Bob Miller’s grandfather fabricated this downspout back in the early 1900′s. It’s a perfect example of what a skilled man can do with sheet metal, and it’s way better than any gutters you’ll see commonly used on homes today.
This is what I call “art in the everyday” -- a celebration of what craftsmen can do to bring beauty to an everyday item.
A costly adornment for your home, true. But I hold that it’s far better to have quality rather than quantity. Better to scrimp and save so that you might surround yourself with beauty, because I believe that sense of quality, that reaching for more than simply mediocre, rubs off on you.
All around the world, and in your own corner of it, there are craftsman desperately seeking new customers. Every day is a struggle to keep the lights on, and far too many of them pass on into that good night, their skills and experience lost forever. Seek them out, support their trades so that there will be another generation of them in the future. Together, we can usher in a new age where fine craftsmanship once again is the norm, not a relic of a time long gone.