Mid-Century Bamboo Chair and Scrap Wood Bench

I was asked to build a version of a mid-century low chair. To put my own stamp on it, I used Plyboo Bamboo and hand-drew the curves.  This will be finished with quilted canvas cushions, so I'll have to send an update when the piece is finished. 

The bench is a very simple form that highlights variety in the different scrap woods. Mitered joints allow the lines to be carried from the top down the legs. In it you'll find strips of walnut, mahogany, maple oak bamboo and apple plywood.  

Works in progress.

The shop is getting crowded with works in various states of completion, including this Plyboo bamboo breakfast nook and scrap-wood table. Micheal from Cleaver Bikes, www.cleaverbikes.com, is helping out with a steel table base. There's also a preview of the woodwork at the new Little Star Pizza, opening this summer on Solano in Albany.

Cypress Slab Bar Top

This Cypress slab is going in to Little Star Pizza's new joint on Solano in Albany, CA. We picked it up at the Green Waste Recycling Yard in Richmond, CA. It's about 4 1/2 inches thick and 12 feet long. I'll follow up with finished photos when the bar goes in.

Small Plyboo Desk and "Carved" Pictures

These were commissioned by a customer who wanted to add color and "carved wood" nature themes to a stark office setting. I used a Shopsmith scroll saw to cut out the bonsai from oak plywood, but the larger walnut bird pictures had to be carved with a CNC router table. I'll be doing a third set, larger than the others but with a mirror background. The desk is a smaller version of their reception desk, with laminated Plyboo legs and a galvanized steel sheet face. The beveled edge reveals more of the inner vertical layers of bamboo plywood.

Salvaged Oak Pallet Bench

 

This was definitely a case of the material dictating the design. I've had these oak pallet sticks in my shop for a few months, trying to figure out the best way to show off the nail holes and knots. It's nice to give new life to something that might otherwise have been someone's firewood.

Reception Desk

This project was custom designed and built for a legal firm here in SF. They wanted something modern and industrial to fit with their new office, which has uncovered galvanized steel air ducts in the ceiling and a rough, unfinished concrete walls.

After several drafts of designs we arrived back at this, the original design, which has a small platform and a metal clad cover. The wood is a Plyboo bamboo plywood and the front cover is of brushed stainless steel.

Here are a few more pics from Little Star.

Here's a before and after for the server station. I designed it in Google Sketchup.

Here are a few ideas I've been working on in the new shop. These are all made from re-claimed wood or scrap from other projects. I have a small pile of oak from salvaged pallets that has some nice figuring. You can see the burls, nail holds and spalting(mold) in the square table.