Save the Planet!

I have always had a love for nature. Especially the lush green forests we used to hike through out east.  This love  for nature and my desire to protect and enhance it led me to an undergraduate degree in natural resources and a graduate in architecture.  For the past eight years working as an architect, I have become more and more concerned with how disposable our society has become.  This is especially true with contemporary furniture.  Most manufactures are constructing pieces that will last 2-8 years before they simply fall apart.  For two years now I have been doing my best to interrupt the process of throwing out some of the finest, handmade pieces of the 20th century because of finish issues or damage, for mass produced, low quality, and cheaply made furniture.  

Although I thoroughly enjoy what I do with retrograde, I've gotten the design 'itch' and have begun to expand the sustainability mission.  I am now designing and construction a line of furniture made from 100% reclaimed Mahogany and Teak.  One of the first pieces is pictured below.  Look for further posts coming soon that will describe the process in detail.

Why buy sustainable furniture??

Wood Waste:

The California Integrated Waste Management Board estimates that wood waste from construction and demolition represent 28% of the municipal waste stream every year. 

Deforestation:

Scientists estimate that we are losing more than 137 species of plants and animals every single day because of rainforest deforestation.

Logging tropical hardwoods like teak, mahogany, rosewood, and other timber for furniture and other wood products is unsustainable and energy intensive. 

Pollution:
According to the New York Times, a single cargo ship coming into a harbor can expel as much toxic emissions as 350,000 current-model automobiles in one hour.

Over the past 15 years, as international trade has exploded and shipping capacity has grown by 50 percent, cargo ships have become one of the nation's leading sources of air pollution, threatening the health of millions of people living in port cities such as Los Angeles. Made by hand in Long Beach. Local, domestic manufacturing has a far lighter impact on the environment than foreign imports.

Indoor Air Pollution:
Indoor air is three times more polluted than outdoor air, and according to the EPA, is considered to be one of the top 5 hazards to human health. Paints and finishes are among the leading causes.

Conventional lacquer is one of the worst clear finishes in terms of emitting of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) into your home. MDF (Medium density fiberboard) and particle board are often used in furniture construction and commonly contain known carcinogens urea-formaldehyde or phenol-formaldehyde, which off-gasses into interior air and can cause asthma and skin irritation.

:http://www.urbanwoods.net/

Drexel’s Declaration line is one of the most sought after and collectible lines from the era. Circa 1959 wild grain solid walnut dresser and nightstands by Kipp Stewart and Stewart MacDougall for Drexel. The sweeping cathedral grains of this wood and the white porcelain pulls propel it above other Mid Century lines.  We also have the long beach from this line.

"Bruno Mathsson is one of the most important Swedish architects and designers of the 20th Century. He is world famous for his furniture design but was also commissioned for many architectural projects.
As a designer and architect he was self-taught, his learning came mainly from books and magazines, his inspiration from nature.

Bruno Mathsson developed modernism in furniture and architecture, addressing both general and specific problems. His ideas of the “ultimate seating” was the basic concept of his furniture design, reflected in sitting curves and table heights. He also designed office furniture based on the thesis that people in office environments would work more comfortably and think more efficiently in a reposing position. Mathsson always viewed his furniture designs in a broader context – as an interaction in room and nature. Mathsson’s ideal room has large expanses of glazing, so as to make the surrounding landscape interact with the interiors. His slender, organic furniture shapes complete the expression. For Mathsson, the links between design and nature were self evident.

Bruno Mathsson had his international breakthrough at the 1937 International Exposition in Paris. One of the first commissions came from MOMA, New York, which needed furniture for the public rooms in its new extension. In the 1930’s he designed some of his most attractive and collectable furniture such as the “Pernilla” chair and the “Maria” table, which is convertible from a small slither of a table into a large dining table. Most of his designs were named after women. 

In 1948 Bruno Mathsson and his wife Karin (yes, there is a chair named after her also) made a journey to the US. He got to meet with many of the great contemporary architects he had read about: Frank Lloyd Wright, Eilel and Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames. 

The interest for Bruno Mathsson’s design was renewed due to his success at the exhibition Interbau in Berlin 1957. In the 1960’s he created the famous “Superelips” table together with and artist mathematician Piet Hein. This series was produced both by Swedish manufacturer Karl Mathsson and in Denmark by Fritz Hansen. The most exclusive versions came with rosewood or teak tops."  http://www.modernity.se