Annie Kantor
Founder, Modern Metal
Annie Kantor earned her B.F.A. in Textile Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. She honed her craft working in the contract textile industry designing woven upholstery and panel fabrics, serving as Head of Custom Studio at Maharam.
While tackling the renovation of a period home in Oakland, Annie become frustrated by the lack of enticing designs in metal. She saw an opportunity to apply her expertise in repeating-pattern design and developed a line of custom metal work that blossomed into Modern Metal.
She now brings a full array signature designs in the form of grilles, heat registers, vents, and custom metal doors and panels to architects and interior designers nationwide through Modern Metal.
Jessica Willits, Project Manager
Educated in business and marketing, Jessica started her career in social media and search engine optimization. For the last nine years, she has found her professional home in the design industry. By marrying her love of all things digital with the technicalities of design work, she thrives in her role as Project Manager for Modern Metal. Jessica’s experience specific to the steel industry is a perfect match for the Modern Metal team – and her organizational skills aren’t too shabby either!
Nichole Hamann, Operations Manager
Nichole blends her background in administration, accounting and customer service into her role as Operations Manager at Modern Metal. Nichole most recently worked for Land Rover, coordinating shipping vehicles across the country and worldwide, and running the luxury rental department. Nichole impressively home schools her four darling daughters in Colorado, and in her spare time pursues her hobby in quail farming! Nichole keeps our operations running smoothly which is not a small feat and is motivated because she loves to see our designs pop up in new and unexpected places.
A combination of function and works of art
Annie Kantor’s registers are both a combination of function and works of art. Her unique designs compliment both traditional and modern homes and add a utilitarian yet decorative element to a wall or floor. I am thrilled to be using her beautiful registers in my client’s new construction home in Woodside.
She is also wonderful to work with; gracious, dedicated and enjoys the collaborative process of working with designers. I would recommend her and her products with complete enthusiasm.
Annie’s patience, willingness and ability to understand my aesthetics
Annie’s patience, willingness and ability to understand my aesthetics along with her creativity and resourcefulness always make it pleasant to collaborate – not to mention her sincere kind heart and service created final products that show both of our passions!!
At once elegant and fun, beautiful and unusual
We hired Modern Metal to design a metal grill for our heating system. The grill sits smack in the middle of our front hall, and it is one of the first thing anyone coming into the house sees. It was thus important to us that it be in keeping with the design of the rest of the house. The trick is, we live in a Craftsman home which we’ve decorated in a kind of quirky Danish Modern style. The designer immediately understood what we were going for, and came up with a fabulous design for the grill. It was at once elegant and fun, beautiful and unusual. Striking without being intrusive.
The experience of working with the designer was delightful. She was so thoughtful and considerate, charming and easy to talk to. Everything was completed on time and with the highest of professionalism. Exquisite taste and true professional competence — a rare combination!
