- Cascade Coil Drapery Celebrates 20 Years as Designer of Wire Mesh Fabric - NEW YORK, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- For Cascade Coil, the years of manufacturing and selling wire fencing to Oregon ranchers and farmers is long gone. Since 1986, Portland-based Cascade Coil (www.cascadecoil.com) has a new role in the world, one that took off, oddly enough, on tour with the Rolling Stones when the company's wire mesh was used as part of an elaborate set design for the band's Steel Wheels Tour in 1989. Seen as edgy, sophisticated and ultra chic ever since, this intriguing and versatile wire mesh fabric has been tapped by many of the world's leading architects and interior designers to be featured in a variety of A-list venues including Wolfgang Puck's CUT and sidebar at the Beverly Wilshire, Crobar in Manhattan and the Hilton Tokyo Bay. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070308/NYTH005 ) "The details and material express the modern aspects of design while creating an environment of harmony, tranquility and intimacy," says Nicole Dalton, of the Paul Steelman Design Group, who used the wire mesh in the Shanghai Lilly Restaurant at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. Bold and modern in texture and feel, the wire mesh fabric exudes an airiness, allowing light to enter a space without blocking views or ventilation. The U.S.-made curtains are manufactured of steel, aluminum, copper or stainless steel and come in colors and finishes ranging from natural tin or nickel-plated to bright paints in any color imaginable. In the 20 years since the company was founded by Ron Schoenheit as a spin-off from his family's original fencing and fireplace screen business, Cascade Coil's wire mesh has been featured on HGTV and in the Sunset Magazine Idea House and incorporated in a wide variety of settings, including the Museum of Modern Art bookstore in New York, the set of CSI Miami, the Penthouse Executive Club lounge in New York City, an aviary at the Dallas Zoo and the Doc Martens flagship store in Portland. Restaurants and hotels were the first commercial enterprises to catch on to the flexibility of the wire mesh curtains. Destination spots using Cascade Coil in their interiors include Bobby Flay Steak at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, Spago in Las Vegas, the Drake Hotel in New York, Club Meow in Windsor, the Hyatt Center Chicago and Circolo Restaurant and Lounge in San Francisco. Dava Guthmiller of Noise 13 Design, who created Circolo, says "Light can dramatically change a room's mood-the wire mesh extends that mood into motion." Landscape architects have discovered the resilience of the mesh fabric too. A September 2006 cover story in Garden Design magazine demonstrated the aesthetic use in outdoor spaces. The Dallas Zoo uses the wire mesh as an alterative to other aviary barriers, giving the illusion of space, access to fresh air and easy viewing for both the zoo's visitors and its feathered residents. Currently, thousands of square feet of wire mesh cladding are being installed to enhance the exterior of the Amgen Parking Structure, Helix Campus, in Seattle. And modernist home decorators are discovering the vast array of aesthetic effects that wire mesh fabric offers. Architectural Digest's May 2001 cover story featured Cascade Coil's wire mesh as inventive drapery to protect privacy and also allow the stunning New York City view inside a city pied-a- terre. Cascade Coil is poised to break into the international market, particularly Europe, where they have launched an extensive outreach campaign to design trendsetters. A new line of standardized curtain sizes is being considered, extending Cascade's reach to home decorators. "From my great-grandfather's original fencing business to fireplace screens to cutting-edge interior design, Cascade Coil's rich history is a testament to creativity in motion," says Schoenheit, reflecting on the business, which is still family-owned and operated. "Cascade Coil's wire mesh fabric pushes design outward into a new realm of potential and sophistication."
