Robot-built. Hand-finished. Living metals.
Living metal surfaces: zinc, brass and copper bar tops made to your drawing.
Custom zinc bar tops in living metal. Any curve, any edge.
Living Metal Furniture
Most shops can only offer flat runs and a few stock edges in zinc, brass or copper. Curves, deep radii and custom profiles get cut.
Watching the material you chose get swapped for something safer is frustrating.
A great room deserves the material it was designed around.
Don’t let your best idea get cut down to whatever’s easy to make. The room ends up looking like everyone else’s.
You drew it in metal. Then someone told you no.
We’re designers who started an automated manufacturing studio.
We spent years watching our own best details get cut because no one could make them in metal. So we built the studio we wished we’d had. Robots shape a waterproof core to your exact drawing, and our team finishes it by hand in real zinc, brass or copper. It’s robot-built and hand-finished, so the curves, radii and edge profiles designers were told were impossible are now on the table, in living metals that age with the room. It’s a whole new palette for designers to explore: metals, finishes and forms that used to be out of reach.
20+ years – hundreds of projects. Trusted by Hotel Monteleone, Uptown Social, Restaurant Francois, Faena, Remy Martin, Sip & Guzzle and Black Tap.
Who do we work with?
OWNERSHIP
Executive Chefs
Restaurateurs
Developers
Operators
Managers
Owners
DESIGNERS
Lean/LEED/Green
Interior Designers
Procurement
Showrooms
Architects
Specifiers
CONTRACTORS
Project Managers
Subcontractors
Design-Build
Millworkers
Installation
Logistics
How may we help you?
Materials
• Smart samples with simple, gorgeous finish selections
• One-part cores with no internal seams throughout project
• Product up to 40% lighter than other materials
• No internal fasteners make minor site modification simple
• Consistent metal thickness
Design
• Accelerated and accommodating design process with 24-7 with scheduled video conferencing
• Limited, refined selection of custom-designed trims
• Product is completely customizable
• Base product is 1.25” to better match industry standards
• Unique details that can be executed with advanced technology
• Designed and made in the USA
Delivery
• Ten-foot maximum lengths and tightest seams in the industry
• Easy installation with 1-2 installers.
• Standard crate sizes minimize shipping and installation costs.
Durability
• No promotion of bacteria or mold propagation as with wooden cores
• Real metal is durable and finishes are easy to maintain or adjust.
Recent projects
Elevate your vision with 3 Spark Design
As designers and fabricators, we struggled for years with options available for complex metal objects. As we worked with customers, we were constantly having to modify their incredible vision to suit what was physically possible.
Once we started evaluating products that failed in the field, we realized how we could develop a new product to help more people with the same problem sets. We want to help you bring your vision to life. We want you to find your Spark!
How It Works
1
Sketch, CAD or a photo all work.
2
We’ll propose the seams, and you mark them up. Finish samples come to your desk.
3
We build it and ship it ready to set.
It’s shaped by robot and finished by hand.
From the Founder
“We’re designers who got tired of watching great ideas get cut down to whatever a shop could bend. So we started an automated manufacturing studio that makes zinc, brass and copper follow any line you draw. Send us your drawing, and let’s find your Spark.”
– Lonnie Coulter, 3 Spark Design
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does 3 Spark Design make?
Living metal surfaces in real zinc, brass and copper: bar tops, tabletops, custom edge profiles, stools and one-off pieces. We build for restaurants, hotels and commercial spaces, indoors and out. Everything is designed and made in our studio in Hickory, North Carolina, and shipped worldwide.
Who does 3 Spark work with?
Designers, architects and specifiers; owners, operators and restaurant groups; and contractors, millworkers and installers. Recent work includes the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Black Tap at JFK Terminal 8, Uptown Social in Charleston and Restaurant François in Austin.
Why are 3 Spark tops lighter?
Our tops are built on a one-piece, high-density urethane core with no internal seams, not plywood. It holds up better than layered wood, and because it won't absorb water, it doesn't swell or rot. It's also up to 40% lighter than others, so it's easier to carry and install.
How do I get started?
Request finish samples, send us your drawing (a hand sketch is fine), or book a 15-minute call. We draw your top in CAD and send it back for your approval before we build.
The bar you drew, in metal that lives.
Guests touch it every night, and it keeps getting richer with age. You got the curve, the edge and the metal you designed.
Backed by a Limited One-Year Warranty
Every 3 Spark top is backed by a limited one-year warranty.
3 Spark Design Blog
How to Choose a Zinc Bar Top Finish: Texture First, Then Patina
Nine finishes, two decisions. How texture and patina work together, how each reads in a real room, and how to get samples in your hand.
The Carousel Bar Needed a New Top. Here’s How We Built It.
When the top on New Orleans’ famous Carousel Bar stopped holding up, the Hotel Monteleone called us. Here’s how we drew a custom edge, built a new surface in real zinc, and delivered on the hotel’s schedule.
How to Spec a Custom Bar Edge Profile
The edge is the part of a bar guests touch most. Here’s what to put in your drawings, from the section and heights to drink rails, cutouts, and trim, so the edge you spec is the edge you get.