Brandon Gore welding a custom steel rod table base in an MCM mid century modern style.
Brandon Gore working on a fabric formed concrete wall and countertop for Green Restaurant in Downtown Phoenix.
Brandon Gore with his dog.
The Gore Family at the lake.
Nolen Niu, Common, and Brandon Gore at the premiere of the TV show Framework, by Spike TV.
Brandon Gore with his son while on vacation.
The Gore family enjoying a day at the lake.
The CALX Cabin, a rammed earth modern cabin built by Brandon Gore and published by Dwell Magazine.
Brandon Gore and his son swimming in a lake.
Brandon Gore, Nolen Niu, and Common, for the TV Show FRAMEWORK on Spike TV
GFRC Concrete Wall panel cladding at the Gore Design Co. studio.
Brandon Gore casting GFRC concrete countertop.
Brandon Gore, speaking at a TEDx event in Phoenix, Arizona.
Brandon Gore, sitting on a custom wood and steel bench made for Hard Goods.
Brandon Gore, Common, and Nolen Niu discussing furniture design for an episode of the TV show FRAMEWORK on Spike TV.
A look at the primary bath at the CALX Cabin, showing the custom oak wardrobes, cabinetry, and custom concrete sink, with a rammed earth wall in the background.
Brandon Gore and Sean Hunter mixing up GFRC concrete for a custom concrete sink.
Brandon Gore pumping concrete into a fabric form for a cast in place wall and countertop.
A look inside the rammed earth CALX Cabin, a modern house in Eureka Springs.
Brandon Gore speaking at a TEDx event in Phoenix, holding a remote control in his hands.
Inside the rammed earth Gore Design Co. and Hard Goods studio.
Brandon Gore casting a white GFRC UHPC Concrete Countertop.
Brandon Gore looking at a freshly cast fabric formed wall and countertop for a restaurant in Phoenix AZ.
The inside of the rammed earth CALX Cabin showing a modern bedroom with a bed, two white nightstands, abstract black and white artwork, and a large mirror on the wall.
Nolen Niu, Common, and Brandon Gore on the set of FRAMEWORK, a furniture design competition created by SPIKE TV.
Brandon Gore working on crafting 2 custom white concrete Erosion Sinks.
Brandon Gore sitting at a white concrete conference table, working on design drawings.
Brandon Gore standing behind the white concrete fabric formed conference table, cast with GFRC.
Interior view of a rammed earth modern home with a concrete wall, wooden bookshelf filled with books and decorative items, and a kitchen area with a island and barstools, with a sliding glass door leading outside.

The Story Behind the Work.

I started Gore Design Co. back in 2004 with nothing more than curiosity, grit, and the kind of stubbornness you need when you don’t know what you’re doing. Truth is, I had no plan. I learned by pouring, breaking, failing, and trying again. Every cracked piece, every long night, shaped the techniques that ended up changing the craft of artisan concrete. GFRC. Fabric forming. The way people think about concrete furniture and sinks today is different because of those experiments back then.

The road wasn’t smooth. When the housing market crashed, I nearly lost everything. I moved into the shop, built a loft above the office, and lived there for a year just to keep the lights on. Concrete company after concrete company folded in Phoenix. Somehow, I was still standing. When the dust settled, I was the only one left, and work started finding its way back through the door.

Through it all, I kept saying yes to the chances that came my way. Judging a TV show. Giving a TEDx talk on originality in design. Building pieces that stretched what concrete could be. Those moments were milestones, sure, but the real satisfaction was always in the work itself - and in watching attendees from Concrete Design School carry those ideas into their own shops and careers.

Life shifted. I moved east to the Ozarks, built a rammed earth shop and cabin, and started a family with Erin. Three kids came along, and that land shaped us as much as we shaped it. Eventually, we let it go for a new season of life in Wichita, Kansas. We bought a 100 year old house, turned a dilapidated industrial building into a new studio, and that’s where every Gore Design Co. and Hard Goods piece is made today.

Along the way, I partnered with my good friend of two decades, Jon Schuler, to launch Kodiak Pro Materials. Together, we’ve been raising the bar for what concrete can be. From crystalline silica-free mixes that are healthier for makers, to non-toxic sealers that actually hold up in the real world - Kodiak Pro has become an extension of the same belief that’s guided my design work all along: make it stronger, make it healthier, make it last.

Now, more than twenty years in, I’m still at it. Still shaping each project with care. Still teaching. Still chasing ideas bigger than myself. These days, that includes The Outlier Hotel in Eureka Springs - a venture that carries the same spirit as every sink, every table, every workshop before it. The scale changes, but the mission stays steady: make things that matter, things that endure, things I’m proud of.

With love,

Brandon Gore