Piscataway, NJ • What makes the difference between an ordinary knob or cabinet handle, and something very special? In the case of one high-end design studio, a major point of difference is polishing with ceramic tumbling media.
“Sóko’s products are known the world over for their exceptional quality, but very few of our clients know exactly what it takes to achieve their beautiful finish,” says Cari Sokoloff, who is based in the company’s main facilities in San Francisco. “We actually use polishing media made of ceramic grit, and a special polishing process we developed with the help of Kramer Industries.”
Kramer Industries is a leading supplier of cleaning and polishing media, related chemical compounds, and the vibrating and tumbling equipment specifically designed to take on dozens of cleaning tasks. Kramer’s line of polishing grit includes everything from recycled bottle glass to granulated corncob and walnut shells, and they work closely with manufacturers to develop time-saving methods of cleaning and polishing surfaces less abrasively and with little if any environmental impact.
Founded in 1997 by San Francisco designer and sculptor Cari Jaye Sokoloff, Sóko designs and manufactures several highly sought after sculptural collections of decorative hardware and accessories. “There was a time when we did all our polishing by hand,” says Sokoloff. “The people at Kramer helped us transition from hand polishing by identifying the right machinery and polishing media we needed to get the exact finish we sought.”
Instead of elbow grease, Sóko now uses a regular supply of ceramic media from Kramer Industries. According to Steven Schneider, sales manager of Kramer Industries, “Our people spent a good bit of time helping the folks at Sóko decide on the right size media, and the right combination of grit and polishing compound to achieve their finishes. It’s been our pleasure to help them produce such an exceptional line of custom knobs, pulls and handles,” says Schneider. “In fact, when their operation was in need of additional equipment and supplies to accommodate an imminent expansion a few years back, we made it our business to immediately supply them with everything they needed to continue working their magic and to keep up with the growing number of orders they were receiving from across the country and around the world.”