while the shapes follow a distinct line and character, the coloration, texture and patina unavoidly express the distinct handmade character of every item made here in our workshop.
due to the nature of the materials (brass, leather, horn, cane) used for our products, variations, color unevenness and what our craftsmen call „life“ may appear in our products. variations are the result of the natural chemical reactions between patina and the raw brass material during the patinating process.
the textural variations you may see in our products are evidence of active hands involved in the process and the many artisanal and machine based influences that occur with each step. textural variations such as unevenness in color, dusty, spotty appearance are sometimes not avoidable and certainly not a defect. differences in color and slight variations in shape show the uniqueness and nature of our products. it shows continuity of the designers’ style and unrivaled quality.
each piece is made and finished by hand and therefore one of a kind.
care instructions
brass surface treatment
hints for treatment to maintain and enhance the beauty of our brass products:
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1. in order to fix the maybe matte, even dusty looking colour of the surface and make the pieces ́ skin look deep and rich, we use and advise to use linseed oil (wood furniture treatment; nonedible quality). the nature of the oil should be lightly honey coloured and liquid.
use a soft cotton cloth – apply only a few drops to the pieces by dabbing softly - until the piece is shinily oiled. please make sure not to rub the pieces - patina skin is delicate and thin and might rub off. as the polished planes are polished with paraffine addings, minimal wax residue might remain. these can be also wiped off with a soft cloth.
2. if the piece has taken on an overall oily gloss, take another larger and clean piece of cotton with both of your hands and cradle the piece in your hands in order to remove excess oil. please note, that wiping should always be done sensibly - avoid rubbing. the shiny gloss is now reduced to a beautiful deep colour.
3. please pay attention to not oiling the polished surfaces. remove oil traces immediately by gently rubbing it off in circling movements, before traces dry up.
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if newly purchased pieces tend to darken in a more golden tone, we advise the use of „nevr-dull“ wadding or „autosol“ polishing paste - available at hardware stores or bikeshops. following the instructions of the product will keep all the brass surfaces perfectly shiny for months.
this step is advisable, if the pieces maybe sat in the shop or the window for some time or were or are exposed to a regional climate where salty fog and direct sun light prevail.
in general - the effect of aging is wanted if it is pure „time patina“ i.e. even grading darker of polished areas. fingerprints should be removed regularly with wadding as sweat residue leave longtime prints on polished brass (see below).
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we ́d higly advise you to retreat your stored pieces after some time as advised. the thin oil layers and the colorless paraffin on polished surfaces are volatile especially in hot climate. giving the pieces treatment from time to time makes them look better and better time after time.
polished pieces or polished areas on pieces hold the high gloss for approximately 1.5 years in average humid areas (due to the paraffine related high gloss polish paste material), after that they should be „nevr dull“ wadded regularly - unless you prefer the aged look.
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if you re-oil the objects, please remove oil at once – if remains are able to dry it will be harder cleaning these a few days later. please use a dab of lighter fluid or similar non aggressive solvent to remove it or use „nevr dull“ again.
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in tropical climates it may be advisable to also use polishing paste like „autosol“ or similar brass polishing products. follow the instructions and avoid applying of polishing pastes on the sensible patina areas of the objects. always work with rubber or cotton gloved hands.
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never use water on any of our pieces - it is an oxidant and darkens brass polish unevenly. only ashtrays are cleaned after use with a damp soapy rag or paper towel; wiped dry and re - oiled or polished with „nevr dull“ or another polishing paste.
watering cans should be wiped on the outside with a soft cloth after each use – the patination on the inside cannot be prevented.
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human touch includes salty sweat. if applied on polished surfaces, the traces are permanent and become deeper after time. therefore fingerprints should be removed with a soft cloth immediately. also in this, we advise using polishing paste to remove the stains. follow the instructions to remove the fingerprints.
what are the pieces made of?
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brass is copper/zinc alloy metal traditionally used in artisanal metal production since centuries. polished brass surfaces tend to change their color under the oxidation by air and light. our patina is a kind of precious, artisanly applied rust i.e. intensified oxidation of the brass surface. usually salty and/or damp air and direct sunlight exposure enhance the natural patination/darkening process of polished brass surfaces, in short, brass has a lively surface reacting to the climatical environment. following the designers wish, these surfaces are not to be clear lacquered (which would keep off the natural patination process) but kept open for manual maintenance over the years.
