Now that I am wrapping things up here (at least for the moment as I will explain later) I have had some time to return to my website and update some things.  Please take note of the change in categories and the change in emphasis in the products offered.  I am now offering a more limited selection of some of the finer pieces as well as adjusting the prices to better reflect a more realistic value.  I will continue to make some changes here and there as I have time and as I prepare my website to be viewed as part of my online portfolio by potential clients or employers.

Speaking of portfolios, please check out my newly redesign online portfolio at cosmosportfolio.wordpress.com.  I have updated the layout to something a little more visually appealing and a lot more functional.  I am also in the process of updating the material to include my projects from the semester that just ended.

Finally, I want to announce the formal beginning of Cosmo’s Design.  I have mentioned the idea before, but am now officially hanging my shingle out as an interior designer.  I am starting with a couple of real projects that I am really excited about.  One residential remodel and a commercial retail space reorganization.  With the clients’ permission I will post photos and status updates as they happen.

Please look over my work here and at my online portfolio and consider me and my little shop for your own project.  And as always, tell your friends.

P.S.  As promised earlier, I want to also announce that I was the recipient of a prestigious scholarship to attend an advanced professional certificate program in the fall.  It will mean two more semesters in school, but is a great opportunity and privilege.  Some very good designers have come out of this program over the years, and I am honored to be admitted.

One of my plans after graduation is opening up a larger shop and starting a furniture line that will be available at local show rooms so don’t worry,  I’ll be back.

Well, this is my first attempt at making a chair out of scrap wood strips.  It turned out pretty well, and I can definitely see the potential for this idea.  Unfortunately I used the design for another chair I had been thinking of for the general shape and it didn’t translate well to the new technique.  It looks great, but isn’t that comfortable.  I should have used the dimensions from my last plywood chair.  It is quite comfortable and would have worked just as well with my new idea.  The great part is that it wasn’t too difficult and that I have lots more scrap wood to play with.  I plan on making more of these to work out the best, and most comfortable, shapes.  For now enjoy these pictures of my prototype. (Think of it as “concept chair” like those wild cars at an auto show, they look great but are totally impractical)

I have been going to school part time for a little while to earn a degree in Interior Design, and that has been taking up more and more of my time.  My military commitments are starting to pile up on top of that, and just recently we were notified that our brigade is going to be deployed sometime in 2012.  Because of that I have had to shift from part time at school to full time in order to finish the program before I leave.  That means that I am taking a full load of summer classes in addition to being gone for most of June for military training.  I have been working 12 and 16 hour days for a few weeks with very little time off for simple things like mowing the lawn or going to church with the family.

Because of this I have decided to take a little break from the workshop.  I will keep the website up, and post from time to time on the blog, but I will most likely not be taking any new orders for the time being.  I wish that I had time to even increase my own inventory to participate at local art shows, but I am not even able to do that.  This summer I will just be attending a few shows, not participating.  It isn’t easy for me to come to this decision, but the situation basically demands it.

I hope that after finishing school, and returning from what I hope to be my last deployment, I will be better at what I do and have more resources to do it.  I am sure that I will come out of this stronger than ever.  Thank you for your support.  It has been fun (except when I cut my finger off last fall) and I have learned a lot from all of you.

Josh Grimmett

In the meantime I have decided to take my comments on local politics and create my own blog to express them. As I become increasingly involved I thought it was best to separate it from the business side of things. Just thought it would be a little more professional.

If you are interested in politics here in Arlington, especially topics affecting downtown and Arlington’s urbanization, then check it out at urbanstrong.wordpress.com

This table started out as a custom design to make a long single span table using the same laminating technique as used in other Cosmo’s designs.  It was quite challenging from a structural perspective and required some clever internal (and therefore hidden) solutions so that the table could withstand its own weight without sagging or cracking.  The results are amazing, and now I want to make this design available to anyone.  I am making this table available as pictured and as a shorter (60″ x 15″ x 30″h) version.  The table pictured measures 80″ x 15″ x 30″h.  The top weighs 95 lbs and each leg weighs 25 lbs each.

Because of the size and weight this item is shipped via freight and freight shipping rates are used.

Known for its eclectic TCU location in Fort Worth, the Mellow Mushroom owners have chosen a spot near UT Arlington as its second home. Monday they broke ground at their new location at 200 North Center Street in Arlington.Now the chain has expanded to serve a new college crowd. “The food is amazing,” says UTA student Erick Fernandez who recently enjoyed the Mushroom’s Austin location. “It will be nice to have one open here.”Owners Kim and Montie Slawson chose to build the new site on the corner of Front and Center street next to UTA’s Arlington Music Hall.  “Arlington is such a strong community,” said Slawson in a press release. “The Center Street Corridor is an important part of bringing that community together.”The pizzeria is known for its creative menu including organic ingredients in a wide variety of pizzas, hoagies, salads and calzones.  Their hand tossed crusts are baked on stone with a new gluten-free option. “We feel confident that customers will travel from all over the metroplex to experience our spring water dough,” said Slawson.The Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers new Arlington location is slated to open in the early Fall.

via Mellow Mushroom Grows in Arlington | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

Blair Kamin, the architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, visited the Dallas Arts District and came away disappointed.

The buildings bowled him over. The Arts District, he notes, “may be the only place on earth where buildings by four Pritzker Architecture Prize winners (in this case, I.M. Pei, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas) sit within blocks of each other.”

But the lack of human activity left him underwhelmed.

[D]espite its impressive architectural firepower, the Dallas Arts District can be an exceedingly dull place. There are no bookstores, few restaurants outside those in the museums, and not a lot of street life, at least when there are no performances going on. Even some of the architects who’ve designed buildings here privately refer to the district as an architectural petting zoo — long on imported brand-name bling and short on homegrown-urban vitality. … It would be sad indeed if Dallas, having importing some of the world’s best architects, wound up creating the dullest arts district money can buy.

Kamin does hold out hope for the Woodall Rogers deck park , which, he says, could “go a long way toward rectifying the district’s lack of urbanity. Indeed, it could be a model for other cities, among them Chicago and St. Louis, that have looked into ‘capping’ or ‘decking’ sunken highways.”

via A critic from Chicago writes: Dallas Arts District has stunning buildings. Just no life. | The Scoop | dallasnews.com.