At trade shows and craft fairs, we get so many questions asking how we fabricate our furniture, artwork, and the 4-inch and 12-inch memento pieces made from the original suspender ropes from the Golden Gate Bridge. We thought describing the process would be the perfect blog subject. So, this is how we do it!

Outside of the engineering world, most people probably have never heard the term "wire rope." After perfecting the skill of making ropes in ancient times, it went virtually unaltered for nearly 2000 years. In the 19th-century, hemp ropes and iron chains were for hoisting; the disadvantage was the proverbial weak link. The mining sector required that ropes be made longer, and stronger by drawing iron into thin rods or "wire." Eventually, steel replaced iron as the preferred building material. The next step was to introduce multi-layer strands made of steel.