Falling in love with wood grain...

One of the first things I learned when I took up woodworking many years ago was the difference between the grain faces. Of course, today, I'm still not familiar with all the terms but one thing that I did take away is how beautiful grain patterns can be and how that conveys a "truthfulness" to the craft that is woodworking; and by extension, how taking that element to modern furniture design can cultivate a much more honest and organic feel to an otherwise sometimes "cold" aesthetic.

Note how the grains come together on this Small Walnut Peliship.

Note how the grains come together on this Small Walnut Peliship.

My first prototypes are often made with MDF. It's a great inexpensive way to make mistakes. When my second prototype was made with Maple, I was immediately mesmerized by how the grains looked. As I prototyped more, cutting each facet revealed patterns like no other, which is why each Peliship is unique even though the basic idea is the same.

I thought I was the only one that appreciated this organic effect until I met one of the craftsmen who is helping me with the next batch. We ogled over a large maple Peliship for a good 10 minutes the other day. To be quite honest, this idea isn't new. The first hint I had of this was when I worked with white oak. If you ever get a chance. Look at a piece of flat sawn white oak and compare it to rift sawn and then quarter-sawn. I much prefer working with rift and quarter-sawn as it gives furniture a much more modern look. Perhaps it's just my perception of the style but flat sawn is so often seen on older furniture or interior decor. Sapele too has very interesting grain patterns between the sawing techniques.

Sale!!! on the Fancy

For a limited time only, we're offering Peliships - Sets of 3s and Loops & Cheese on the Fancy!

We're so lucky to have been contacted by the Fancy back in 2012 when Desk 117 Concept first debuted at Model Citizens NYC and featured on Moco Loco and Gizmodo. The continued support from the Fancy has made us work harder to make Desk 117 a reality, but in the mean time they've graciously allowed me to sells the Peliships and Loops & Cheese on their site. Please go check out the Fancy. They feature some seriously interesting stuff!

Maple Peliships on Amazon

We're happy to announce that Maple Peliships will soon be added to Amazon's catalog!

Amazon is a great partner for our company because it means our beloved customers can keep purchasing our products when we have to move, a common occurrence for military entrepreneurs.

Just in case you'd like to know about spouse-owned military entrepreneurship, here's an interesting article on Veterans United.