THOMAS WOLD

Fashion Furniture 7X7 Magazine

2011-10-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

My Small World Credenza is featured in the current issue (November 2011) of 7 X 7 Magazine. The article, Fashion Furniture, features some other great Bay Area furniture and industrial designers. The photography, modeling, photo styling and fashion is super fun and pop-tastic. Thanks to Leilani Marie Lebong for the invite.

You can see the rest of the article here: http://thomaswold.com/images2/fashion-furniture.pdf

http://www.7x7.com/

Studios Magazine

2011-09-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

A nice article about me from Studios Magazine....

Unlimited Shelf Life

2011-08-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

I have a new show of work up until September 25th at Park Life in San Francisco.

The work is a continuation of my previous designs that are influenced by and incorporate repurposed items but, with a much deeper push into other notions that have helped shaped the direction of my thinking about art and design. The process to fabricate the designs also switched to a more sculptural one as well, the compositions evolved as work progressed. In the end the final shapes were much different from their starting point and that was quite fun to take the journey of discovery with each piece.

Sometime ago it became very apparent that so much of our cities are such a mix of years of style and use. In San Francisco where I spend so much time, house to house, store to store, we can see 120 years of different development side by side, not to mention odd fixes, years of repaint and remodel, advertising and signage, merchandising in store fronts and cultural mash ups. I began to think of all these references as fodder to incorporate and refer.

I thought a lot about scale too, house doors, cabinets and furniture of various scales. And then constructing small houses and apartments with open "lots" of some of the pieces. What if tiny people lived in their as well? Could they travel around the build up? Could each piece feel like a neighborhood too? I set out to explore a lot of these notions with this show and to try to bring the intangible feeling that I'm always after within the work to a greater all interior space as well.

Enjoy the images and please make a trip to Park Life to check it out.

http://www.parklifestore.com/2011/08/02/upcoming-park-life-show-thomas-wold/

Media Furniture: Version 1

2011-06-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a rough first draft for a media and storage wall for a client in San Francisco. The plan is to use very simple material and laminates for the color

Couch Design: Version 1

2011-06-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here is version one of a new couch design for a client in Los Angeles.

Drawing Up Small Plans: new drawings

2011-06-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Barbarella Beauty Lounge
2442 San Pablo Ave (between Channing Way and Dwight Way)
Berkeley, California

opening reception: Friday, June 10 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm

on view till: July 22, 2011

Most folks that know of my work think of me as a furniture maker per se and that is true, but it all starts with imaginings of what might be possible. I do this by way of drawing, lots of drawing. For all the time that it takes to build a piece of furniture, I probably spend more time filling sketch books with ideas and exploring forms and compositions. This show is a small view into this world of exploration and it will be the first time I've presented this aspect of my work as a separate entity apart from the actual built furniture.

Overtime as my process has evolved, I've begun to more and more, see just about everything around as "precharged" notions of sentiment to usurp as building blocks, architecture, interior design, furniture, sculpture, painting, music, decoration, popular culture as well as the natural world are free to reference. Both recognized high design and minor overlooked snippets of things can be combined.

At some point I became aware that I move physically through extreme poor neighborhoods to very moneyed peoples homes and everything in between all through the course of a typical day. At some point it seemed natural to reflect and bring together all these worlds.

Shortly I'm hoping to present more of these drawings at my online store, both original and prints. Most of these drawings are 8 X 10 and sell for $200, archival prints for $40. Feel free to contact me directly if you are interested. I'll keep you posted on my store update. Stop by Barbarella if you are in Berkeley to see the show and set up an appointment at one of the best salons in the Bay Area!
Barbarella's Yelp page

Sweet Danish Credenzas

2011-05-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

A client asked me to design a media storage credenza for their Oakland California bungalow. They were keen on Danish furniture so I used that as jumping off point. Instead of one single piece of furniture, I suggested we create a corner design, this way we could keep the design low and still get a lot of storage.

One goal of the design was to create a very connected feeling even though the two pieces are separate and free standing. In the future they can be used apart from each other and still look great.

The gaps between the doors, line weight of the frame and wood handles along with a touch of color and textured glass, create the simple character for these little buddies. Using a classic danish style as the model, I wanted it to feel updated but not so different.

They final approved design is here. You can order your own too!

SF Fine Art Fair

2011-05-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

"Mystery House" and two other designs will be on view at the SF Fine Art Fair in Fort Mason. Propeller Modern and myself set up a tight living room, lounge space in the mezzanine area with a great view of the bay and the GG Bridge. Stop in if you visit the fair. The show starts Friday and is open through the weekend. artMRKT at the Concourse Exhibition Center is also happening if you want a big art weekend in SF.

http://www.sffineartfair.com/show-information

Furniture Sketching

2011-02-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

Rock Candy

2011-01-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

Rock Candy is a recent commission from a client in San Francisco. She lives quite close to the Seal Rock/ Land's End area which gave me this rock title idea, but with the strong happy colors, it just turned into candy.....

Sea Ranch California 2

2011-01-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a another set from my most recent trip to the Sea Ranch in California. The weather and landscape was quite dramatic this time. It might of been the most mushrooms and waterfalls I've seen in quite awhile.

Tumblr Photo Site

2010-11-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

Slowly I've been trying to gather my photographs into a more curated format. This Tumblr site has a mix of general images that I think relate back and forward to design ideas and inspiration. Also, photographs of various projects and sometimes other artist's photos I like as well.

The image above is a lo-fi i-phone picture of a wall I pass by everyday. The crew that covers graffiti and patches this wall makes very interesting compositions that I believe might be completely unintentional, but who knows?

Take a gander here

thomaswold.tumblr

California Home + Design

2010-11-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

Here is a nice write up in California Home + Design. I would suggest following Shoshana's new blog/column for her special insights.

California Home + Design : Thomas Wold

Sea Ranch California

2010-11-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like a nice long get-away weekend. One of our favorite get-away spots close to the Bay Area along the Pacific Coast is Sea Ranch, in Sonoma County. Sea Ranch in known for a distinct wood clad, architecture style. With a great variety of architects designing within the Sea Ranch way, some structures blend in with nature better than others, but it's easy to find some great designs on a short walk just about anywhere in the development. Exploring is quite a joy on the grassy meadow paths, majestic seashore bluffs and beaches or the thick wooded forests trails. Along the way, homes are thoughtfully placed to highlight the natural pacific coast, it never feels too crowded or overdeveloped. At times, one can forget about the architecture and just focus on the wildlife and crashing waves on the rocks. Read more on Wikipedia >>

We like to rent a house and spend our time hiking, hot tubing, napping and cooking/eating. It's really a nice way to recharge and relax in private. Here are some photos from a morning hike.

Tall Blond Secretary

2010-05-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Recently the nice folks at Adeeni Design Group in San Francisco got a hold of me to help design and fabricate a secretary for one of their interior projects. The client was interested in a "green" redo of their interior, so the new furniture wanted to use as much re purposed and eco material as possible. We started with the idea of my Found Fronts Bookcase as a place to begin. The client and designers like that design and wanted me to begin from the spirit of that piece. From the beginning though we wanted a final shape that was going to be uniform in color to help unify all the random parts into one shape.

The final design grew higher than everyone imagined, but I insured all that the scale was correct and it would fit the space just right. My feeling was that the added height would lend a greater sense of drama and surprise. The open book area tapered in from the sides as it grew so it's height would feel centered and less looming.

The design was composed 100% on the computer and approved prior to any building began, but the final shaped will always get fine tuned and distilled a bit more as it gets fabricated. The final finish was done with a water based pigmented lacquer.

After a few projects now, based on designing with scavenged parts, I try to think if it has any greater meaning other than it's cleaver nature of finding new ways to use the found things around us. In my mind it's beginning to feel like a new design direction that is trying to discover what design IS in a world of shrinking resources. In a Mad Max time what might design look like when the local lumber yard is no longer there? Not that I see this happening in my life, but there may come a time when we need to be a little more creative about where we get and what we use to build the items around us.

Adenni Design Group

New Work at Propeller

2010-05-10T07:43:00.001-07:00

Currently on view at Propeller Modern in San Francisco is an informal showing of some of my work. A new commissioned secretary, the "Family Affair" design, a new dresser , the updated "Come Together" table as well as couple pieces of art.

The secretary will only be on view till Tuesday, May 11th, so if you find yourself in Hayes Valley take a gander. The rest of the work will be there a bit longer.

