In 2000 I began a series of art lighting made with my favorite materials: stone, metal and acrylic. One day, while driving to a client appointment in Stamford, I saw a small intriguing hand-painted sign that read Vulcan Scrap that piqued my curiosity. After my meeting, I returned to find an ominous facade built of chain link fence, razor wire and corrugated metal inserts. It looked like something out of the movie Mad Max.

After a five-minute tour, I felt I found the candy store of my misfit object dreams. Discarded aluminum, iron and stainless steel custom fabricated scrap metal plus raw materials like plastic, machine parts and endless rooms of brass and chrome hardware from mid-century to contemporary.

At first I thought it was dumping ground — but, it was all for sale by the pound! By the following week I was hunting and gathering at Vulcan for my new project — Objects D’ Art and lighting. Within a year I created an extensive collection and had my first exhibition under the name TerraLuminiere — which loosely translated means earth and light.

Vulcan Scrap is run by two brothers — identical twins — who are helpful and friendly. Their operation is a sometimes sparkling, sometimes rusty, always exciting treasure hunt, and worth the trip from anywhere.

Visit their website vulcanscrap for address, phone and email.