Where to See David Browne Metal Design's Portfolio and Get in Touch

David Browne | Metal Design is a San Diego–area hot-forging studio, established in 2002, that takes on original design, custom architectural metalwork, and sculpture for private, corporate, and public commissions. The place to see its work and start a conversation is its own site, brownemetal.com. The site presents the studio through project categories rather than a single gallery page, so the fastest way to judge fit is to browse those categories and then reach out directly with your project type and location.

What the site shows

The site is organized around finished commission types. The examples that appear on it include:

• Sculpture — including an I-beam sculpture and a piece titled "Heart Metal"
• Architectural metalwork — custom hand railing and custom metal railing
• Doors — a custom metal door
• Kitchen and hearth pieces — a copper bronze hood and a bronze firescreen

That spread is a useful signal in itself: the studio works across both sculptural and functional architectural pieces, in steel, copper, and bronze, rather than specializing in one product line. If your project is a railing, a door, a hood, a firescreen, or a sculptural object, you are looking at work in the studio's existing range.

How to read the portfolio before you inquire

Because the site is built as a set of project categories, treat it as a way to answer three questions before contacting the studio:

1. Does my project type appear? Match your job to the categories above — railing, door, hood, firescreen, sculpture.
2. Does the material match? The listed work covers steel (including forged and structural forms), copper, and bronze. If you need a different metal or a mixed-material assembly, ask rather than assume.
3. Is the scale comparable? The studio states it handles private, corporate, and public commissions, so both residential-scale pieces and larger public or corporate work are within its stated scope.

If your project falls outside these categories, that is not automatically a no — it just means the portfolio won't answer the question for you, and you should describe the job directly when you make contact.

Getting in touch

The site is the entry point for commission inquiries. When you reach out, include enough for the studio to assess the job:

• Project type — railing, door, hood, firescreen, sculpture, or other architectural metalwork
• Material preference, if you have one (steel, copper, bronze)
• Setting — private residence, corporate space, or public installation
• Location — relevant because the studio is based in the San Diego region of Southern California
• Stage — concept, drawings in hand, or a built space waiting for a piece

What the San Diego base means for you

The studio describes itself as working in the San Diego region of Southern California, with a well-equipped hot-forging shop. For local clients, that means site visits, measurements, and installation coordination are practical. For clients outside the region, the constraint to plan around is fabrication and shipping or travel for installation — the portfolio can still tell you whether the style fits, but logistics are a conversation to have early rather than after design work begins.

One more credential worth knowing: David Browne is listed as President of the Allied Craftsmen of San Diego, which is a reasonable indicator of standing within the local craft community if you are vetting the studio for a public or corporate commission.

Practical next step

Open brownemetal.com, look through the project categories that match your job, and then make contact with a short description of your project, material, setting, and location. That gives the studio what it needs to tell you whether the commission is a fit — and gives you a portfolio-based reason to decide whether to pursue it.