If you’ve ever wandered into a hotel lobby and wondered how a 400-pound chandelier is supported from the ceiling, or ducked into a sexy cocktail bar, stopping to admire the towering racks of glass and steel, beautifully backlit and structurally able to balance hundreds of bottles, you’ve found yourself admiring the art of fabrication. If you’re in New Orleans, you’ve likely witnessed the prowess of Erikdavid and Alyssa Kraemer, co-owners of E. Kraemer, one of the lauded, bespoke companies for high-end fabrication, in both residential and commercial realms.
“For us, fabrication means taking a design from concept to reality,” offers Alyssa Kraemer. “Our focus is metal as the primary medium, but in order to control quality, we frequently work with other materials in-house. We specialize in architectural metals, furniture, lighting, and custom fixtures. We don’t do structural steel, HVAC or anything mass-produced. If it’s hands-on, detail-driven, and built to last, it’s in our wheelhouse.”
With an extensive network of skilled craftspeople, in various specialties, this duo pulls off not only beautiful, but crazy-elaborate projects.
For example, the Central Business District’s Virgin Hotel. “We fabricated a large portion of the Commons Club, including multiple bars, custom elevator interiors, a 20-plus-foot range hood, multiple shelving units, and brass handrails,” she says. “It was a collaborative effort with our friends at Mathes Brierre and Logan Killen Interiors, and a great example of what can happen when design, architecture, and fabrication all come together.”
The hotel has gone on to be recognized for interiors by Condé Nast Traveler magazine, who specifically highlighted the restaurant’s striking visuals.
The duo also partnered with Trahan Architects and MAPP Group on an enormous cross for the Chapel of St. Ignatius at the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center, located on Loyola University New Orleans’ historic quad.
The resulting religious icon is 30 feet tall, 12 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. It’s made of knife-edge brass and mounted on a glass curtain wall. “It’s set into stepped brick corbelling and a tapered opening on a round building,” she says. “The build of this piece was challenging due to the scale and fact that it is just heavy and awkward to move and reposition. We designed and built numerous jigs and fixtures just to be able to move the pieces around the shop. The installation was just as tricky, since using a crane was not an option, due to the location.”
For so many creations and installations, being a master in fabrication requires being evolutionary and creative. That enormous cross is a symbolic example for the team.
“It came down to careful planning, a lot of skill,” she says, “and, maybe some blood, sweat, and tears. It’s one of those projects that pushed us technically and creatively, and we’re proud to see it standing tall.”
