Joseph Biunno Ltd.

a small selection of our drapery hardware line we photographed a number of years ago for a post card mailing we sent out to potential customers... I guess some of our competitors got a hold of it and used it to copy some of the designs we made, which just shows their lack of talent to come up with designs themselves... even stealing our company logo design... oh well, I'll take it as a compliment to our superior skills and commitment to be the best in the field!

A lacquered walnut end table with five different types of molded glass and gold-plated fillets, designed by yours truly, for our house in the country. The remarkably gifted artisans Joe Biunno, Miriam Ellner (), Osmundo Echevarria (), and Michael Vetrone collaborated on this jewel of a table.

Make sure to follow , as we aim to educate and inspire on topics like music and design across the span of my 30+ year journey from composer-turned-designer.

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some new designs added to ourline of drapery pole brackets... first photo is a reinforced end bracket and the second photo is a center bracket... big thing to note here is that the screws that mount the bracket to the wall do not show when installed... clients are very much liking this new design and the installers are finding it easy to install as well... all brackets are made to suit the jobs curtain return measurement... as often done, again we set ourselves apart from the competition

a chair reproduction job, which is what we specialize in... on the right is the original, an open arm chair and on the left is the reproduction of the side chair, sans finishing... made a number of these chairs and as with all of our work over the years, we have all drawings, models and sample chairs in our collection in our upstate, New York warehouse

here we have a corner mock-up of a table we produced far a client... table was trimmed with solid brass angle around the perimeter with various carved wooden inlay "segments" between the brass angles... solid brass sabot finishes off the bottom of the leg and top was an insert piece of glass... here we were asked to branch out from our usual, traditionally styled fabrication to a modern, bespoke design... client was very pleased as were we!

these bedside tables are in our inventory, no finish, raw wood... beautiful painted finish on these two... our inventory was made/copied from this photo from an auction catalog... this painted finish is the exact thing my grandfather specialized in... the man was an artist... and a foreman of 12-plus men who did nothing but painted finishes... he passed away when I was 8 years old so I barely knew/remember him, unfortunately

here in the sitting room for the same client, we made and gilded the arched, hand carved window valances... all of these patterns, samples, mock-ups, etc. are still in our archives today!... as are all of our other major jobs from over 40 years of work in the interior trade!

here we have a king size bed we made many years ago for a Long Island North Shore client with an exceptionally large residence... the posts are quite large and the spiral groove that is routed into each tapered and reeded post is large enough to accommodate a fabric upholstered detail(note: left and right twists)... the side rails and foot rail's facing was also upholstered, in the same technique as the headboard... gilded finish... done during a time when opulence was the norm!

today we are making several, brass tables for a very good client of ours that we have been working with for a number of years... usually being used as coffee tables, end tables and book shelves... all pieces are solid brass(no plating!), then cut to size, trimmed and machined by us in our shop(not farmed out to other vendors)... here I am silver soldering a 90 degree corner for a much stronger joint than typical solder and using a special jig we fabricating to hold all pieces in their proper position... being diversified as much as we are, helps to keep the shop busy year round!

today's post is of an incredible, mirrored powder room vanity we made a number of years ago for Michael Simon Interiors... the moulding on the cabinet is from the venerable firm of P.E. Guerin, who also did the 23k gold plating to perfection, as well... glass/mirror work was done by Zecca, I believe... an outstanding ex*****on and coordination of work from the finest vendors New York City has to offer

no space goes unused!... a photo of our hallway space leading into our shop and office/showroom at the New York Artisan Center in Long Island City... in the first photo are framed copies of some of the many magazine articles that we have been featured in and original drawings of various furniture legs and drapery finials of just a few of the many pieces we have made over the years... a unique feature of our shop is our "drafting" wall where we draw all of our projects full size using custom made X-Y drafting equipment... NO scaled drawings!... the wall accommodates drawings up to 9ft. by 9 ft!.... every aspect of a piece of furniture that we are making is detailed on our drawings and discussed with our clientel for approval before fabrication begins... it is the first step in bringing our customers ideas to life and has always been well received as a unique design aid in the fabrication process... we often have decorators bring our full size drawings to a clients home to pin to a wall to get a sense of scale of what they want that piece to have in the room, and to check to see if adjustments need to be made...