Hope you can make it by!
TW

Propeller is located at:
555 Hayes Street
San Francisco
415 701 7767
propellermodern.com

The Point of Kings by Markham Johnson

2010-03-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

"Sandpiper Cabin"

For those of you who follow my work and blog, you know that my good friend, photographer/artist Markham Johnson shoots a lot of my projects for me. Without his lens and touch, most of my work can't live on in pictures, so I sing his praises whenever possible. Recently, he published a new series of work called "The Point of Kings" about the Point Reyes National Seashore area in California. If you've never been there, it's one of the most beautiful, rugged and mysterious areas on the West Coast. Having grown up in nearby Southern Marin County, Markham uses his photographic skills and unique eye to capture the character of Point Reyes in a way that no else can. This image is one of my favorites from the series.

Markham Johnson : The Point of Kings

San Rafael California Modern Kitchen

2010-03-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last year I was involved with a remodel project for a Marin County home. The clients were a young family who wanted to update their unchanged ranch-style home from the 1950's. I was hired to develop the new look and function of the kitchen with the architect and homeowners. I also fabricated and installed the new casework. My good friend Sheryl Drinkwater was the architect for the project and Brad Charlstrom was the contractor.

The first image above shows the peninsula section separating the kitchen and dining room. Originally there was a wall and door here. I designed the cooktop vent, Walter Mork Sheet Metal in Berkeley did the fabrication of the Stainless. We decided to not run upper cabinets here and keep the two rooms feeling open and connected.

The big island integrates seating so the room could be condusive to casual eating and socializing. Overall the client wanted a youthful feel, so I came up with a soft palette of two solid colors to complement the uniformed Anegre veneers plus a neutral white Caesar Stone counter. The yellow on the "office" cabinets is only seen in this area to note it's unique function. The area above the fridge is white opaque plexiglass sliding doors cut with a laser jet.

An almost final design of the new casework.

Detail drawing of the floating shelf under the upper cabinet run. Originally designed with steel, we switched to clear acrylic to let light shine through. Also before the budget tightened up, the plan was to have a custom wall mural of a Marin nature scene in the dining area with floating shelves in front of it.

The cabinets prior to finishing in the Studio. We had Anegre veneers pressed onto Apple Plywood panels for all the fronts by Exotic Hardwoods in Oakland, CA. No veneer was required to hide the plywood edge, but instead, shows off the more premium substrate.

The entry way to the house....almost always sunny Marin.

As a trademark, I like to have a color punch in cabinets at times. There is always a lot planning and thought to make a kitchen useful and efficient.

Custom drawers punched up with a "Tiffany" blue and grey rubber drawer bottoms.

Detail connections of casework, counter and shelves

Kitchen: Thomas Wold Design 415 305 1901
Architect: Sheryl Drinkwater
Contractor: Brad Charlestrom email: b.chalstrom@comcast.net
Photography: Markham Johnson

Mushroom Forest Tables find new homes

2010-03-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

Artist-Photographer Alec Soth recently received the Mushroom Forest Coffee Table for his studio showroom. Here he is setting up his new toy, via his tumblr blog little brown misc.

Then all set up in his studio area! via his studio blog little brown mushroom

Check out his amazing work here: alecsoth.com

Designer Bryan Thompson also sent me a picture of the Mushroom Coffee Table for his Southern California beach side mid-century pad. Bryan's is a special one-off to match his interior....looking good on the Angela Adams carpet.

Thanks for the images guys!

Visit my store for your Mushroom Table: thomaswoldstore

Night Light

2010-02-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

From my store:

Soft Core Star is a very special and tender design featuring the Glitter Vision™ light effect, an internal LED light, and reclaimed materials. The Glitter Vision light effect reflects rainbow bits of light in ever-changing patterns, based on the light levels in your environment. Soft Core Star, with its shiny blue frame and wood panel, will sit horizontally or vertically on your table like a star or it will take direction for wall placement as well.

http://thomaswoldstore.com/soft-core-light.html

Design Sponge: Sneak Peak

2010-02-27T12:34:00.000-08:00

I'm just getting around to posting about the feature Design Sponge did on my place.
sneak peak: Thomas Wold

Here are some images that were included as well as some that weren't.

Vans

2010-02-20T16:28:00.000-08:00

I'm liking this photo series by Joe Stevens

"vans and the places where they were"

Silver Sparkle Credenza : More Images

2010-02-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

Here are some more images of my Silver Sparkle Credenza

Jump to the Design Milk: Deconstruction story

Tage Frid

2010-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

People always ask who influenced me with my work, there are so many really. I thought I'd mention a few as they come to mind. When I was younger I spent a lot of time looking at Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking. It's an inspiring read for anyone interested in how to approach furniture design, understanding the character of wood and wood joinery.

Here is a link to his 2004 obituary from the New York Times:

Home Office Design: San Francisco Bay Area

2010-02-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a recently finished project I did with the Fringe Studio. It was a fairly large scale home office design that wrapped the the entire room. The thought was to create a lot of storage and horizontal surfaces to spread out when needed. We drew up many designs before the final presented itself. The key feature not showing here is a Knoll desk that will sit as the main desk in the middle of the room, we wanted to have the new surfaces and storage wrap around it.

This is close to the final design we went with.

In progress: Raw wood, almost complete fabrication

In progress: Masking and finishing the low storage credenzas

A lot of storage, a lot of reveals on the matched sapelle veneer panels and solid faced boxes. The black doors were finished with gloss, sparkle lacquer.

The credenzas, Caesarstone desktops and sapelle cases all connect together

The corner becomes a nice sculptural element

The smaller sapelle case.

The drawers are finished with a high gloss black varnish with a dimpled rubber drawer bottom and self closing undermounted drawer hardware.

File drawer

Details of the desk connections to the cases.
Call us when you need your new office set up.

Check out the architects for this project:
FringeStudio.com

Super White Office Furniture

2009-12-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

This is a sneak peak of some new pieces for an office project. I'm working on this with my peeps at Fringe Studio. I've been doing a lot of these highly finished designs lately that have a very seamless feel. I'll follow up with some final shots of the room when it's complete.

Silver Sparkle Credenza

2009-12-26T16:49:00.001-08:00

Here is a commission I co designed with design firm Fringe Studio. They designed the house and appointed the interiors for this Bay Area home. In this particular room a long credenza was needed behind this extra long shapely sofa.

We went back and forth with the design may times until the final shape presented itself. The original concept of stacked boxes turned into more of a Tetris interlocking form with a mix of drawers and doors. The gloss sparkle silver, sparkle black and oil rubbed wenge wood presents a very formal sense, but the loosely "stacked" ends bring it back to a more playful, seemingly random sensibility.

The design is a highly functional piece of furniture, but the presence is that of sculpture.

Here is the final approved design.

You can read more about the process of this design on DesignMilk:
Design-Milk/Deconstruction

Also visit Fringe Studio:
Fringe-Studio

New at Thomas Wold Store

2009-12-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

"Family Affair"
by Markham Johnson

Photographer, artist Markham Johnson found himself sketching my Family Affair furniture design and he captured it in a way that I thought really embodies the spirit of the design. I asked him to sell prints of the drawing through my store and he said cool!

Each 8 x 10 archival pigmented ink print is signed by the artist.
$25.00
click here to buy

"Sweet Girl Magenta" Light Painting
by Thomas Wold

One of my favorite works. I found the vintage graphic of the girl in a second hand store and decided to clone the lovely. Encased in a handmade hand finished decorative form and brought to life with my exclusive "Glitter Vision" LED lighting effect. The dramatic painting plugs in and exudes a soft soothing glow that can remain plugged in with minimal electrical costs. Ideal as a nightlight or to illuminate an entry area, Sweet Girl Magenta is ready to paint some magic in your world.

12 X 19 X 4
Signed by the artist
$320
click here to buy

"Consult with the Mushroom" T-Shirt
by Alyssa Zukas

Inspired by the Mushroom Forest Tables, Alyssa came up with a graphic based on the designs slogan "Consult with the Mushroom". Exclusive to thomaswoldstore.com thanks Alyssa!

American Apparel t shirt with hand screened graphic

Sizes:(Wom.Med/Men.Sm), (Wom.Lg/Men.Med), (Men.Lg)
$20.00
click here to buy

Ich mag Mull!

2009-11-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

A nice write up in U-Magazine out of Germany. The translation may be a bit funny, but you'll get the idea.

