Christian Nickum’s parents founded Rocky Mountain Hardware in the Wood River Valley in 1994 with just a few designs. For the past 30 years, this family-owned business has become the industry leader in the architectural hardware niche. Christian has worked in all aspects of the business, from the foundry to the executive division and as president since 2003. But his passion lies in the production, and he is constantly researching new and innovative ways to streamline processes as well as increase the in-house capabilities of Rocky Mountain Hardware. Christian’s proudest accomplishment is continuing his parent’s legacy and maintaining this international business from Southern Idaho, where he lives to work and play. See these beautiful designs in today’s Maker Monday.
The sleek, minimalistic design of the Linear Chandelier gives any room ample lighting without sacrificing space or style.
Andrew Joseph: Can you describe your design philosophy in three words?
Christian Nickum: Simple, functional and practical.
AJ: Can you tell us about a design trend you are excited about?
CN: Mountain Modern and the recirculation of traditional Bronze/Brass finishes. The Mountain Modern design trend plays straight into Rocky Mountain Hardware’s wheelhouse for our designs and manufacturing style and the materials we produce from.
AJ: How do you stay creative and inspired?
CN: I really enjoy getting out of the office and into the spaces and community with which we do business. Whether it is a project we have recently worked on, an industry trade show or a visit with our distribution, I always find that we can add additional value and products to projects. Clients often struggle to find a source that can provide the complementary finishes they envision, making it even more essential for us to remain inspired and creative in finding solutions.
These oversized, circular drawer pulls in brushed metal add a bold, sculptural touch to the warm wood vanity.
AJ: What is your favorite aspect of your job?
CN: I love to be able to bring ideas to life!! Whether it is my own, someone from my team or a client, it is very rewarding to start from scratch and brainstorm the design and manufacturing process to bring a vision to reality – then see the joy and excitement from our entire team and especially the customer.
AJ: How do you incorporate sustainability into your designs?
CN: Well, it’s simple with the process and materials we use to produce our hardware. Our bronze alloys are 100% recycled material and our manufacturing process is very clean/green. We have a green-sand foundry, recycle all of our machining scrap, use green house cleaning methods and our corporate headquarters and the last third of our production process are housed in a LEED Gold Certified facility. All of our manufacturing takes place in the state of Idaho.
Simple, black metal hooks add a subtle yet functional contrast against weathered wood paneling.
AJ: How do you balance functionality and aesthetics in your designs?
CN: When using bronze as our primary medium to produce with, it is fairly simple – the bronze alloys speak for themselves in terms of aesthetics. All we need to do is add a touch of elegance to each design, which is done during our design review process for each and every part. After that, the functionality is the primary basis in every aspect of creating beautiful functional hardware.
AJ: How do you approach designing for a client with a specific style in mind?
CN: This can often be a bit tricky — oftentimes we’ll get approached by the client with an opportunity and need to delicately direct them in a way that ultimately gets them what they had imagined in their “minds-eye” but utilizing our strengths and manufacturing methods. Frequently it is an educational process on finishes and dimensional aspects of the individual design of the parts or aesthetics.
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