones bringing this building back to life.
And last but not least Terry and his family and Holy Smokes.

Images: scans of the original blue prints we found in the former YMCA in Astoria, Oregon. These blue prints have been fundamental for our restoration efforts.

Letters, letters, letters and some lights! We've been working on the signage and some lighting for Habitat Veterinary Hospital's new building in Boise, Idaho.

Steel, urethane foam, acrylic paint, LED lights.

TRAPDOOR arcade sign. Aluminum and steel construction with Neon ( by ) and LED illumination. This sign will find its home on the recently renovated M&N building in Astoria , Oregon. We got a sneak peak of this basement arcade recently, it is full of classic pinball and video games that hover over a glitter imbedded floor. Very fun!

Photographs by

Our other neighbors, Ming Studios, are getting a new sign too!

Steel, high density urethane, acrylic, paint and gold leaf.

A peak into the process of Rocket Neons new sign in Boise, Idaho.

Steel, high density urethane, acrylic paint and gold leaf.

For over 20 years we have been lucky to have Wil Kirkman of Rocket Neon as a studio neighbor and friend. Over the past three months we took it upon ourselves to secretly make Wil a new sign. Not an easy feat! to subvert Wil's predilection for snooping around, but we artfully dodged or redirected his gaze till late Friday, when we got this sign installed under the cover of darkness. 🚀

Steel, high density urethane, acrylic paint and gold leaf. 

Process shots to follow.

New handsome sign for Americana Pizza in Boise, Idaho. From hand drawn sketch to finished sign; all production under one roof in our downtown Boise location. Aluminum, acrylic and LED lights. Go eat pizza! 🍕




Photographs by: Wytske van Keulen

Over the last week's I've been making reproductions of some historic wallpaper for a residential restoration effort in Boise, Idaho. The first step was making a mold of what remained of the original decoration. Several coats of a polyurethane rubber followed by a hard shell commonly referred to as "the mother mold". After the mold was pulled from the wall, we cast the duplicates with a pottery plaster reinforced with a continuous strand fiberglass mat. Now they can be installed directly to the wall and capped with the original trim profile.

Some Holliday gifts we made: walnut wooden salt boxes with little spoons.