The throwaway society is evil, because we are all agreed. But the design with which we hear aufhübschen ökokorrekten our everyday life, on the fun! Or is he just starting right ...
Interview: Catherine Behrendsen

Do it yourself and design have nothing to do with each other? That was then. Finally, the Selbermacherportale Dawanda Etsy and had not taken such a victory on the Web and around the world when in 2009 Supplies and DIY knitting sweaters still on moms and dads would limit fretwork. There is hardly anything that does not exist in the DIY version. And recycling of materials plays a significant role in the affair.

For example, Andreas Frotteefan Linzner has unleashed with his cute pigs and elephants colorful beach towels a trend. Also for the Frankfort Janina Meier of Label Ketchup & Majo is out of the hobby has become a real career. Use has begun with skirts of linen from the flea market, now selling her designs in select boutiques throughout Europe. If you are a piece of this or other DIY designers bring that beauty combined with a good conscience. Finally, the new something old, discarded in the landfill has retained and zero or consumed well, at least some commodities. In addition, the playful little things are often the icing on the cake for our look or our apartment. Only: wine we drink at least then no longer Senfgläsern when the last roommate moved out. And for a new shelf goes to Sweden's our confidence. When we have necessarily have to grow up, our style is to do it too kindly.

The upgrade in a few years is already factored here. Finally, things do not superteuer and in more than one move has put particleboard comrades anyway to falter. What the heck, the bad temper, which saves you if you do not set every day on ollen dining table, the relatives have ANY scrapped right, is worth it. Or is it? Can we really change with DIY something - and still have this style? U_mag asked thinkers and designers for their opinion and get interesting answers

The Englishwoman and wallpaper-author Henrietta Thompson (30) has her favorite subject DIY just devoted an entire book: "Make New From Old.
Interview: Catherine Behrendsen

U_mag: Henrietta, what brought you to the DIY design?
Henrietta Thompson: I've always found it fascinating to see things in a new and unexpected context. This brings you to take a second look - and mostly it's the bargain of humor. Design takes itself that is often so terribly serious. On the other hand, the ideas, such as Martina Bautier a bathtub stopper as a key ring and use a spout on the wall as a suitable key board, really refreshing.

U_mag: Your book will save the subtitle "world, save money to have style." If it is the subject of design as not primarily concerned with the style - or maybe even just a question?
Thompson: Oh no, not just! The fashion side of design is too boring. Function and form have to be treated equally for me and my book is not much of a guide device, which anyone says, no matter what color he should withdraw its walls. It's about ergonomics, innovation and problem-solving.

U_mag: How serious is it to save the "world"? Do you think DIY design can really change anything?
Thompson: To a certain extent, yes. We buy and consume so much and all have so much stuff. Find out how to what one already has to do with a little creativity, more useful or more beautiful, is a real alternative.

U_mag: What is more important: The raw materials savings, if you recycle things, or the character that sets you do when you recycle design contributes to the world?
Thompson: That probably depends on the degree of to-wear show-off. Personally, I see the value, especially in the warm, cozy proud to have something homemade. And the feeling's even there, even if no one looks.

U_mag: art, design or craft - you can drag objects in DIY actually still draw the line?
Influencing Thompson: Especially in the production methods, the three disciplines, although increasingly other, but they are fundamentally different, even if it should be only in their self-image. And would if I were cynical, I say, the trend towards fusion pieces is exactly that: just a trend - in which it is ultimately about money.

U_mag: do you follow your own advice?
Thompson: I do my best! I can fix things quite well, instead of throwing them away, and I carry my laptop around in a padded envelope.

U_mag: What would you tell someone who thinks that DIY would design anything for him, because it is too shabby and looks like a flea market?
Thompson: I would give him first time right. This is precisely the reputation that has DIY design. And then I would show him that it can also be super-chic and modern. Old and worked up is not tantamount to yes Schraddel

You can tell him and not his objects, but the South African Heath Nash is a passionate garbage collector.
Interview: Catherine Behrendsen

The material for Heath Nash's flowery lights is cut from discarded plastic - and then worked for so long, pinned to his customers no longer know that her design pieces used to be a milk bottle or an ice bucket. Beautiful and quite valuable is the material through the long hours he reinsteckt finds Nash - and is unfortunately no longer affordable for everyone, even if it was the plastic's for free. Environmental protection was not the idea, as a sculptor who studied ventured on the experiment, but aesthetics. Still, he finds in the vast and still largely unexplored field of recycling of litter he would like to get a lot of support: "Recycling is simply a necessity, and it's about how everyone can play his role in the big picture."

Faced sustainability: they were taken to the Dutch industrial designer Jorre van Ast (29), the jar tops in the permanent collection of MoMA, with this slogan, he comes to philosophizing.

Interview: Catherine Behrendsen

"My things start at the function, or even earlier: on the principle of a function. Sustainability is now as important as form and function, these three elements must be properly balanced. This is sustainability, but an integral part of the design, nothing Separate what is somehow on top. something functional, for example, always sustained, and what decade will be used is better than what is used only five years. This is most sustainable in the jar tops, for example, not that everybody's old recycled jars with lids can be different, but that the owner enters into a relationship with the product - would prevent him from trying to get rid of it quickly. Everyone still keeps in jars to store anything in it, and so the jar tops also work on an emotional level. In addition, changing the look through different glasses, which are screwed: you get, despite the mass production of something very individual. That, rescued 'me to the object itself is actually not so important, that was never my starting point, and most projects that take this approach, seem to me even more as craft or manual work. I am talking more about developing all types, as for example in my series, Clampology ', based on the principle staple. A bracket is that of an parasite, it needs something, to be clamped, and goes as a link to existing objects book.

Tom Ballhatchet has developed a new variant of two-in-one: Its packaging is gleichzeitg furniture.

Interview: Catherine Behrendsen

Designer Tom Ballhatchet from London has developed a packaging for flat panel displays, which change the function a few simple steps to a TV cabinet. The 30-year-old has let his TV Packaging Stand patented even, but is skeptical about whether the design could really sell. In addition to the parsimony of the TV manufacturers, when it comes to packaging, namely, there is still a much bigger problem: the poor image of styrofoam. "The utility scores, the material that can be produced in one piece without glue, manages staples, rivets, or nails, and is 90 percent air," says Ballhatchet. "But the perception of the people plays a big role. And no matter what plastics or foams make sure they are on the emotional level with a substance such as wood can never compete. How environmentally friendly but is actually a product depends on many factors. The is going on in the production and processing, and only stop at the disposal again. The most important aspect, however, is our ever-shortening attention span and the increasing speed with which things for us, through 'are. "

Thomas Wold (42) from California is the DIY furniture designer par excellence. Whatever comes in the fingers, is sawed, painted, stacked - and proves that good design is more than the sum of its parts.

Interview: Catherine Behrendsen

U_mag: Thomas, where does your fascination for DIY design?
Thomas Wold: I don’t think I’ve ever been fascinated with DIY design specifically. I like art and design. Since I’m a custom designer/builder of furniture, I “do it myself” as a business. My back round is in painting and sculpture, so I’ve always looked at found items as raw material to use in new designs or art. Objects and furniture contain sentiments and notions from the time periods they were created. I like to look at them like characters that can be brought back together to create a new story or play. It’s a lot like sampling music, musicians take pieces of sound from many time periods and styles and with thoughtful arranging and editing, and something new and beautiful appears.

U_mag: Smart purchasing is as important as reusing things. I’m very concerned with cheap mass produced furniture flooding the market. Furniture is not supposed to be a temporary item tossed to the curb in a few years like shoes. Traditionally, purchasing furniture was an investment, you paid more, but you could use the furniture your whole life and even give it to your children or sell again. Even when I reuse old furniture, I use only quality materials and leave particleboard for the landfill.

U_mag: Yea who wants to live with crappy looking stuff? A lot of contemporary DIY is kind of lazy. A coat of paint and some drawn on flowers is just lame. I might be at the extreme end of what is possible with reusing items, but it’s all boils down to the design, composition and finish. So it will take some imagination, detailing and editing to make something old and ugly, new and exciting.

Small World Media Ready Credenza

2009-11-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

I got a call from Lorn at Propeller Modern in San Francisco, he had the idea to ask some designers to come up with and fabricate some new designs for flat screen consoles. My thought was to create a traditional proportioned credenza that could be used as a sideboard or some other need if the use for the furniture might change. Also, I wanted to avoid an overly masculine design that is typically associated with electronic specific furniture, but still maintain a solid weightiness that can support a mammoth screen.

Propeller and I worked together on the colors for this first one. The outside color is a satin sheen graphite, giving it a seamless, almost pottery, feel.

