One Hat One Hand is an interdisciplinary design and fabrication studio specializing in public art art fabrication, architectural placemaking, product prototyping and experiential design.
One Hat One Hand was presented with the opportunity to design a welcoming sculpture for the Chime Headquarters in San Francisco. Helping our clients realize a project from concept to realization, from fabrication to installation, is a joyful experience.
One of the most delightful parts of Public Art fabrication is having the work on your campus to greet you and cheer you every day. Artist Sofie Ramos presented us with a 1/10 scale model of a highly-stylized slice of cake sculpture. Chocolate Cake with Rainbow Sprinkles is made of steel, wood, acrylic, foam and concrete. This 10-foot-tall sculpture is a ‘playful but complex meditation on decadence, indulgence, and festivity.’
Crescent is a custom light installation in a lobby in the Financial District of San Francisco. The colorful arcs that comprise the project recall the many hills and valleys of the city. As the arcs flip and spin around the structure, they bring a sense of movement to the installation. No two views present the same form. Drawing from the natural pace of celestial events, the color palettes of the installation evolve throughout the day, a subtle nod to the different users of the building.
Envisage showcases our in-house design capabilities at One Hat One Hand. We created this sculpture for the main entrance to 1108 Main Street in Redmond California. Located on the street side of the office building, the sculpture sits just outside of a bridge that spans over a creek at the entrance of the building. Envisage welcomes visitors to the building with a sense of wonder and optimism. The transparent design allows the viewer to see the connections between humans and nature.
Everywhere a Color is a San Francisco International Airport installation by Leah Rosenberg, referencing the colors that people would see in San Francisco: The grays of Karl the Fog; International Orange of the Golden Gate Bridge; dark green for the dinosaur kale you’d find at a Farmer’s Market. Leah chose the colors, and we selected materials, testing acrylics, mirrors, and other surfaces.
San Francisco’s annual FOG Fair at Fort Mason celebrates today’s creatives and contributors to the worlds of design and visual arts, with extensive programming alongside artwork, international galleries, and design dealers. In 2020, we designed and installed Seeing Things, once more working with celebrated designer Stanlee Gatti. The theme for 2020 was about vision and perspective: Building upon an eye, and thinking through the vantage point of the viewer, we designed a hyper-creative trade show booth that was more art experience than “booth.” Having developed a relationship with Stanlee over the years, there’s a lot of trust in execution – which means we’re empowered to run with our ideas through a quick timeline.
Meet the I AM THE WHEEL by artist and author Windy Chien. Selected by the San Francisco MOMA to participate in the 2022 Soapbox Derby, Windy partnered with One Hat One Hand on a four-wheeled journey of art and adventure. Windy Chien works at the intersection of function, design, history, and aesthetics to illuminate what is most fascinating about knots: the journey of the line. Her sculpture ranges in size from a knot that can fit in the palm of a child's hand to majestic, room-sized installations.
Offset by the blue California sky, a duo of polymorphic totem structures invite you to experience light and art from different angles and perspectives. Polymorphic Duo, a collaboration between Artist Marcus Guillard and the artist Shrine takes viewers on a journey inspired by geodesic form, crystalline geometry, and decorative ornamentation. Viewers standing within the totem-like structures will marvel at how light travels through colorful handmade crystal and resin panels. Each chrysalis structure, comprised of steel, wood and handmade cast resin, appears delicate and floating. Long linear shafts make this tall, and heavy art feel elegant and light. The outside appears somewhat raw, yet the inside reveals a feeling of an ornate kaleidoscope. As visitors inspect more closely, the structures reveal the iconic hand-painted ornamentation unique to Shrine. Stepping into the structure gives a sense of calm, a feeling of quiet - a peaceful reverent chapel-like experience.
Resilient City by Johanna Poethig was created through a commission from the San Jose Public Art Program for the new San Jose Fire Department Training Center and Office of Emergency Management. Fabrication by One Hat One Hand.
Artist Tahiti Pehrson is a master of detailed, delicate paper-cutting. One Hat One Hand collaborated with the artist to fabricate from his hand-cut artwork, effectively building a large-scale “paper-like” sculpture – yet using permanent materials.
Terrace Art Benches Pasalubong Passage at Mercy Housing in San Francisco exemplifies what we love to do at One Hat One Hand.
One Hat One Hand collaborated with internationally renowned Artist Shrine to create The Flying Mountain. Shrine is a muralist and installation artist known for large-scale temples that are hand-painted and adorned by trash and found objects. His visionary art practice is a progressive, spiritual and social stance demonstrating his desire for sustainable living. Shrine refers to his confluence of global art projects as the Empire of Love as ritual and a movement.
One Hat One Hand is so excited to share with you one of the most talked about 2023 Burning Man sculptures created by Mellisa 'Syn' Barron and fabricated by One Hat One Hand (and a team of dedicated volunteers.) Tip of the Iceberg is a 30-foot tall, 3D Clitoris sculpture. Fabricated with steel armature, CNC cut foam, and hand-applied stone-like cladding: concrete with embedded stones (river rocks, pyrite, amethyst, and glitter), this project demonstrates our passion and commitment to creating public art that is true to the Artist's vision.
One Hat One Hand creates custom processes that enable the build-out of public artworks – helping capture an artist's vision, while meeting timeline and budget. Artist Andy Vogt was translating his woodworking techniques to a different material: bronze.
Fourteen years after we built the original Outside Lands iconic windmills, One Hat One Hand partnered with Iron and Bloom to design and build a new future-forward version. This 80-foot-high state-of-the-art windmill was unveiled at the 2022 Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park.