Oct. 27--Christopher Plummer is fascinated with patterns -- in nature, in ancient architecture, in everyday life. He studies their structure and meaning, and replicates and creates them.

They're inked on his skin from wrists to shoulders and form the basis of his two businesses: Metallo Arts and Valley Tin Works.

"Patterns are pervasive, and viral," he said.

Plummer grew up in Tanzania and returned to the States to go to art school in Boston. His first job out of school was working for a well-known paint-and-plaster restoration company based in New York City.

For fun, he made abstract art, eventually incorporating scraps of metal into his designs. He began developing paint finishes that work on metal and researching the history of the

designs. As a result, he became somewhat of an expert on both subjects.

Four years out of college, he quit his job and bought a 600-ton 1860 drop-hammer metal press for $500.

The catch was that it couldn't be moved, so Plummer settled in Houston and began pressing chromium-plated steel and zinc for ceilings, back splashes and decorative art.

"I gravitate toward things that take a lot of time and effort to do," he said. "(Back then) I had nothing but time."

He did a lot of restoration work, examining patterns he encountered on each job and replicating some to add to his product line. At times, it took a bit of detective work to figure out how and why a craftsman in the 1500s made something a certain way and how to

restore it.

Plummer also enjoyed the challenge of developing paints for his metalwork that he could guarantee for life and doing what some call impossible -- welding pewter and zinc.

Five years ago, he moved to York County (his wife is from northern Maryland) and began working out of a nondescript building at the intersection of country roads in Glenville. It's now the headquarters for both Metallo Arts and Valley Tin Works, neither of which do much -- if any -- business in York

County but have had customers as far away as Australia and the Middle East. Inside the large workshop, a handful of employees solder and paint and keep sheets of metal organized according to the pattern pressed into it.

In the center sits a showcase of Plummer's favorite pieces and what he guesses could be the world's most expensive range hood -- the front of a 1957 Chevy complete with working headlights, valued at $64,000 that he displayed at the International Kitchen and Bath Show. The lobby, Plummer's office ceiling, and even a bathroom wall are covered with the company's work.