The inside color is a bright tropical water blue. The shelves are adjustable and there is a thoughtfully designed internal cable management system.

The back is removable so it's easy to set up or rework the cables.
The Small World Media Credenza can be tailored in any size and color for you. Like all my designs this is handmade and finished for a lifetime or two of enjoyment. Please email Thomas Wold Design or contact Propeller Modern for pricing or custom options.

Family Affair

2009-08-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

"Family Affair" photo by Markham Johnson

Here is my most recent project for ReadyMade Magazine. After a couple of years of developing projects and building commissions with recycled and found parts, I had quite a collection of furniture pieces and found items in my storage room. I decided to design a new piece of "furniture" with just items on hand.

This is one of my photos of a yard I ride my bicycle by on the way to the studio everyday. I really liked the sculptural stacking of the debris in the old truck rear end. The double tire trailer mount set up is interesting as well. I candy-colored the photo to help express some sort of beauty in a pile of junk.

The photo inspired me as the starting point for this new design. I just put a stack of random items in the yard to try to to see where to begin.

Stacking, moving, cutting, repeat....

The design begins to shape up. I'm looking for an elegant form. The shape should have a balanced composition with hopefully a bit of tension and surprise.

Getting close here. The overall size is right for me here, but a few too many items. With this type of design, it is about adding and then taking away. The discovery of the final shape is a fun process and always a surprise.

Here is the final shape all finished up. There is a lot care in the prep and finishing to unify the random parts. One of the objectives for this design is to feel free to take any item or furniture style and by cutting and splicing and stacking and finishing, many style references can come together to form something new.

Here is Markham Johnson photographing Family Affair for ReadyMade in my living room. I'm shooting through the mirror.

The final staged design, happy to be home.

Peek Inside the Apartment of the Curiosity Shoppe Owners

2009-06-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

My friends Derek and Lauren of the Curiousity Shoppe in the Mission are always getting way too much press (they deserve it). At least I got a piece of the action on this write up in 7 X 7 magazine. You can see my Recycled Fronts Bookcase here.

Number 2 dot says, "The custom cabinet by Berkeley furniture designer Thomas Wold is made from such found odds and ends as a fire extinguisher case, a child’s pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game and a theater-marquee number. 'Thomas is like a furniture-collage artist,' says Fagerstrom, a former projects editor at ReadyMade."

Read all the details: 7X7.com

Check out the Curiousity Shoppe

Mixed Breed Armoire

2009-05-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

A couple in San Francisco asked me to design a storage unit for shoes. I thought that the scale should be versatile so it could be used for other things in the future if their home or storage needs changed. In San Francisco its status quo to have limited storage in older Victorian style buildings, so I thought a classic proportioned armoire would be best.

For the design I conceptualized something that had an overall feel of what I call "home-sweet- homey-ness" But, never wanting to be too straight forward, I mixed in other elements of designs past and future in a not-too-fussy, sparse case/enclosure. By combining and referencing a lot of different motifs the hope was to create an original personality that was both familiar and foreign.

After design drawings (see previous post), I often will do a full scale drawing to help see the proportions and general composition and balance.

Here is the piece in the raw during fabrication. I set the legs on top so they can avoid damage till they're ready for finishing.

The first layer of finishing the doors. We wanted a two tone palette for the design. I sent the client various samples and they chose this minty green and green/grayish colors. The two together are very soothing and soft which is nice for large piece of furniture.

The base is solid wood and is I would say, overbuilt, so it can withhold the worst conditions, which for a furniture leg, is tipping sideways. Four bolts attach it to the case.

The internal area is filled with adjustable shelves that can be removed so it could function for hanging clothes in the future if desired. The doors appear to be separate pieces nested together, but are just two big doors and a third slimmer storage area.

As you know, lighting is of interest to me, so I imagined a lit area to give the design some life as if it might serve some mechanical function. The blue glow adds a nice mood to the darkened room. It reminded me of a jukebox too, which I liked.

The drawer interiors are finished with the same conversion varnish as the outside but with a nice surprising forest green.

The graphical elements of the design are expressed in an almost 2-D fashion with the shapes stacked on top of each other.

Drip happens....I added a subtle "blemish".

The finished "Mixed Breed". Everyone knows that mixed breed animals make the best pets.

If you are interested in this design we can make it for you in any size/function and color.

Two New Designs

2009-05-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

Here are two new designs being build in my shop at the moment.
The one above is a 6 foot tall armoire. The design is based on an idea of collaging together various styles of fronts. I wanted a very graphic feel with some classic furniture motifs from different eras as well as some more pure graphic patterns and lines, but packaged and contained in a clean-lined carcase. The fronts are representing more of "the idea" of classic motifs and are fabricated much more simply and bold with a lot of raised panels. The final colors are much closer in tone, two tones of a soft minty green with a bit of gray.

This Credenza is a behemoth at 17 feet long. The finish is a mix of metallic paints with the open boxes being wood. I was imagining Tetras blocks forming the shape, with all the boxes fitting neatly together. The center feels more wedged and the ends are bit looser and random. Some of the boxes are drawers and others are doors.

I'm working with a great architecture duo in San Mateo working under the name FringeStudio on this design. I think we sent at least 10 ideas back and forth to get to this final version.

fringe-studio.com

I'll update the pieces as they get completed.

Extraordinario: Christine Style

2009-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

I am adding a new feature section to my blog called "Extraordinario". I'll post objects or art or design or architecture or anything that I run across that fits the definitions below. Google-Translation states the following about the word:

n.: 1. special dish
adj.: 1. extraordinary
2. uncommon
3. unusual
4. outstanding
5. remarkable
6. special
7. extra
8. supplementary
9. vintage

I like all those words, even the "supplementary" because we all need a little extra somethin' sometimes.

Here is the first image of my "hairstylist" Christine and her current look. I would call her hair closer to sculpture than hairstyling. The explosion of bright colors and patterns in this photograph really appeals to my affinity for clashing and mashing styles. You can find her in Berkeley, CA at Barbarella Beauty Salon.

Markham Johnson Photography

2009-03-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

"Fractured Fairy Tales"

My good friend Markham Johnson does a lot of my photography. Usually I think when he does my much needed documentation, it's kind of below his talent level, but hey I need the shots! Actually in my line of work the images are all that I have after a project is complete so they are quite important. His captures always make my work look better too. Thanks Markham!

"Arching 2"

Markham just put a selection of his shots for me on his site:
markhamjohnson.com

Check out his other work while you you are there!

His Blog is:
mj.66

So check that out too......

Block Party Credenza

2009-03-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

So it's been a few years since I introduced this design, I've made a handful of these credenzas and bookcases too since then. I thought I would show some updated images since the design gets improved a bit each time these handmade pieces are produced. This most current Block Party Credenza shipped out to the East Coast.

To purchase please visit Design Public.

Check out this older post: "How the Block Party is Made".

Mill Valley California Office Design

2009-03-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

Cockpit

I designed and built this office a couple of years ago now for a photographer in Mill Valley. The main parameter for the layout of the work area was to create multiple work stations in a confined space. I came up with a faceted design that would define each work area. The main station is a cozy sort of cockpit layout with two sides.

Basic Plan and Elevation

I imagined the plan view to feel a bit like an airport terminal.

"Cart"-blanche

These little file carts were designed to be mobile and have a docking station.

We connected the closet with the rest of the design by adding these 1" thick powder blue doors and repeating the hole patterns that carry through all the pieces.

Mr. Big

Here is a shot of one of the two big rolling carts before they were delivered. This piece looks really simple, but in actuality the over-sized dimensions made production challenging.

"Action" Shot

Here is the office in full use. You can see the defined work areas within the tight configuration.

Come Together Table

2009-03-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the Come Together Table. I had this in my most recent show of the the same name. I'd say for me, it's one of the more interesting pieces that I've done in awhile. I like the standard furniture look of the turnings, but the unusual composition and mismatched pieces makes it feel off kilter.

One of my friends said it reminded him how things are interconnected and in reality patched together. Another said it reminded him of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA. Those are some good thoughts......

I guess I was thinking that sometimes disparate items and styles can, "come together" to form something new with some attention to balance, detail and composition. This happens more in music than design. Now with a computer, bits and pieces of sound can be assembled to form a new composition. One of my favorites was Person Pitch by Panda Bear that came out the other year. Found pieces of furniture and other items can be used in the same way as well.

I be will working on some other versions of this concept shortly using mostly found items. There will be some different sizes and colors too, each one will be unique as well.

