This dates back to 2013. The "before" pic of our fireplace was as the original owners had it. When they bought the house there were no shelves, only a rough-hewn, dark-stained fir mantel. They were unacquainted w/ brothers hammer & saw and built a really cheesy shelf system of dark-stained pine using no joinery or braces, only nails. We took down the shelf system before we had our ceilings de-popcorned. When that was done, we decided to replace the mantel. Eric Prochnow of World of Moulding, Santa Ana, designed and fabricated a new one of clear red oak. I stained, varnished & finished it w/ rotten stone & combo carnuba and beeswax. A friend who does home improvements installed it for us. We liked the look so much, we decided to do a new shelf system. I designed it, my friend fabricated the top plate & columns, I stained, varnished & finished it, then he installed it. The architectural carvings are Dubois from Hardware Resources. The painting was done by h.s. friend who is an art teacher. It's the home where my mother and her brother spent their summers after their father was killed in '33 during a robbery of his business. The pottery was done by my sister-in-law. These are seconds. Her best was sold through studios in Tucson.