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all the larger pieces are manufactured in sand cast technique, some in the ancient traditional lost wax technique. the fluid brass is poured into forms at high temperatures - then cool off and are freed then out from their forms.
after preparation of the raw brass cast (sand cast technique) by grinding the pieces with graded abrasion raw to fine, we pre polish and form - file crafted by hand, and then patinate the satinated pieces.
to equal the dark oxidized surface of objects, which they would achieve by being exposed to natural elements as sunlight and rain for about 80 years, we follow a traded family recipe routine.
the objects are put in a hot 100°C sud bath of a mixture of mild brass oxidizing chemicals for a certain time to achieve the desired deep dark colour of the surface.
after that, the flat parts are then high gloss smoothed and polished,finished, in the traditional techniques using polishing bands and abrasive felt wheels.
we hope all important questions were evenly covered so you can treat the pieces in question. nothing can be done wrong if you follow above instructions – if you need more info please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
please make sure that these instructions are shared with the responsible staff in your gallery/shop so customers can be advised on how to care for the products. In general, all our pieces were designed to be not only looked at but to be loved and touched too. this is the reason for them to take on an owner orientated patina together with the patina surface that was basically artisanal created in our workshop.
like wood, metal or leather - brass is an organic material that will age well and patinate with time. the appearance of our products will darken and develop its own patina as it ages; this is a natural character and result of loving use. If carefully looked after and cared for – every auboeck piece represents then a unique part of the owners life.
nickel plated surface treatment
hints for treatment to maintain and enhance the beauty of our brass products:
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never use polishing paste like brass or autos on the matte nickel plating. the paste contains polishing particles that might disturb the overall matte effect.
we advise to only clean the pipes from time to time with alcohol based window cleaner with a soft cotton cloth.
if the pieces are in heavy use or heavily stained, we advise to use “nevr dull” wadding from time to time. please note that this method should only be used from time to time as even this smooth cleaner contains abrasives and may cause damage to the surface if used too often.
for a less abrasive cleaning process, we’d suggest natural soap on a soft cotton pad.
residues of all cleaners described before have to be wiped off completely after care.
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for glossy nickel plated items, the same care instructions apply.
nickel plated brass
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nickel plating on to of the brass core helps keeping off the usual patination of brass, that turns the brass surface dark.
this plating enables also to use the items / hooks in humid indoor spaces such as bathrooms etc.
we hope all important questions were evenly covered so you can treat the pieces in question. nothing can be done wrong if you follow above instructions – if you need more info please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
please make sure that these instructions are shared with the responsible staff in your gallery/shop so customers can be advised on how to care for the products. In general, all our pieces were designed to be not only looked at but to be loved and touched too. this is the reason for them to take on an owner orientated patina together with the patina surface that was basically artisanal created in our workshop.
like wood, metal or leather - brass is an organic material that will age well and patinate with time. the appearance of our products will darken and develop its own patina as it ages; this is a natural character and result of loving use. If carefully looked after and cared for – every auboeck piece represents then a unique part of the owners life.
horn objects
modern times have to fullfil the great task of relearning the basic techniques of maintaining and using natural materials like leather, wood and horn. in the following, we list a number of important details of use to keep your horn products in good shape and their use for many years – horn is sensible to extreme heat, frost, arid and damp atmosphere.
we are delighted that you have chosen an object from our collection. we would like to inform you that our high-quality materials such as wood, horn and leather may change their color as a result of exposure to sunlight, humidity and air. this is not a quality defect but much more a normal characteristic of natural materials.
climatic extremes might lead to deterioration of the surface and then of the structure of the material. horn is very alike human hair material and should always be treated equally. polished new and real horn has a distinctive odor that is volatile and disappears with use after a short time.
the horn material used for our horn products is sourced from various countries all over the world – the material used is never a hunting trophy but always a natural byproduct of agriculture. horn has a long tradition in man’s artifacts, reaching back a few thousand years.
use and maintenance
never leave your horn items next to the bathroom sink or on wet surfaces.
never put the horn products / objects in the dishwasher or washing machine.
after using your horn products with hair treatments or water, gently wipe them dry with a soft cloth or cosmetic wipes.
never leave horn on radiators, near stoves or in bright sunlight.
don ́t expose the horn products to extreme frost.
horn has a basic elasticity but might break when forced through hair or dent / break when dropped on a hard surface.
the polished surface can be repolished by treatment with almond oil or other pure organic plant based oils (sunflower oil, coconut oil...).
good fatty acids sustain gloss and protect the surface. A surplus should be removed with a soft cloth after treatment soon.