Check back to my store. This table will be up at the store shortly as well for your own Mystery House.

thomaswoldstore.com

New York Times

2009-03-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

Although I did not receive name credit, this was still a nice shot of the computer station I designed and built for the Good Hotel in San Francisco. The NY Times did a review of the hotel in a recent Sunday travel section.

Read more here.

Photo by Peter Dasilva

Assembly Area

2009-03-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to do more smaller posts so I thought I'd start with this image of one of the walls in my assembly room.

Some details: Half finished Block Party Bookcase, Pup Table, Some-Moon Eyes, Extra Life Unit light and Pink Space Treat. The bottom cabinet is just a shop storage case. On the wall are various shapes I use to add details to designs. When I come up with a new one, I'll always create a copy so I can use it again.

At some point when you do a lot of designs, even when you try hard not to, the designs seem to relate to each other.

"Come Together" Process Images

2009-01-19T22:24:00.000-08:00

Here are a handful of random process shots of the Come Together Show.
Above is a test stack of Girl's Room in my shop.

Jimmy's Cabinet in the raw. The doors and drawers are found pieces.

Jimmy's Cabinet painted up, but some more details still needed at this point.

Puppy Table nicely finished, drawers to come. The circle detailing was made from cut offs of furniture legs and turnings.

Sweet Girl, back lit with LED light and "Glitter Vision" effects.

Here is the Come Together Side Table for Boy's Room. This was a fun piece to think up and build with all the random parts. I used all found parts from broken discarded furniture: bed posts, chairs, broom handles and dining tables.

View all the finished pieces on the earlier posts below.

Thanks.......

Totem

2009-01-19T21:42:00.001-08:00

Totem

I wanted to add some posts about my show now up at the Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco.
This shot shows the work "Totem" in the display window. Although each "box" is a separate idea, these three came together nicely to form a new shape. "Sweet Girl" is back lit with LEDs and has my "Glitter Vision" light effect. She looks quite magical. Each piece can be purchased separately, but I hope someone likes the Totem group and wants to keep it all as one.

At the bottom: "Sweet Girl Magenta" $320
Middle: "Som-Moon-Eyes" $270
Top: "Grabba Seat" $200

Inquire at the Curiosity Shoppe: curiosityshoppeonline.com

Thanks Much,
Thomas

"Come Together" New Work

2009-01-12T20:08:00.000-08:00

You are most cordially invited to an opening party for my new show. It would be great to see you!

what: Opening party for "Come Together: New installations by Thomas Wold"

when: Friday January 16th, 6pm - 8pm

where: The Curiosity Shoppe, 855 Valencia Street (between 19th & 20th)

directions: http://site.curiosityshoppeonline.com/visit.html

"Boy's Room"

Boy's Room is an three dimensional collage of a lot of ideas I've been working with over the years. I wanted to see if I could take as many of these thoughts and combine then into one big group. So many other personal influences and areas of creative interest bubbled up as I worked on the pieces, for instance, the palette came about from my liking of classic interior decorating images from the 1950's and 60's, the over decorating of rooms with all matching parts.

I experiment a lot with lighting by combining different lights and materials, this is probably because I always liked to watch science fiction movies and TV shows for the sets and the dramatic otherworldly lighting.

"Girl's Room"

What if a doll house was redecorated and sliced up with some of the above thoughts? Can science fiction and a pink decorated room combine to create a new and beautiful experience?

"Jimmy's Cabinet"

Jimmy's Cabinet was designed from a page from the book "The Fix it Man"(shown here as a sliding door above the green drawer). Jimmy Jinks was the Fix it Man's name. I thought, what if I could design a piece of furniture for Jimmy's house, what would it look like? So I did just that.

The colors would fit right into Mr. Jinks' environment. My favorite section of the furniture is the big brown door. I thought that the shape reminded me of a milk chocolate bar, so I tried to give it the right color and goopy molded feel. mmmmmm........

My Gnome is here too, he always set's the proper tone with his pleasant expression and love of fine ales.

"Totem"

"Grabba Seat", "Som-Moon-Eye" and "Sweet Girl Magenta" form a new and important clan description.

"Girl's Room" detail

"Sweet Girl Pink" is probably my favorite piece in the show. I combines so much that is lovable: Cuteness, Pop, Distilled decoration, Pink, Dramatic Lighting Effects, what else do you need?

Shown (from top left clockwise): "Amish Ride", "Purple Night Light", "Sweet Girl Pink", "Elle Camino" and "Pink Celeste"

"Boy's Room" detail

Shown from top left clockwise: "Black Device", "Blue Night Light", "ill Camino", "Dock Steady", "Blue Space Treat", "Som-Moon-Eye", "Nu-Disco", "Blue Celeste" and "Amigos de Barrio"

Stop by the show if you can. Each object is sold separately and at some decent prices. Feel free to contact me with any inquiries! Or contact the Curiosity Shop directly.

thomas@thomaswold.com
info@curiosityshoppeonline.com

All images shot by Markham Johnson (the best)
http://markhamjohnson.com/

Thanks, Thomas

Come Together

2009-01-07T00:18:00.000-08:00

New artwork installation at the Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco
January 8 through February 16th
Opening is Friday the 16th of January 6-8pm

Thomas Wold Store is open

2008-12-20T08:33:00.000-08:00

My on line store is now up. Thomas Wold Store will be offering some original, only available here, designs as well as prototypes, random pieces of furniture and some of the better known designs direct.

Currently the Store is featuring some light Sculptures that are being produced in limited editions. Each design expresses a unique light pattern and are made from castaway and scrap material. These lights are a great way to get a hand made Thomas Wold original at an affordable price.

thomaswoldstore.com

Celeste Night Light $125
Edition of 30

The perfect night light, Celeste feature the glitter vision light effect powered by a 50,000 hour LED light. The Light is a soft and soothing rainbow glow at night. During the day it’s glow and effect will vary based on the light is your enviroment. Celeste is here for you.

Celeste at night

Zed Light $175.
Edition of 10

Zed is a strong lead character from a post-apocalyptic future. Zed feature the glitter vision light effect powered by a 50,000 hour LED light. The glitter vision Light Effect reflects rainbow flakes of light in various and ever changing patterns based on the light levels in your environment. Zed comes in rocket silver and works great as a bedside night light for your sleeping pod, or on the wall of your shuttlecraft interior.

Extra Life Unit $220
Edition of 5

Extra Life Unit was inspired by Classic Juke Boxes and HiFi Consoles, featuring a cool blue and warm white glow. The Portable Liuminarie lamp cord with a compact florescent light is easily switched on and off for instant mood setting. The back of the ELU is clear and can be used a task light as well. Table or wall mount options.

Check out Thomas Wold Store and check back often for new items!

thomaswoldstore.com

Piecemeal Table

2008-12-07T20:06:00.001-08:00

I was commissioned to design and build a coffee table for a new hotel in San Francisco. The project called for green/recycled materials so that was my starting point. I thought to use broken furniture and misc items, fuse them all together to make the table form.

The early build up looks pretty raw.....hmmm is this going to work?

The form is getting more filled in with small pieces and a lot of epoxy and screws.

The Final shape is filled in, sanded smooth and the outer edge is cut into a circle.

Here is the first coat of finish.

Table legs and underside, just as interesting as the top.

Final coat of finish and polishing.

"Piecemeal" at her home in the hotel lobby. You can see the back side of the computer station I designed as well. Read about it here:
http://thomaswold.blogspot.com/2008/10/good-hotel-san-francisco.html
Also read more about this design in the current issue of Readymade Magazine
http://readymade.com/

Ocean Cabinet

2008-11-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

A client in San Francisco asked me to design a cabinet to house their television. They wanted to eke out some storage too. I suggested a design that might work as a side cabinet as well in case their needs changed in the future.

Here is the final design. The door break up and swing had to have some special considerations because of the shallow depth of the cabinet and the hallway next to the cabinet.

I had the thought to break up the fronts with with a nice soothing palette. The walnut case would frame the colors so it might feel more like a graphic or painting. Here is the test board of the final color selection.

For the back, I wanted it to feel a bit like an old school television cabinet with the vent hole patterns. I also like to have my furniture finished and presentable on all sides.

Drawer and and inside cabinet detail.

Here I am doing some final hardware installation.

Now an order for 1000 would be nice or maybe Obama would like one for the White House redecoration.

