Vitra's always been one of those companies I have always respected and hope to one day work with. This film captures the excitment that is: Vitra.
The Colorado Table, 2015.
The Colorado Table
The Colorado Table has been in the works for about a year. I've done an live edge table project before but have resisted since then because it's so prevalent. There are so many great ideas on how the tables legs should be done that I didn't think there was a need for me to jump in. The Colorado Table, however, was different. I had heard about beatle-kill pine before from a friend at MOLD. She showed me photos of the wood grain and I was hooked.
The problem for me was that I don't usually work with pine. While pine wood is a ubiquitous material to work with in the construction industry, it is not in the fine woodworking segment that I "grew up" with. For one, it gums up woodworking tools and moves unpredictably even after drying and finishing. One day, while browsing through my local lumber yard, I came across this slab and had to have it.
This beatle-kill pine lab sat in storage for about a year since I brought it back to the shop. I kept puzzling over what I should do with it; which side of the slab should display? Since it came from the Black Forest Fire, the slab's live edge still retained some of the charred remains. What ever I end up with, the other features should not distract from its natural character...
I relented. It was going to be a coffee table and its legs should not visually over power the top. This Colorado Table features a detachable base that can be folded up for transportation. The top's corners around rounded so that accidental bumps would not cause serious injury.
And, the underside of the table is engraved with the origin of the slab so that we will always remember how it came to be.
Happy Holidays!
It's that time of the year again; Noola and I found ourselves on a long road trip to see some family via roads we haven't travelled before.
First thing to see was the Big Texan in Amarillo, TX, famous for the 72 oz. steak challenge where one has to finish the extra extra large steak, shrimp cocktail, baked potato, salad, roll and butter, in an hour. The meal is free if the challenger finishes in time, otherwise the meal is USD$72. Amarillo, is also famous to me because one of my best friends who is Texan to the core grew up there.
Noola not being co-operative for the photoshoot in Amarillo, TX
Our second must see was the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, AL. The monument was designed by Maya Lin, whose work I had considered when I was writing my thesis at Pratt. The use of black-granite expresses the bold gravity of the issue. It hard not to think about the Civil Rights movement these days with the unfortunate incidents involving African Americans and the Police. Driving through Selma, AL with the pending release of Selma also reinforces thoughts.
Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, AL - inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.: "... until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."
It's really a sobering moment in the world with all the tension within the US and also all around the world. Hopefully 2015 will be better. Happy holidays everyone, and have a fruitful new year!
-David
Stanchions
Earlier in the fall, a client wanted to replace their stanchions that kept visitors from touching some expensive marble carvings with some thing more minimal and more suitable for their environment. Here are the results!
Hopefully I will have photos of them in its new home soon. The ropes are being fabricated soon.
Peliships with more depth
Just finished a custom piece for a customer where the depth is about 8-inches, which is almost twice the normal depth. Custom order yours today through Etsy!!
Hello Colorado!
After packing up three locations, driving 27+ hours, closing on a new home, followed by DIY renovations, we're finally ready to open up our new doors for business! ... sort of... we're still unpacking boxes and we need to renovate the workshop. It's been quite a learning process.
We have also been exploring our new surroundings, enjoying the outdoors and in awe of the breath taking skies. No, really, it's not just the lack of oxygen at 5000+ ft above sea level.
I've found myself just staring at the sky sometimes because the layers of clouds moving at different speeds are so much more noticeable, and sometimes the entire sky turns orange during sunsets. It's simply amazing. The other phenomenon that baffles is the weather. The locals say one can almost set the time by the daily rain. What they didn't say is the accompanying lighting and thunder, which our company dog does not appreciate.
A night at Red Rock Amphitheater with NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me".
Coloradans love the outdoors and it shows. We really appreciated a fun night at the Red Rock Amphitheater with NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me". We saw them at Carnegie Hall in New York, but it's a whole other experience at Red Rock. We can't wait to go back and enjoy other outdoor activities Colorado has to offer.
A funny occurrence we've found ourselves in is the fact that we visit our local Lowes store almost every day. From the aisles of sheet rock and insulation, to the appliances and out to their gardening yard, we've probably gotten advice from every Lowes employee. It's a little embarrassing as they are starting to recognize us. This is definitely sometime we're not use to coming from NYC, but I must admit it's kind of nice.
We can’t wait to start working again now that all the departments are at one place. Let’s begin!
Colorado plains and mountains
Colorado, here we come!
After almost 15 years living in New York, learning as much as I could about as many topics as I could handle, I am happy to announce that we are moving to Colorado! Starting June 1st, we will close down our offices and workshop and unite them in our new space in the coming days. It is my hope that we will resume business by July 15th. We are sorry we will not be able to fulfill any orders until then.
In the meantime, we just finished developing the KT Media Console. We will start taking orders for these starting August, 2014.
Thank you. -David
What would you do (design) if you could do (design) anything?
A couple of nights ago, I heard segment on Marketplace.org regarding American Industrial Design. It's not often that I hear design stories on a business/economics radio show so this report piqued my attention. It's a two part report:
Part 1: Two obsessed guys and a radical motorcycle design
Part 2: A motorcycle design for the history books
It features JT Nesbitt, designer of Confederate Motocycles (2005), now Lead Designer of Bienville Studios, Jim Jacoby, founder of ADMCi - American Design and Master-Craft Initiative, and the Bienville Legacy concept motorcycle.
What attracted me to ADMCi is one of their vision statements:
Celebrate gifted individuals and small teams who achieve levels of aesthetic, technological and commercial success commensurate with large corporations without the smothering effects of inbred corporate structure or manipulation from the financial sector.
though, their other visions are definitely what we need more of in the design industry. I believe it's this kind of thinking that will bring about innovation America needs.