Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA

Tuesday, 04. June 2013

Since last Wednesday we have been in Los Angeles after a fairly wild first morning in our truck. This was because early in the morning a steady stream of commuter traffic was racing past us, so we had an extended breakfast by the sea before we drove on to find new work.

South from LA in Santa Ana, we asked Celeb Siemon and Carmen Salazer for a job. The address we had found on the internet pointed us to a giant building with a receptionist right by the entrance. Wow, I thought, business must be good! But then the receptionist told us that Celeb’s father has been running a jewellery company from here for a long time. They produce crucifixes and other religious jewellery.  Celeb’s glass studio is right next door.

A big industrial hall with a wall of sliding doors right next to the furnace. An effective fan in the ceiling which extracts the warm air. A fine thing. I instantly liked this studio very much. It’s a well thought through concept for the hot summer days here in California. Built into the roof is an air-conditioned office and there is also a sanding room, storage space and a furnace with two drums.

They specialise in lights and lighting. Celeb and his wife Carmen design everything, from the canopies and fittings to the shades. The canopies and fittings have been getting more and more precise; Celeb says they are now onto the fourth generation of them. They have them specially made by a company working in metal and then assemble the complete light in the studio.

Over the first days, I helped with cutting cables and soldering ends together, or I fiddled with fittings. That’s quite a bit of work, screwing and unscrewing small screws all day, but ok. Today we got to work at the furnace. With Christoph being the boss on my team, we produced thick walled square lights. There are always two glassmakers working together on one bench. One pair starts the process off and then another pair takes over and finishes the piece. The entire team consisting of mostly six people are working from 8am to 4.30pm on Siemon & Salazar lights.

After work it’s off to volleyball on the beach. This is pure luxury as we are staying not far away, with Celeb and his family. Fabulous!