Good Hotel San Francisco

2008-10-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

Lobby Computer Station

Here is an installation I did for a new hotel in San Francisco called the Good Hotel. It’s part of the Joie de Vivre Group that has done some other nice projects on the West Coast. I worked closely with Anthony Laurino and Nao Etsuki Lee who were the lead designers for the project.

The Hotel is featuring a lot of greenish and reused material so my designs had to encompass that spirit and be sturdy for long term commercial use. One area they asked me to focus on was a computer station in the lobby for guests to use. This was to be located next to check in desk. After many incarnations we decided on a floor to ceiling build out that was a grid pattern and desk with found repainted material creating and filling in the pattern.

Cut List

This is my tattered print out of the final approved design with my hand drawn cut lists. I do so much cutting that I'll do very simple cut list for even complicated designs

Raw Build Up

This is an early piecing together of the grid. The frame is 1" plywood with laminate sides. The grid is laser cut. I like the optics happening in the lens area too in this shot. The found parts required a lot of cleaning and prep to ensure proper adhesion for the finish.

Installation

The grid is installed and the electrical lines are pulled through.

Optics

Each side of the grid had a plastic lens in one of the openings. Between the lens was bent wood parts from an old rocking chair I found on the street. I thought the individual parts of the chair were quite elegant and when combined with the lens became then mysterious.

Florescent Light Fixture

I fronted this found fixture with another lens and added orange plexiglass as well

White Back

The Back area was also seen so we wanted it to be a little more neutral.

Ready for service

Here is the final install shot with a list of some of the items in the design: Cabinet Doors from old kitchens and discarded furniture, a plastic reel to reel case, old turn table, fire extinguisher case, florescent light fixture, plastic optical lens and loose furniture parts.

ReadyMade project for Issue 32

2008-08-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Cobalt is a very nice color, no?

So I did this project a few months back for my column Solid Wold in ReadyMade Issue 32. I'm finally getting around to posting a story about it. Here is the copy that accompanied the story and many more process images:

Back alley street find

There it was, next to some old tires and a busted BBQ, a sad skeleton of a dresser. Out here in Richmond, CA, where I rent a workshop, things like this show up on the curb all the time.

I imagined it was once someone’s bedroom showpiece; a prized possession for many years, now worn down and abandoned. Could something be done with this? Though pretty dirty from its street time, the face and frame were solid oak and I liked the little decorative details—trés grandma. I decided to carry it back to the shop for some transformation.

"Teardown"

I let the dresser hang out in the corner for a few weeks, waiting for an idea to come. I kept seeing it as a small house, rather than as a piece of furniture, so I decided to approach this project like a home remodel.

Fresh

I wanted to maintain the grandmotherly exterior, but the inside was too compartmentalized. Why not go with a modern open floor plan for this little “fixer upper”? With some adjustable shelves and sliding doors this could make an excellent lit display case or A/V cabinet. Maybe even a flat screen TV console.

New Guts

The first order of business was to gut the case. Dismantling a piece is a good way to learn how it’s built. I then replaced the dresser’s back with new plywood. I wanted the back to be stronger, since I planned to attach metal shelf standards to it. I re cut the dresser’s old “guts” and used them as corner braces. Everything got new screws and wood glue. A bit of putty here and there covered all the cracks and seams. Now the opened-up structure was much stronger than the original, even with a lot less material.

New solid back

I wanted the final piece to feel monolithic, with one color that would pull all the elements together. Cobalt blue—like the night sky—seemed right for a media cabinet. I primed the case with pigmented schellac, sanded it, and then applied artist acrylic paint with a HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) spray system. (A brush would work just as well.) After a couple of coats, I sealed the paint with brushed-on polyurethane. For the top, I wanted something more special. There I added a high gloss resin pour over the cobalt paint. This was a two-part mix that I poured over the top. Once dry, the resin sheen looks almost like water and is extremely durable. Shiny = New!

Big Blue is ready

For the doors, I ordered some 1/4” translucent blue Plexiglas from my local plastics retailer. Some stores will cut these sheets to size for you. To fancy things up and suggest more of a stereo cabinet, I cut a speaker hole pattern into the Plexi. I made the sliding tracks for the door on my table saw, but inexpensive, off-the-shelf track hardware will produce the same result. On the inside, I attached metal shelf standards and then the shelves, cut from scrap wood. The finishing touch was to add thin Florescent lights tucked just inside the top of the piece so the “house” would glow from the inside.

My remodel was now complete and ready for move-in (my stereo will be very happy in its new home). Could this be the grandma furniture of the future? Perhaps. I just hope it doesn’t end up back on the street in 30 years.

Modern Berkeley Bathroom

2008-07-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

My client in Berkeley was remodeling their downstairs basement area to add more living space for their growing family. They asked me to help plan the new bathroom. We wanted the new design to be really simple and modern. The design started with the Fly Ash counter that the client fancied. The Fly Ash gave a raw almost rustic feel so I thought the other supporting materials should also have that sense too.

The vanity is quite simple. I designed a cold rolled steel frame to support the Fly Ash. Mirror and light effect are also custom with the same cold rolled material. The sink was a recycled find.

Obviously we were not designing for storage for this vanity, so that freed up the design. The one leg gave the piece a more furniture/table feel. The box is the bathroom "bookcase". You can see the raw concrete floor and the clear powder coated steel here, which supports the raw/simple materials feel we were after.

The mirror is on a ceiling mounted track that slides to reveal the medicine cabinet. The light was made by combining a lens with glass and an off the shelf light fixture with florescent bulbs.

Even simple project require a lot of planning. Here is the drawing I made for rough framing and plumbing placement. Wall mounted faucets especially require specific planning so everything will have the proper relationship.

You can see the glass tile around the tub reflected in the vanity mirror. We also pulled the blue from that shelf nook around to the library box and inside the medicine cabinet.

Variety Beam, ReadyMade Magazine Issue 34

2008-04-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Variety Beam-a-delic

Here is the current project for my column in ReadyMade Magazine. Hopefully you are a reader of the magazine and if not take sometime to check it out. You’re sure to find something of interest inside, no doubt.

The basic inspiration for this design came from laundry mat seating. I always liked those shell chairs all lined up so neatly. I thought it would be fun to be able to change the pieces attached to the structure. I scavenged together the loose items to attach to it. The concept would also make a cool stereo "cabinet" with the different components and speakers displayed on various levels.

The other concept was to expand the notion of DIY. I could of easily executed a similar idea with a big stick of wood but metal was the right material for this design, so since I don't weld, I hired a welder. It's great to be self capable to do a lot of tasks but, if you need glass cut, do you do that yourself? Read the article in ReadyMade for the full scoop, now available on the web (Link will be at the bottom).

I'd rather be riding too

Here's my friend Joel Hirschfeld. He's a welder and machinist based in Alameda , CA. You can see the finished raw beam structure. The hardest part was to keep all the holes in line on the milling machine. The welding and everything else was pretty straight forward. Next to Joel is one of his super light custom single speeds.

Checkin' it out

I did a lot composing with different items attached to the adjustable posts. I liked this one, but I wanted to attach more unusual objects.

The Final Countdown....

The beam is painted up and a nice variety of objects are attached. My favorite item is the light box that I found in a salvage yard for $15. This was a really nice light box too. I added a poster that lit up quite nicely.

Photographer's Studio

Our hero waits for his big moment.

Cover Shoot Prepping

If you've never been to shoot before, there is a lot fussing to set everything up.

Our RM Cover Model

I sneaked into the area where the models were getting ready, a lot of fussing going on in there too. ReadyMade always has cute models for the cover.

Click on the magazine to read the article online.
Let me know what you think.

How the BlockParty is Made

2008-02-09T07:21:00.001-08:00

"BlockParty Bookcase"

So, I had the thought to show how one on my BlockParty Bookcases is made. Little did I know that in organizing this story, I learned myself just how many steps and pieces go in to each book case, I guess I didn’t fully realize. As a small independent designer/maker my work has to be of a higher level of fit and finish than production and especially RTA (Ready to Assemble) Furniture. Hopefully showing all these steps can convey that if you can’t see the BlockParty in person.

The other aspect that I thought would be interesting to show is the evolution of the design. The BlockParty that I’m selling now is actually the third full version. The first two designs started from a much more abstract place which I like a lot, but I felt the need to push the design back to a more “furniture” world feeling and to unify the palette too.

I hope you enjoy the story…..

"original sketch"
This was the first sketch that started it all. The thought came to me to combine doors and sliders which would create an overlapping moveable graphic pattern. I tried to approach it more like a painting than building furniture.

