F Is For Frank

Have a dreamer on your gift list?

Pewter doorknobs sculpted into whimsical shapes — a sleepy-faced owl, a cartoonish mushroom, and a red-eyed lady bug resembling a Tim Burton design — are among the clever creations crafted by the brilliant ladies at F is for Frank.

Shannah Frank of Kessler Park, who once worked with a restoration company, founded F is for Frank a few years ago. Casey Melton, a student of sculpture and marketing, became a partner last summer.

“I knew I wanted to do functional art,” Melton says. "This was a good fit."

The twosome’s talents meld beautifully to produce pieces of form and function. In addition to trendsetting hardware, the designers have a line of nature-inspired jewelry — one of

Melton’s favorite is the Sea Sponge Ring in gold-plated pewter. Men’s cufflinks look like tiny cave drawings on gold and pewter.

“We are constantly coming out with more jewelry — each piece is sculptural and architectural,” Melton says.

And each looks like it was plucked from some mystical place on planet Earth. The women’s passion outside their craft? Their pups.

“Our dogs come to work with us,” Melton says.

In honor of the furry muses, F is for Frank launched a line of dog tags (they are “crazy cute,” Melton says) just in time to stuff in doggie stockings.

WEBSITE: fisforfrank.com

STOREFRONT: 1216 Manufacturing

PRICE RANGE: $16-$85

CONTACT: 214.749.0709

When Larry Pile bought his Kessler Park home 10 years ago, several stained glass windows needed repairs. So the self-taught furniture maker took a glass class.

“After that, I was off and running,” he says. “Although, it took about five years to get to my own windows.”

Once he started learning about glass, Pile shifted his business to focus on art glass, and now he makes furniture only occasionally. As the Kessler Craftsman, his hottest sellers are fused-glass pendants painted with Japanese kanji characters for words like “friend” and “beautiful.” They sell for $32.

Pile also makes plates, platters and coasters. He showed us a jade green platter with squares of colored glass fused on it to form a design — perfect for sushi — which sells for around $70. And he makes elaborate art pieces, including a “Yellow Submarine” themed fused-glass piece that sells for $500.

“I like color and form,” he says. “If I was doing nothing but making $1,000 tables, that’s very limiting.”

Pile also can transform everyday glass objects into wearable art. For example, he crafts pendants from the lips of wine bottles using sterling silver ornamentation. “People bring me wine bottles that they’ve saved from a special toast, or like if their boyfriend proposed to them, and I can make it into something,” Pile says.

Pile hosts a bimonthly artists circle in his garage studio. Artists can bring a bottle of wine or some snacks, work on projects and socialize. And he offers several glass-making classes each month. Students pay $75 to make seven glass pendants.

“It’s a great deal,” he says. “You pay $75, and you walk away with these personal, handmade gifts.” n

WEBSITE: kesslercrafstman.com

PRICE: $28-$1,200

CONTACT: 214.942.7322 or larry@kesslercraftsman.com