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Luis Martinez Gallardo

"Hello, my name is Luis Martinez. I'm an industrial designer and opened my own workshop in 1999 crafting aluminum products. Since I began this project I have tried to infuse my products with a spark of Mexican style and ingenuity while exploiting the beauty and strength of aluminum.

"First a model is made from acrylic, wood, or whatever other strong material, and a mold of it is made from sand. The first piece is cast from aluminum and, from this original, we make a sand mold for each piece. These molds have to be made very carefully so that we obtain only the best quality. Handmade products are never exactly the same in size or color, but we try our absolute best to make them the same size. The sand has to be solidly compacted so that the piece will have the best result and finish.

"The mold is cleaned and some holes are left in the surface to pour in liquid aluminum. During this process the aluminum should be melted at a certain temperature. Once the aluminum has been in the model for ten to fifteen minutes the piece is then ready, and the mold is broken to take it out. After this, the piece needs to smoothed and polished to give it the brilliant characteristics of pewter. Each piece is made from a new sand mold made from the aluminum master copy, and this makes each piece individual and unique."