"Hans Hoffman"
Compare the sketch to this Hans Hoffman painting. I've looked at his work a lot, but unconsciously didn't connect it till later.

" first born"
Here is the first build up. It went together fairly quickly. My design parameter for this was to build it with material that were on hand in my shop. The colors were chosen from my laminate scraps using an "unconscious selection process". Somehow the colors worked well enough together.

"negative space"

Book cases often look messy once filled, so I thought that once the case was filled, the negative space would become part of the design and could be composed too. The integrity of the design is not compromised by the contents, but is enhanced.

"second version: forest palette"
Here are two second versions. For these two I tightened the palette and added imitation wood laminate, or what I call "picture wood". To me the imitation wood grain is fun and it suggests a not too serious sense. Design can be so serious.......

"second version w/gold tooth"
This BP has a gold tooth added to it's grill.

"all my soldiers"
This shot is from a show I did a couple of years ago. The two book cases are holding up the back row.

"loose cut parts"
To start the fabrication I cut all the parts, wood and laminate. There are 82 loose parts that make up the BlockParty not including hardware. The other thing that makes this design require a bit of planning is there are 6 different colors plus the walnut, a lot different colors and sizes!

"lay-up begins"
Each loose wood part has laminate or veneer on each side. I used a water based contact cement that works better than most solvent based glues. The glue technology has improved quite a bit over the years.

"totally stuck up"

After the contact cement is dry, the parts can be joined. Since there are so many sizes and colors I can't order pre-laid up panels so each part requires a lot of handing.

"commander dado"
All the shelves receive a dado for the sliding doors. This is done simply on a router table.

"raw dado"
The raw dado before fill in.

"fill in good"

The Dados are filled with a matching laminate strip. This is a small touch that makes the panels look more unified and solid.

"edge sanding"
The exposed edges of Apple Plywood of the shelves are sanded and then finished with conversion varnish.

"walnut back"

The back is .25" walnut veneer plywood. The holes are cut with a router and template.

"shiny happy back"

From the spray booth I set the back out side to dry faster. This is the inside surface of the case and needs to be finished before assembly.

"assembly begins"
The case is assembled with confirmat screws. They are actually more like lag bolts and are the strongest way to join plywood parts.

"inside complete"

After the outer case and shelves are assembled, the walnut back is attached. You can see the outside edges and the sides are still "raw". The laminate and veneer and solid face on the outer parts will conceal the joined areas and fasteners.

"finishing the outside"
I'll start with the back first so the side laminate "laps" over the back.

"back and bottom"
The bottom is finished, the same as all the other more seen parts.

"traditional mortise and tenon construction"

The legs are solid walnut and joined in the traditional way.

"leg assembly"

The legs fully assembled and ready for finishing.

"getting close"
The case is fully assembled, the legs are attached, now to add the walnut face and top.

"walnut face glue up"

The solid walnut strips are glued to the face.....no screws or nails to mar the wood here, just glue and clamps....

"veneered top"
After the face is done, the last step of assembly is to veneer the top.

"finishing the walnut"

The case is taped and covered so the walnut parts can be finished.

"whew...complete"

Here is the completed BlockParty Bookcase!

"orange and green"
One side is green, the other side is blue.

"hello top"
Here is the finished top.

"clear plastic makes it seem new"

Plastic does have that impression. The first step for shipping....

"protect the edges"
Foam cushioning....

"what a crate feeling"

Packed up and ready for shipping.

"a fond farewell"

The trucking company picks up the finished BlockParty and ships it to the customer.

"lil' buddy"

The friendly face of the BlockParty. A design to last a lifetime or two.

Moss Covered Dresser

2007-12-23T17:34:00.002-08:00

"Moss Covered Dresser"

I purchased a Victorian Style dresser from a yard sale. It was in great shape and probably made in the 70’s or 80’s by some big manufacturer in North Carolina. There was really nothing antique about it. The finish was distressed flat white with gold accents, a real standard cookie-cutter classic. This would be a great form to explore something more poetic.

My initial thought was to push the feeling of the piece to a more “natural” world. How would this piece look if it was left to patina in the woods? Rocks near waterfalls collected moss on the top and the green moss would fade down the sides. If we could eliminate decay, the dresser would begin to blend into nature that way.

So I set about pushing the dresser into the mossy woods. I approached the finishing of this piece the same way one explores a painting and I wanted it to unfold as I worked on it. A lot of back and forth and layering happened. Finally though, the moss green top was shot with pigmented conversion varnish using an HPLV gun. Most of the fade was done with spray cans. I adjusted the tips of the spray cans to shoot more splattery and drippy. I wanted something that felt as natural as possible and not overtly applied.

In the drawers, I thought they might be pooled with water over time. So there was layering of paint and tinted resin to make it feel wet.

For the finish of the dresser, I did multiple pours or resin over the entire piece so it might feel permanently wet from the rain or waterfall.

Dripping Water

I wanted the top to look like it was flooded with water.

Blending Colors

You can see how loose the blending at the bottom of the dresser is.

"Water Filled Drawer" View 1

"Water Filled Drawer" View 2

Layering paint and tinted resin gave a real water effect.

Readymade Magazine: "Solid Wold" Column issue 31

2007-10-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

The Headboard Installed.
Modeling by Chico. Photo by Markham Johnson

Here is the first project for my new column for ReadyMade Magazine. I love the magazine and all the folks there too, so I was really excited to get to work with them! I'm trying to stick to the spirit of the magazine and show that the main ingredients in making things is your imagination. I'm also trying to have all the raw materials as domestic as possible so the focus will be more on ideas and the transformations.

This posting is supplemental to the column so please pick up the magazine, you can subscribe online here:

Subscribe to ReadyMade

Freegan Style, ya'll

These doors started the headboard idea.

I heart kittens and the great outdoors too

Here are some of the books I used to add collage.

One table cut= two tables

I cut this table in half to create to side tables.

Test Ride

I set up the nearly completed headboard outside my shop here to test fit everything. The laminate wood grain top was super cool. I use a lot of solid woods, but good simulated wood grain is just fun for some reason.

Full test ride

I was happy with the collaging and balance of everything. Without the bed the feeling is more like a painting. Also you can easily identify the individual raw materials, but together they read as something new.

Everybody Loves Chico

Chico loves to nap on the bed with the new headboard!

San Rafael, CA Kitchen Remodel: Design, Fabrication and Installation

2007-10-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

"Almost Complete" Sink Cabinets

My clients for this project wanted to update their San Rafael, CA bungalow kitchen. We wanted a modern design to replace the old face frame style cabinets. The budget did not allow new counters, so we decided to reface the cabinets locked in under the counters and try to replace everything else.

To reface the existing cabinets, I imagined copying the frame and gluing the new ones directly to the old ones. To do this I look some care to draw the existing conditions on the computer and then have all the panels cut with a water jet. This allowed us to cut all the doors and fronts easily and have a continuous horizontal grain pattern. The look turned out very modern feeling with the radius cornered doors and drawers. The chunky striped “Neapolitan” patterned Bamboo also gave it a comfortable organic sense too.

For rest of the cabinet we decided to use laminate for the exterior. This would allow us pull together a nice palette and also save cost by eliminating finishing. With all the laminate work I always use higher-grade plywood like Apple of Finnish and polish and finish the edges. I think this has a nice honest modernist feel too.

Old Kitchen

These are the images I took of the existing conditions. We basically had to leave everything in place and just update the look. You can see I put tape and measurements on the cabinets as references to help me with the initial concept drawings.

Peninsula and Pantry View of the Old Kitchen

The old design was not that usable. There was a lot of space taken up with little storage. One of the main goals was to create more closed storage spaces and to eliminate visual clutter.

Presentation Drawings

Here is the scaled plan for the new kitchen. The client is a graphic designer so he helped a lot with the palette. We wanted to add some unique useful touches to the overall design too. The graphical wine rack and small shelves helped brake up the large plane on the new pantry cabinet. We then added the same shelf line to the oven area for cooking oils and display. I like to define where display areas are and find closed homes for the rest of the items. Ideally the counters should be as uncluttered as possible.

Another simple move to tighten up existing conditions was to enclose the refrigerator. Most non built-in units can be enclosed and this gives the kitchen a more finished, fitted feel.

Demolition of the Pantry

We removed the old pantry. I scaled the new pantry to fit around the existing conditions so we could eliminate wall repair.

"Neapolitan" Plyboo Panels

These panels are 30" X 70". I had to fabricate one counter top for the Peninsula on my table saw here. All other panels were cut with a water jet.