here is a stool from a set of four we made for Michael Simon Interiors, that are a bit different in that all the detail pieces were made as seperate pieces, finished, then all pieces glued together to make the bench... doing the finishing before the final assembly gave the details a more three dimensional look and much better shadow lines and under cuts... a lot more work to achieve this look but the effort makes the piece like no other... the finish is a 23k, water gilt, burnished gold leaf with a water gilt white gold leaf(looks like silver) contrasting finish... finishing done by Sarah Porter Studios... the upholstery is museum quality, done by the renowned Deangelis Upholstery Co.

today's submission is a fireplace surround we recently completed for Michael Simon Interiors... this was a team effort done in conjuncture with the fireplace people, who are artisians in their own wright, and the eglomise astisan... we made the solid brass inlays that border the textured glass pieces 5that were precisely cut to fit between the metal inlays... the inlays were also fit exactly in place and were then 23K gold plated... the glass pieces received an eglomise finish, again done by Miriam Ellner Studios... the white stone work was cut by the fireplace artisians as well as the polished black stonework of the mantel top and inside border of the hearth... an incredibly stunning piece designed by the decorator... again using the multiple talents of our shop and other artisans... very proud to have have executed such a one-of-a-kind type of surround that can truly be referred as a work of art

here is a "glass" coffee table we made for Michael Simon Interiors, with a modern contemporary design, which is very popular since people seem to shying away from French and English traditional furniture... the table is "veneered" with over 400, hand cut, textured pieces of glass(eglomise finish by the renowned Miriam Ellner!)... glass is bordered on all sides with brass angle that has been nickle plated and meticulously attached to the table with no nails or screws showing!... a unique application attained by our metal craftsmen done in our shop(not farmed out to another shop, as others in our trade often do!)...jobs like this and the talents of our artisans is what sets us apart from all other shops!

the finished cabinet we made for Michael Simon Interiors, in the client's home(see previous post while in construction mode)... nice shaped stone top(note center projecting to match drawer fronts)... "twigs" finished in 23K real gold leaf, burnished and antiqued to designers taste... striaed, painted finish on the remainder of the cabinet... gilding and finishing done by the incredible artisans at Osmundo Studios... in person, this piece is so much more better looking than any photo could show!

in the process of doing a major overhaul of the Port Jervis showroom and warehouse facility... over 300 finial designs... 100-plus chair models... benches... tables... drapery hardware(poles, rings, tiebacks, tassels, brackets)... carved wood valances... legs of all styles and design... wall sconces... wall brackets... lamps and chandeliers... etc.... a collection that is second to none... photos show a small sampling displayed, with still a lot to unpack... a lot of all on display was designed in house, but also there are many items that came from the preeminent American design houses such as Parish-Hadley, Albert Hadley, David Anthony Easton and many, many more... more progress photos to follow as this project moves forward

2nd mockup... black background... decisions, decisions

In progress mockup

a set of three, very large valances we just completed... over 5 feet wide by 7-plus feet tall... all show wood to be covered by fabric and trimmings(by others)... arched crown moulding was hand made/carved... nice project completed by the shop

here we have a showroom sample of a unique, metal drapery pole design... the pole(s) consist of alternating square and round metal pieces joined to form a round pole... on the left, the sample is all steel in a natural, steel patina finish... on the right, the sample is an alternating brass square pieces and round steel pieces, again in a natural patina finish... the finials are a turned, solid brass design... note how the bracket mounting goes into the back of the pole and does not show, making them virtually invisible when installed with the curtains... a very custom, one-of-a-kind design and fabrication... but what also what seperates us from the average metal hardware fabricators... we will be posting many more designs that we have done over the years, so stay tuned!

here we have a partial sampling of 50-plus drapery poles of the many types of poles that we have been making for more than 30 years since we started "Finials Unlimited"... the styles are virtual limitless and consist of straight reeding and fluting, spiral twists of flutes and reeds, harlequins and on and on... the samples are many and finished in many combinations of paint, stain, gold and silver leafing to name a few options... these were often copied by others but never duplicated... we are truly the number one source for the finest drapery hardware ever produced

this is the chair that started it all!... received a request from Parish-Hadley in the late 80's to make and finish a set of 12 of these hepplewhite chairs... it was early on in my career, my father had recently passed a few years prior, with a minimal but talented staff... it was the biggest job i had received to that date, both in size and estimated charges... all hand carved from an original chair provided and the finish was a hand painted, off-white with 23k real gold leaf, water gilt and burnished details... we had a very restrictive time period to finish the job, which we met, and the decorator and client were very pleased... with the proceeds I was able to reinvest into the company and purchased newer and better machinery, hired more help, other samples were done(drapery hardware!), some marketing was done and we were on our way!

