Custom Furnishings

Refined upcycling -

For the better part of a decade I have been saving logs from the landfill. I custom mill logs in-situ with a portable chainsaw mill and my PriusTruck. In addition to being hyper local, the lumber often features rare and unique figure unavailable through larger lumber suppliers. If you have downed timber and would like to give it another life please contact me.

The Fire Lily

A firestand for nearly anywhere

Fire Lily is a portable firestand that lets you have a beautiful fire just about anywhere. Cook, gather, warm or just tune out to old fashioned 'cave-man tv'... Made of durable stainless steel, the stand will safely hold fires for years and years. When you are done, The Fire Lily cools quickly and easily packs into a rugged case that is roughly the size of a violin.

Space Way Desk:

An ergonomic desk designed with micro-housing in mind. Desk can fold away flat for storage.

Easily adjustable between sitting and standing heights. Fully adjustable tilt for proper ergonomics.
Articulated with high quality locking gas springs: light touch, quick adjustments, no electricity required.
Folds away flat against the wall for storage.
Optional Drawer holds just enough supplies.

Inspired by the Japanese concepts of:

間 Ma : Space, Void, Interval,

and

道 Do: Way, Practice, Discipline

Technology and Craft: Making in the Digital Age

Solving a Resonance Problem for Otolith Labs

Otolith Labs has developed a highly effective treatment for motion sickness. During trials however it became clear that their device enclosure was having resonance issues: the units were buzzing. I was hired to re-engineer the case for quieter function. Through materials experimentation and design modifications, I developed an improved quiet enclosure with a polished, professional appearance. . As Otolith began to approach investors I was hired again to produce a run of public-ready prototypes. Being locally based and committed to excellence, I was able to provide in-person design meetings, rapid turnaround, and a lower cost than the client’s prior out-of-state 3-D print service.

Check out Otolith - https://www.otolithlabs.com

Flipping Gravity for Climate Change Action

Science journalist Eli Kintisch wanted to make a short video about climate change and he wanted gravity to go wonky. To achieve the effect he needed a movie set that could be fully inverted, with actors, lights, scenery and camera rigidly attached, and he needed it by next Wednesday. Eli had tried a number of fabricators before finding me. The few that would even quote a price were exorbitantly expensive, the rest simply laughed.
As a professional maker, solving interesting problems is what I live for; naturally I took the job. Working with Eli, I rapidly developed a design based on standard building materials. After a few long days in the shop, we had a proper mechanized movie set: our scene was anchored to an M5X10 I-beam suspended on a beefy axle through industrial pillow bearings. Hanging roughly 7 feet above floor height, the beam and all attached scenery could be inverted with the tallest components just clearing the floor. Our final safety tests concluded just in time for filming, less than one week after accepting the job.
In the video a couple debates climate change at the breakfast table. Pancakes fall up off the table, syrup pours sideways and sausage links stand on end. The film was selected as a finalist for the 2017 Global Poverty competition sponsored by VidCon, CrowdRise and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For our efforts, the contest awarded $100k to Oxfam to be used for global efforts to support people most vulnerable to effects of climate change.

See the video here - Back to Earth, Back to Reality

Even seemingly mundane scraps under the bench can transform into sparkly, stunning and functional objects. Cutting at specific orientation to the grain exposes medullary ray cells. These are the iridescent stripes that appear on the lid, and on facets of the case. Walnut with friction fitting Birch lid. Natural oil finish.
Crafted for pleasingness.

Birch leftover from the original Minna Chair prototype, hand harvested and milled north of Brewer Maine
Walnut milled from arborist prunings at the Halloween house in Alexandria Virginia

 A client hired me to create a new side table to match a beloved antique. The original was modest- made of softwood, no drawer- yet elegant in its simplicity and clean lines. It bore the marks of well made furniture. The leg joints had been pinned for extra durability, and the top planks were shiplap joined. A well developed patina and numerous repairs showed that the piece had served multiple owners well.
This would be something of a treat.

To source my stock, I reached out to my favorite local supplier Abernethy Sticks. Joe Abernethy was able to cut what I needed from a salvaged beam. Though the lumber was freshly cut and planed, it still showed the character and depth of color acquired during its former life.
I built the replica to the dimensions and aesthetic of the original, carrying through joinery, hand tooled surfaces and natural oil finish. I made sure not to polish out all of my scribe lines and plane bites - these help tell the story of the piece and how it was made.
When I delivered the finished piece I was struck for a moment looking at the two side by side.

They were twins born generations apart. I could see the better part of a century in both directions through time; what the new piece would become, and how the original had once looked, fresh from its maker.
What an honor to participate in this living tradition.

 The story of these cutting boards began one morning when I awoke to the sound of nearby chainsaws. A city crew had dropped a Ginkgo tree across the street. This is common in cities. Ginkgos are one of the oldest and most resilient tree species. With high resistance to pests and pollution (and pretty leaves that drop like a colorful snow in autumn!) Gingkos are a natural choice for urban plantings. The fruit however is abundant and putrid, carpeting the drop zone beneath the tree and making a stinking slippery mess of any nearby surfaces. Hence it is not uncommon for the city ginkgos to be cut down shortly after they reach sexual maturity. Which is why, laying on the pavement in front of my house was a fresh ginkgo trunk ready to be chopped and chipped. I had no idea if the wood was good for anything but I took a chance and asked the work crew if they would leave the lower trunk for me. They kindly helped me drag it into my front yard.
Milling went quickly. Some logs are so spectacular when first opened that I yell out loud in astonishment, this log was not that. When I finished I was looking at a pile of lumber that was unremarkable - save for its yellow hue - and soft. Fuck, I thought. Since the cost was already sunk, I resolved myself to neatly stack, sticker and dry the wood.

After the requisite drying time (~1 year per inch of board thickness) I re-examined the wood. The color had evened out to a buttery gold and the smell of the lumber itself, unlike the fruit, was quite pleasant! A little bit of research revealed that Japanese makers commonly used Ginkgo for cutting boards. The softness of the wood is gentle on blades, particularly those of razor honed Japanese knives and provides good bite for controlled cutting. Natural oils within the wood work to prevent stains - an early user reported that even red wine left on the surface overnight could be wiped off easily. My salvaged pile of lumber was ideal for cutting boards. With a little work I was able to make packaging that was 100% up cycled as well. The cardboard is from clean used shipping boxes and the belly band is from discarded maps. Lettering was laser engraved therefore no ink was necessary.

 The Page Chair was made as a gift for my dear friend who generously donated his basement to me as a place to live and work while I established myself in DC. I saw this chair in my mind two or three years before I figured out how to make it real. The chair features a Ginkgo wood seat, from a tree that grew on the street where we lived. To achieve the floating back slats and cantilevered two legged design required most of everything I knew about woodwork and a fair bit of dreaming beyond

.

 Paradigm One is a startup working to eliminate waste from to-go food containers by creating reusable alternatives. We worked together to produce a return kiosk that could withstand the elements, drop in nearly anywhere, and provide secure and touch free return of the containers. The pilot program is running out of Takoma Bev Co on a very picturesque main street. The kiosk was deigned to fit in with its surroundings, while also generating interest.

 I was contacted by someone who needed a custom sectional built for his home. He had proportions like no one I had worked with before. He had never had a seat that fit him well. I built a fully adjustable fitting jig and we worked together to find his ideal seat dimensions. The end result was a spacious sofa with plenty of room for friends and family. When seated everyone including the client is at the same eye level.