New Upper Cabinets

After water jet cutting, I mitered the seen edges together. The rest of the cabinets were constructed with pre-finished maple plywood.

New Upper Cabinets Completed

With the water jet technique, the doors "drop out" of the frame and drop back in to keep the continuous grain. The red area is a pocket to set everyday plates and glasses.

New Pantry Cabinet During Fabrication

The new pantry was a huge storage addition. I like to use metal standards for adjustable shelves in these areas the same way a refrigerator does. You can see the cut outs for the wine area as well. The top "out of reach" cabinet has flip-up hardware so the door stays up on its own.

Installation of New Frame 1

You can see from these three shots how much the new frames clean up the look.

Installation of New Frame 2

Test fitting of new front.

Installation of New Frame 3

New front glued and fastened.

New Pantry and Peninsula Installation

You can see how much more storage space was created with the new design, without taking up anymore floor space.

Peninsula and Kitchen View

The cabinet area on this side of the peninsula is lit to create nice mood lighting for the dining area. You can see the enclosed fridge now looks like a more expensive built in with the side panel and cabinet above.

I'll post the final professionally shot photos of the finished kitchen on a latter posting.

Cocktail Blaster Party

2007-10-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

The bar area of the last "Cocktail Blaster" party

These images are from a party I used to throw a few years back now. I thought to dust them off and post them.

The idea for this event came from wanting to throw an old school formal cocktail party and to learn about mixing drinks too. The images here are from the 4th and final Cocktail Blaster. Along the way it taught me a lot about hosting events. This was by far the most three-dimensional art installation project I ever did.

Each Party installment had a theme and this one was an “American take on a Tokyo lounge’s take on and American Lounge. “ I listened to a lot of Pizzicato Five while thinking up the interior.

All items used to build and furnish the interior were for the most part from hardware stores and found stuff. But I tried to make it as "tight" as possible to become a complete, believable experience.

Some details about the event:

The entire contents of the 2-bedroom house were moved into the garage.
The house was transformed into a club/lounge complete with bar, dance floor DJ booth, lounging room (Diamond Dan’s Cosmic Bubble Room) and snacking room (Biggie T’s Frozen Foods Locker), original artwork and custom lighting were also created.
Original cocktails were designed, with names like “Asian Blond”, and “Numb Chuck” along with bar menus.
The drinks were created months in advance.
A “Focus Group” was used two weeks prior to sample the drinks complete with questionnaire forms.
A website was created showing all the drinks to be served.
An estimated 400+ cocktails were served, about one every minute.

"Sub Bar" area

This counter separated the bar area from the dance floor. The finish was latex paint, waxed and on plywood.
The wall paper was made with carpet padding.
The "Art" was made from some found gauges and stretched fabric then framed to look official.

Behind the DJ Booth

The lighting was simple plastic sheets cut and zip tied with warm colored light bulbs.
The ceiling was construction guard fencing. You can see the entrance to the other themed rooms from here. I tried to give each room a different feel.

"Diamond Dan's Cosmic Bubble Room"

All white room with blow up lounge seats, fur carpet and bubble wrap wall paper.

Bubble Room Lights

The lighting was made with ceiling florescent light covers and Christmas lights.

"Biggie T's Frozen Foods Locker"

This room was made with crinkled seamless paper and a lot of black lights. The door was replaced with this old fridge door too. The effect was "chilling".

"Asian Blond"

1 part Carrot Juice
1 part Orange Juice
1 Part Vodka
Squeeze of Lime

Outside the "Blaster"

A modest facade to the transformed space.

"Fractured Fairy Tales" Display Wall: Berkeley

2007-07-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

The project came about from my work for Readymade Magazine and my "Block Party" furniture pieces. The client needed a wall build out for their A/V and books. We wanted to grab the entire wall with a graphical design. I suggested a design encompassing a series of separate boxes that would stack on top of each other so one could use the negative and positive for storage. The variety of shapes made me think of a "sampler" quilt along with the Disney Land ride "It's a Small World", one friend said it reminded him of "Fractured Fairy Tales"

The other design parameter was to use as much recycled material as possible. All the drawers and fronts were found on the street. Living in a college town, lots of furniture turns up so it seemed when I needed to find drawers, I'd see castaway dressers everywhere. About 80% of the material to build the boxes was made from "drop" or left over material from my shop.

Design Drawing:

Here is the final drawing I presented to the client. There were 8 total versions to get to this final one.

Laser Cut Fronts:

These shapes were drawn at full scale and then cut by a laser. The laser will allow sharper inside cuts than a CNC router, so for the repeating pattern door I wanted a sharp inside cut and not a rounded over one.

First Test Stack in Shop:

During fabrication of all the boxes it's just about making all the sizes needed. So finally after spray finishing I could stack the parts to see the build up as shown on the drawing. This is probably the most fun part of the project, since up to this point it's still really just on paper in my mind.

Final Installation:

This shot was taken just after the light boxes were wired. All the boxes are attached to each other and the wall too so it is extremely secure, but it still maintains a casually stacked feeling.

San Francisco Kitchen: Noe Street

2007-04-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

All projects have their unique challenges. This project for a couple in San Francisco, was especially so, with very tight space constrictions and high need requirements, a lot of planning took place. The Architects for the project were Abuerg/Morris in Berkeley, CA. I assisted with the cabinet design including material choices, functions and special details.

Quartered Walnut Veneers

You can see the image of veneers (quartered walnut) taken at Exotic Hardwoods in Oakland. These veneers were laid up on MDF panels for the drawer and door fronts. The Design was to run the grain horizontally so a clear even "flitch" was required. The final panels did have some areas I had to cut around, this made the planning for cutting up the panels quite tricky since the yield was very tight.

Presentation Mock Up

Here is the mock up of the fronts that I prepared for presentation. My suggestion was to cut away material for handles and back the opening with solid stock. The front edges where one pulls the drawer or door open is beveled and edged with aluminum and flushed smooth with the veneer for a very seamless look.

Assembly

Next you can see the cabinets being constructed on the assembly floor. The solid wood running through the cabinets are "let in" meaning they are on the same level as the cabinet sides.

Cabinet Installation

I was especially happy with the simple look of the uppers with the horizontal grain and no handles.

Mushroom Tables

2007-04-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

These are two new table designs. The copy below explains a bit more formally the descriptions and thought about the design. One of the main inspirations was to explore a new form for a familiar furniture design.

Description:
The Mushroom Forest Table Series is a new table design concept from Bay Area Designer Thomas Wold. These collectible designs are available in two sizes: a three-top single-color side table/nightstand and a seven-top, multicolor coffee table. The mushroom caps function as flat table tops, each with different height and cap circumference. The “burl” base provides an extremely stable platform for the “growing” stems and caps. The Mushroom Forest Series of tables provide a dramatic setting for objects such as glasses, books, vases, or alarm clocks or simply serves as a reminder to be happy.

Inspiration:
“What’s the deal with the design?”
As a child I first became aware of furniture through cartoons. A lot of the Warner- Brothers cartoons had really interesting backgrounds. The furniture was always very animated but it wasn’t over the top like you would later find on Pee Wee’s playhouse.
I wanted to try to capture a bit of the feeling of those W-B Bugs Bunny cartoon pieces with an unexpected form. Functionality is always a factor, of course, but I wanted to overemphasize my sense that design should remind us to be happy.

Readymade Project 2 : Lava Palette Stash Table

2007-04-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some images of the second project that I did for Readymade Magazine. Derek the project manager at RM came up with the idea for this table from an old 70's DIY book, it was kinda hippy. I imagined one could store rolling papers and old Playboys inside, that was a good thought to begin a design.

Starting with the colors, I was inspired from the movie poster for the Endless Summer. It's one of my favorites and maybe the only film I could leave running full time on the TV. The colors were applied with spray paint and then polished with boat wax..yea spray paint..it's good.

The legs are the other notable feature, I got them from my local salvage mega store Urban Ore in Berkeley. They are shelf supports from a Container Store shelf system. I had them welded at an angle to create a triangle so it's a bit like a saw horse. They exude the mid- century feeling, that the kids love.

Here is the article in Readymade #29 http://readymademag.com/printarchive/results?q=&sort=&section=&issue=29

introduction

2007-04-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

Ok..... I've been wanting to write something for quite a long time since getting this blog page thing...The idea here is to present in a much less formal way some thoughts and images that might not make it, or are too much work to add to my regular portfolio site.

I'll try to add interesting thoughts about projects I am working on. Please check back from time to time.