Admittedly, I have a fascination with factories. Who knows where it came from, but I love gears and belts and large machines of any type. I certainly did not inherit this from my father, who actually worked on the line at a Rhode Island factory that made tourist souvenirs (unlike the old protestant ladies, my father never exceeded his quota to earn extra cash). But I love, love, love factories.

Adjustable Cast Iron Table Base. Designed by Get Back Inc.

In my younger days, I spent a good amount of time in Atlanta’s old matress factory—before it was converted into elegant lofts. I had an artist friend who squatted there in a gigantic space filled with leftover boxes of nails and other abandoned materials whose purpose we could not identify. We climbed the fire escapes all over the factory complex and spent time on the roofs and generally explored everywhere else. My love affair continued when I moved to Denver, where I became enraptured with the Gates Rubber Factory, already partially abandoned but whose smoke stack still plumed. With its enormous clock and its broken windows—walls of gray and green lozenges in various states of dilapidation, the Gates Factory loomed like some great brick metropolitan castle. If you’re as fascinated by the mechanical, then you must do two things. First, read Nye’s book The American Technological Sublime, which traces this fascination to our American consciousness. Second, check out Connecticut Company Get Back Inc.

Get Back Inc. showroom in Oakville, CT.

Adjustable Cast Iron Table Base. Designed by Get Back Inc.

Adjustable Cast Iron Table Base. Designed by Get Back Inc.

Vintage Industrial Scissors Lamp. Designed by Get Back Inc.

Vintage Industrial Scissors Lamp. Designed by Get Back Inc.

Milk Glass Wall Lamp. Designed by Get Back Inc.

Self-described as “vintage industrial,” Get Back Inc. uses old parts to create functioning furniture and refurbishes antiques as well. Started in 2000 by Irish cabinet/furniture makers, Get Back Inc. employs Old World craftsmanship in their quest to offer “unique industrial design.” The re-use of otherwise abandoned materials is always an attractive proposition—recently explored in the eco-conscious animated film Wall-E (which is truly for adults, I promise). This March, Get Back Inc. will be showing pieces at the AD Home Design Show, where they are certain to stand out amidst the clean sheen of modern furniture. Some of the pieces on display are the Adjustable Cast Iron Table Base, the Adjustable Wooden Sculptor’s Table and the Milk Glass Wall Lamp. If I had the time, I would certainly describe them all. Given the limited space here (which I’m sure to exceed), I will simply cover two of my favorites. For a true grasp of Get Back Inc.’s holdings, leave Manhattan and take a drive to their 5,000 sq.ft. Connecticut Showroom (I want to live there as much as in the Bradbury Building from Blade Runner).

The Adjustable Cast Iron Table Base is a heavy piece—both in weight and in style. A redesigned adjustable mill table base, it features a fantastic wheel. Cast iron wheels are a particular love of mine: I do letterpress printing on a Chandler & Price platen press controlled by a giant wheel. Getting back to Get Back, their wheel adjusts the table height from 22 to 32 inches. Fitted with a glass top, the Adjustable Cast Iron Table measures a stately 8 ft. L x 4 ft. W x 2 ft H. If there is a Fairy Godmother out there, then she would instantly lift this piece into the ether and drop it straight into my house (through the roof, if necessary). Barring this magical intervention, the Adjustable Cast Iron Table Base is ideal for confectioners and cartographers—any occupation where the worker appreciates beauty. It would also look great in loft residences and skyscraper office suites; or anywhere in Grand Central Station or the covered passages of Paris.

The Vintage Industrial Scissors Wall Light is another of Get Back Inc.’s showstoppers. Capable of extending from 19 to 41 inches, this wall lamp uses the scissor mechanism often seen in old cartoons, wherein there is generally a gloved fist at the end. The shade is that classic, bygone green once scattered throughout grand libraries. With a chain pull and visible wiring, the Vintage Industrial Scissors Lamp obviously belongs in a mad scientist’s laboratory. Short of that (mad scientists being hard to come by these days), put this lamp in a wine bar so the bartender can read wine labels or in an architecture firm so the draftsman can illuminate intricate blueprints. For designs with a similar “vintage industrial” aesthetic, 3rings readers might also find Relic Design’s Vanity of interest too.

Get Back Inc. is located in Oakville, CT. Besides their large showroom, they maintain a 20,000 sq. ft. warehouse with who knows what ancient parts waiting to be crafted into usable furniture and objects. Should they make it out to Colorado, I can show the company some excellent old mines to pillage.