Where a Wine Stain is Welcome
By Gina Dostler
Wood flooring is undergoing a makeover. Lisa Johnson’s Luxury Brand Solution Group designs floors, tables and wine cellars using wine barrels and other reclaimed woods to create an earthy aesthetic. Her wine barrel works can be seen in several Newport Beach businesses and elsewhere.
Q: Wine barrel flooring is becoming ever more popular.
A: Everything is going green these days with sustainability a key component in lowering our footprint in this world. Wine barrels create one-of-a-kind unique wood floors that are not only beautiful, but repurpose a product, the empty wine barrels. The look is naturally rustic with stunning rich colors and radiance. The bulk of my work is with wine barrels. But I also use nautical timbers or reclaimed barn wood, as well as other woods such as hickory and walnut shipped from Kentucky.
Q: What parts of the barrel are used?
A: Actually every part is used. There is the outer barrel or stave. The inner parts of the red wine barrels are called infusion and are stained from the wine creating beautifully red to burgundy wood. And the cooperage is the outside portion of the barrelhead that carries the distinct markings of each barrel identifying its original contents. Even the metal parts I use for making wine racks and wine cellars. Nothing is wasted.
Q: Where do your wine barrels come from?
A: I source from all over the U.S., mostly from Napa and Paso Robles. My last batch came from Temecula. It’s actually become a very competitive market in the past two years. Wine barrels usually get one to two turns on them before they are discarded and sold. With the rise in whiskey bars, I’m now competing with whiskey people for the barrels. The whiskey makers like the barrels because they’ve already been through the long process of curing. But whiskey doesn’t have the same turn-around time as wine does. Their stuff ages in the barrels for years.
Q: But you’ve turned this around for your own benefit.
A: Even though the prices in barrels have doubled, my new venture is in making tabletops and floorings out of the whiskey barrels. Sports bars love the idea of promoting whiskey barrels in their business right now.
Q: How did you get into this business?
A: I actually came in as Rick Merwin’s accountant for his company, Fontenay Woods. For 10 years I learned the business from A to Z. I can install the flooring, build the cellars, and know all the vendors. Last year he decided he wanted to look for a new venture and I took over his business. I really love this industry and everything it entails.
Q: Do you still build?
A: Not any more. I do the designing, from flooring to wine racks and cellars. I have staff that I turn over my designs to and they build them for me. Everything we do is custom and I think that is one of the fun aspects of the job. Going out, listening to my client’s ideas and creating them for their homes or business.
Q: Many people have seen your work but might not know it.
A: I’ve done several places around Newport and Laguna. Last year I finished The Winery Restaurant and Wine Bar in Newport Beach where the old Villa Nova once stood. All the wood floors are mine, wine bar tables and I designed the wine racks. I not only used the inside of the red barrels for the gorgeous color, but designed the metal that originally wrapped the barrel into the racks. And it is all encased in glass. It took four weeks and I used over 1,000 barrels for that job.
Q: Any place else?
A: Ecco Restaurant at The Camp in Costa Mesa. All the tables are mine and were custom made from the hull of a boat. I did the Miramonte in Temecula using local barrels. Locally, I have done Flemings in Fashion Island, which has a mix of French and Napa barrels throughout their wine bar. I also work with Breitling to provide a custom proprietary walnut flooring for their watch boutiques all over the world. The last one I did was in Aruba. I travel quite a bit, two to three weeks a month, but I truly enjoy what I do.
Q: Do you work residential?
A: I have many jobs on the residential side. I just finished one up in Laguna Beach where I put in reclaimed barn wood for beams and flooring in an entertainment room. I also created a coffee table for a local doctor’s home. If you have an idea, I can design it and build it whether it is residential or commercial.
Q: What’s a day in the life of Lisa?
A: I’m up by 5:30 a.m., sift through emails, go to office to check on production then start on my sales with job walks and meeting with designers, contractors and finally wrapping up everything by 5 p.m. It’s a full day. And I love it.
Lisa Johnson
Luxury Brand Solution Group by LB Mfg
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714 487-1721
lisa@luxurybrandsg.com
www.luxurybrandsg.com
