Robert Hendrick
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ARTIST STATEMENT
In retrospect it might seem genetically predetermined that Robert Hendrick would end up creating functional objects out of steel and wood. Robert’s grandfather owned a foundry in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee. Robert’s father began his professional life as a carpenter’s assistant, and it became his lifelong hobby that he passed along to his son and shares with him to this day as the two men driving the creations of Rail Yard Studios.
“Where you come from determines where you go.”
-Robert Hendrick
A few years after getting his Bachelors and Master of Arts degree in Industrial Design, Robert purchased a railroad contracting company. Today he combines salvaged railroad materials with a documentable history with other authentic railroad components. Most of the work bears the markings of names like Carnegie, Tennessee Coal & Iron, Illinois Steel, Pennsylvania Steel and Bethlehem Steel with dates reaching back to the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The result is authentic history that is completely “Made in the USA” and crafted in large part by the same hands that work the railroad on a daily basis – honest, hard-working blue-collar laborers.
The work from the studio serves many masters. It provides its patrons with uniquely elegant art. It preserves a small part of railroad history. And it provides part of the livelihood for the men who are part of an industry that has been the backbone of America for over a century.
RAIL YARD STUDIOS
Background
Railroads built America. Railroad history should be preserved alongside the history of the United States, a country establishing its infrastructure during the course of the industrial revolution. Yet much of that history is being lost. Rail lines are disappearing. The tons of steel that traverse the countryside are giving way to “progress.” Aside from unexceptional plaques to commemorate what once was, there is little being done to preserve it.
Rail Yard Studio uses salvaged railroad materials with a documentable history and combines it with other authentic railroad components to create one-of-a-kind functional furnishings – everything from desks and shelving to surprisingly comfortable seating. Rail Yard Studio products prominently bear the historical markings of names like Carnegie, Tennessee Coal & Iron, Illinois Steel, Pennsylvania Steel and Bethlehem Steel with dates reaching back to the late 1800s and early 1900s.
With a demand for authenticity, Rail Yard Studios insists that only true railroad components be integrated into a design. Furthermore, the products the company makes are completely “Made in the USA” and are crafted in large part by the same hands that work the railroad on a daily basis – honest, hard-working blue-collar laborers.
Rail Yard Studios is about preserving railroad heritage in the United States by bringing it home and making it available for future generations. The studio is the byproduct of a modern day railroad maintenance and repair company based in Nashville, Tennessee.
About the Designer
Robert Hendrick, Rail Yard Studios founder and designer, received his undergraduate degree in Industrial Design from Auburn University in 1990 and his Masters of Art in Industrial Design from The Ohio State University in 1993.
A career in business allowed him to realize his dreams of working with the railroad when he purchased a railroad contracting and maintenance firm. While watching his work crews, Robert noted the inherent history of the rail being removed after a century or more of service. He sought a way for that history to be preserved and shared. The result is Rail Yard Studios.