Twin Tables: The Oyster Table and Wave Table
Hey everyone, I want to give you a look behind the Twin tables project we recently launched - the Oyster and Wave tables, and how the project came to be.
Originally, we actually began by looking at the concept of interchangeable legs for a dining table, to allow customizations so someone could pick each dining table leg and get the feel just right for their space. It didn’t quite feel right, but in the process we came up with a few leg variations that eventually inspired the twin tables project.
Through some sketching and photoshop work, we ended up with a bulbous leg design reminiscent of growths on tree trunks, as well as a wave pattern that, upon closer inspection, looks like pitting that you would also see on tree trunks. Those designs both engage the sense of touch, make you want to feel the piece and run your hands along the wood. That became the concept for the twin tables - focusing on that sense of touch, and tying it also to the natural characteristics of trees, and by extension, wood, which make it such a unique material. We chose planks that highlighted those knots and grain and patterns that make wood what it is, and separate it from artificial materials with a homogenous feel - plastics, etc.
Which of course is no knock on acrylic, plastic, etc - these have properties that make them unique and interesting as well. But this project was all about celebrating what is natural and real in wood, how each knot and scar represents how the tree lived and was grown. I don’t know if “killing the animal you then eat” is the right metaphor, but the point is to acknowledge and appreciate where the wood came from, to value its history, and of course to get lost in the incredible textures and hand feel.
Wood, like bodies, are natural and record it’s history as it grows. There’s variation, different sizes, different tones - all the things you might find that makes every body different are also present in trees and wood. We want to celebrate that element of woodwork.