Rustic Lighting Brings Authentic Style to Brewery Expansion
Craft breweries often rise from a home brewing hobby, but for Matt Richardson, the start of his brewing business began in the fields sowing and harvesting hops. In 2007, he and wife Kara founded Ocean State Hops, Rhode Island’s first commercial hop farm. Regional brewers loved having a local source for hops, but the New England climate only allowed only limited yields so Kara and Matt expanded to brewing.
“The hops business was a cool entry into the brewing business,” says Tanner, director of business operations for Tilted Barn Brewery. “This brewery is located on a family farm where Kara’s grandparents lived.” The brewery opened in 2014 in an old barn on the farm but they needed more space as the business grew. In early 2020, the couple started building a new post-and-beam barn on the property. Then the pandemic shut everything down.
“But the foundation was already laid, so they kept going,” Tanner explains. “It actually got done quicker because other jobs the contractor had got delayed. We had a soft opening in November 2020, the week before Thanksgiving. We wanted that old barn feeling, rustic but nice with a clean look.”
The Richardsons worked with Frank Karpowicz Architects to design and build the new structure which replaced the original “tilted barn” on the farm property.
“Our direction was to provide a barn-like environment but be warm and comfortable in the tasting room,” Frank says. “We thought Barn Light Electric fixtures were appropriate because they are a nice blend of industrial which is the brewing part of it, and barn style which suits the farm.” The firm worked with Apex Lighting Solutions, one of Barn Light’s commercial reps, to source gooseneck lights, wall sconces, and pendants for the new barn.
The exterior of the structure is highlighted with 14 Wilcox LED Deep Bowl Gooseneck Lights. These handcrafted wall lights feature 12″ shades, a powder coat Black finish, and G15 gooseneck arms.
“The Black finish and the G15 gooseneck arms were the ideal design to go with the black window finish,” Frank explains. “They look great against the natural cedar siding.”
Inside, customers are greeted by an expansive room with a 30-foot ceiling, exposed beams, and plenty of warm wood. The designers working on this project opted for the same Wilcox shade for the interior space but with larger 20″ shades.
“Given the 30-foot ceiling height, equally important to shape, function, efficiency, and American made was finding a fixture that was large enough to be the correct scale,” Frank says. “The 20” Wilcox Pendant Lights are the perfect size for the large room and provide the light needed at table height. The black finish and cords keep the fixtures neutral relative to the timber frame structure we were trying to accentuate.”
The long bar is a popular spot and Kara wanted something special to highlight the space. She chose the Fargo Pendant Light in stunning Raw Copper as the perfect eye-catching fixture. Hand spun from solid copper, these pendants also feature black-and-white cloth cords and Galvanized cups and paddle switches.
To provide accent lighting throughout, Frank and his team of designers chose the compact Bowie Wall Sconce. These American-made wall lights sport 8″ shades and the same Black powder coat finish as the Wilcox Pendants overhead.
“These work well as wall wash lighting to highlight the merchandise, and we also mounted these to the fir structural posts to highlight them,” Frank says. “We love all of these fixtures. They are appropriate and look perfectly awesome!”
