Local business: Iron Plus

Boo!

This weekend my parents went to Florida and I was given custody of their dog, which put a crimp in my plans. He's a sweet dog, but old and arthritic; he doesn't travel well. So I had to stay close to home this weekend to let the dog in and out.

This means that instead of going to the Silk Road Festival as planned, I ended up catching up on a lot of housework. So next weekend watch out! I'm going to the Bayou City Art Festival and no-one's going to stop me.

I couldn't spend all day inside, so I decided to visit this place I've been driving by for years: Ironplus. It's off of FM 1960 and looks like a collection of pots and lawn stuff.  Since I now have a lawn and a patio, I thought it might be worth a look. 

It's a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I have a weakness for this brightly-colored, metal statuary. If I was English I'd probably go for garden gnomes, but as a Texan, I love a jalapeno mariachi band.

 

I think I need the goats. A little herd of goats, grazing my lawn. They'd be a hassle to mow around, but aren't they adorable?

The really interesting thing is that these small decorative pieces are not really what they do. Ironplus specializes in wrought iron, a rare skill in this day and age. There is a forge in the back and they will make whatever you want.  They have a catalog of thing to look at in addition to the furniture, wall pieces, etc, that they have all over the store.

The saleslady and I got talking when she saw me examining a pair of wooden doors with elaborate wrought-iron detailing. They were at least 9 ft tall and arched at the top: doors for a church. She asked me what I thought the doors were for - "A church?" "No. They're a custom order for a closet."  Can you imagine? That's a big house.



They had some beautiful fountains, which as soon as I own a plaza, I'm going back to buy, but for now I'm thinking about replacing the boring painted steel gate on my house with something more artistic. Maybe wrought-iron cattails?