Since 2002, the Brownell Metal Studio has produced everything from grates at the Darden School to gorgeous custom furniture. “What we do is high-quality, high-end architectural metalwork,” says Brownell. “I’d never say anything about the other shops in Charlottesville, but we do things differently.”
 The local boom in upper-crust construction allowed Steve Brownell to open his own metal studio. “I pinch myself every day,” Brownell says. |
Brownell Studio belongs to a cadre of premium construction and design firms that have been springing up around Charlottesville since the mid-1990s. Steve and his counterparts in stone, wood, glass and other materials make a living serving our area’s upperclass. Their clients are often homeowners with deep pockets and vision. “Everything we do is truly custom,” explains Brownell. “People are willing to pay to get what they want. I don’t see any end in sight.”
Charlottesville’s prosperity allowed Brownell at age 46 to found and maintain his own firm. While his fellow craftsmen salute his hard-earned success, some criticize the market which supports it. One local architect has summed up his Charlottesville clients’ design sense as “I want that, but in green.” He explains, “Regardless of context, some of these folks just want something they picked out of
a magazine.”
Other artisans lament the exclusivity of their work. Blacksmith Dale Morse of Clay Hill Forge notes, “A very small percentage of my clientele is middle class, which to me is a shame. For its elite, Charlottesville has wine, food, theater and art. Those things that make life rich are less available to people struggling to pay their mortgage.”
But these designer craftsmen can’t afford to lower their prices. Though Dale Morse is booked for the next eight months and works nearly 60 hours per week, his annual income comes to about $20,000. Thus far, recession has hardly touched Charlottesville. But as a colleague once told him, “An artisan with legal issues or business questions is like a long-distance runner with knee problems.”
Still, Dale Morse and Steve Brownell are happy to be doing what they love. “I’m having a ball,” Brownell enthuses. “I pinch myself every day.”
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