here we have an oriental design, bamboo coffee table with unique details... the rails and legs of the table are a cluster of three, hand made bamboo rods... note the splay of the bamboo at the bottom of the legs... "X" stretcher is also of the same bamboo detail... note the "Y" spread at the ends of the stretchers where they meet the legs... the finishing was done in house and is an off white, hand painted technique with 23K real gold leaf detailing in the "knuckle" of the bamboo... the table was constructed around the clients own antique Asian hand painted decorative panel... this table was done for David Anthony Easton(RIP) many years ago... Beautiful piece and ex*****on!

a true "turkish" chair frame we made many years ago... true because the upper section of the frame is made entirely of a metal structure... NO wood!... this requires the expertise of a very talented upholsterer as the upholstery must be hand sewn, no tacking on the upper upholstery, which in this case was also button tufted!... a lot of frame makers try to copy this by building a wooden frame to duplicate the metal work but it turns out to be too rigid of a frame... when made from metal, the metal gives and conforms to your body when you sit in it, almost as if the chair is engulfing you in a comfort factor that is second to none!... and our in house metal working capabilities make this frame a trade exclusive that no other shops can offer!

Time To Seperate The Men From The Boys!... there are times I need to put my modesty aside, and this is one of those times!... currently in progress in the shop is a three drawer dresser with hand carved, three dimensional, "branches" on the front, sides and feet... incorporated into the branches are the handles for each drawer... steel rod will be embedded into the backside of the brtanches so as to reinforce the branch handle when pulling the drawer open... all carvings are removable to assist the finisher in doing a 23K, real gold leaf, burnished finish, which will totally encompass the branches circumference... truly a signature piece for us!... the one photo is the mockup/showroom piece we do show the client the direction a piece as unique as this one is going... puts everyone at ease as to what the end result will look like... seals the deal every time!

Well, looks like I made it!... proud to announce that I am celebrating my 50th year of being an antique restorer and furniture maker in the interior design field... what a trip it has been!... the first twelve years working with my father and the next 38 on my own...after my father passed, I established the #1 drapery hardware company in the country, and quite possibly the world, Finials Unlimited... I also took over and continued the operations of renowned lighting restoration company of Anthony Bazza, Inc. ... and also established the #1 furniture lock and key restoration service company in the tri-state area... survived a lot of set backs in those 50 years... a few recessions, 911, a divorce but I was fortunate to have a supportive family and a dedicated and extremely talented staff of artisans to see my self and the company through it all!... also had the pleasure of working with the best interior designers the country has ever seen... to name a few, Parish Hadley, Mark Hampton, Mario Buatta, David Easton, Robert Metzger, Valerian Rybar, William Hodgins, Kevin McNamara, Steven Stempler, Nicholas Pentecost, Cullman & Kravis, Bunny Williams, David Kleinberg, Brian McCarthy, Michael Simon and a host of others that brought out the best of myself and the people working with me... I have also worked with and learned from the very best vendors this city has ever seen... Thomas DeAngelis, Guido DeAngelis, Delta, Henry Urban, Baron, Schneller, Jonas, Belfair, Pizzillo to name a few... and certainly the furniture makers, finishers and woodworkers... such as Phil Bellini(furniture), Andrew Bordiga(furniture), Mr. Cruz(woodturning), Bob Falatico(leather), Anthony Bazza(lighting), VitoBob, JenCleo, New Wave(Rudy-RIP), Valentine Wood Carving, Paul Boyko Finishing... and a lot more!... it has been an incredible journey over the past 50 years and I am still going at it and plan to continue for a number of years more!... my thanks to all who have made it possible and for their continued support... could not have done it without you!

a painted TV cabinet we did for David Anthony Easton for a Greenwich, Ct. client, back in the day... antique painted finish done by others as were the pleated curtains inset behind the doors... interesting to note the chicken wire on the doors was four individual panels each within their own wire frame to facilitate installation and removal as necessary