Expresso Yourself in Extraordinary Design

When the architects designing Starbucks Downtown Disney approached Cherrylion Studios, desiring to bring a coffee leaf and bean theme to their business, the fabricators came up with a unique 3-D “living” sign design that would showcase their customers green initiative, and incorporate living moss into the sign!

Multiple companies were involved in bringing this project to life. Cherrylion Studios provides custom fine art and sculptures for private collections, and they collaborated with Oak Branch Manufacturing, who specializes in high-end, custom CNC routing. By collaborating together, they came up with an impressive 3-D theme that is a work of art in its own class.

The project started with Cherrylion Studios hand-carving a small-scale model in clay, molding it, and then making a cast out of plaster. It was then sent to IBILD Solutions in New Jersey to be laser scanned to create a digital image for Oak Branch’s CNC machine. Once Oak Branch received the digital image, it was enlarged to be reproduced onto full-size 48” x 96” x 2” panels of 15lb CORAFOAM® cut on their CNC machine to create the main outlines.

“When we first were commissioned for this project, I knew exactly what material to use. I’ve used CORAFOAM® HDU for so many projects, and love the clean working environment it provides when cutting on the CNC router,” states Andy Brooks, owner of Oak Branch Manufacturing.

Once the main forms were CNC routed into the CORAFOAM®, the panels traveled to the hand-carving experts at Cherrylion Studios, where the intricate leaves and fine detail was added to the panels with a variety of woodworking tools. The process was made easier through the use of CORAFOAM®, the tight cell structure making it easy to hand carve and adding definition to the cuts.

Once the carving process was completed, Cherrylion Studios primed the panels using a Zinsser B-I-N Primer/Sealer, and finished them with Benjamin Moore paints. A natural beige-tan color was selected to reflect the Mother Nature landscape atmosphere. According to Martin Dawe, owner of Cherrylion Studios, “Using the CNC process and DUNA’s CORAFOAM® HDU reduced my costs by about 50% by eliminating the need to create full-size rubber molds and fiberglass casts. The possibilities for original, large-scale bas-relief wall sculptures are limitless!”

Cherrylion Studios began offering professional sculptures in 1987 in Atlanta, Georgia. Owner Martin Dawe grew up in South Africa, and received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Georgia. Upon graduation, Martin was apprenticed by renowned sculptor Julian Harris where he honed his skills prior to opening Cherrylion Studios, which has become the largest custom sculpture studio in the Georgia area. He has been commissioned on over 30 large-scale public art installations and is known for his figurative and representational work. Additional information about Cherrylion Studios can be seen at: http://www.cherrylion.com.

Oak Branch Manufacturing was started in Oakwood, GA, and is owned by Andy Brooks. Andy initially started his career in the IT field, eventually turning his sign-making hobby into a career in 2014 with the birth of Oak Branch Manufacturing. Today, Andy operates from an8,400 square foot warehouse as a well-known craftsman specializing in custom CNC services to the cabinetry, sign, construction and hobby industries. In addition to CNC fabrication, Oak Branch offers services from small prototype runs to high-volume production. Additional information can be seen at: http://www.brookscnc.com or http://www.oakbranchmfg.com