Posts by Richard Oedel
Dutch Design Week – Thoughts on Design
While we were in the Netherlands for Dutch Design Week, I began to focus on just what the catalysts are that make an area fertile ground for designers. Eindhoven is not a big city, it is industrial in nature and in the interior of the country, not close to any significant centers for culture. But…
Read MoreVladimir Kagan’s last work
A few years ago at the Furniture Society Conference I met up with Vladimir Kagan at the time he was presented with the Award of Distinction. A jovial fellow, his designs were going in some new directions, but I really didn’t keep in touch, so I lost track of what he was working on. This…
Read MoreA New Insight into Design
While I was putting together my new website I realized that while I work hard every day to make wonderful, exciting furniture, the time spent on design and design related research is far less than I would like. This was apparent this summer, with a trip to New York, where I visited the Carpenters Workshop Gallery…
Read MoreA little design talk before dinner?
Yes, it’s all about the shiny stuff![/caption] This Saturday six of the Furniture Masters are each going to bring a piece of furniture to Portsmouth, have a drink or two, some food, and talk about design inspiration with friends. I’d like to invite you to join us. There is 18th century work from the Moffatt-Ladd House,…
Read MoreShort Notice: Open House June 4th Saturday!
All of a sudden one of the Fort Point Cabinetmakers reminded me that we promised the Common Boston people we would have an Open Studios tomorrow in support of their Festival of Architecture and Design! #CB16 I will be working on one of the Compass Roses similar to the one I did for this campaign…
Read MoreFinishing the Desk Gallery
While I don’t write often, this desk gallery is something that I had to share – it is difficult, tough to design, and the execution is like completing a freeform jigsaw puzzle. The design and first mockup only gets you so far. Then you have to make it. For real. In hardwood. With sharp tools.…
Read MoreDesk Galleries
The buildout of a gallery for a fall front desk is like building an entirely new piece of furniture inside the piece you are making. It takes a lot of thought and a great deal of craftsmanship to make the design sing, and a long time to execute the final design. A desk gallery stands…
Read MoreAt the end of the project…
There is always an end of the project, where the piece is finished, or as finished as it is ever going to be. It reminds me of the polisher in the Steinway piano factory. When the tour group came through, one person asked him – “How do you know when it is finished?” to which…
Read MoreCasket overload
I’m getting bleary eyed. It is 9:30 pm in another hotel (I think it is outside of Oxford – yes, the Oxford of colleges, British humor and the Ashmolian Museum, where I’ll be tomorrow) and I have just finished looking at the last of the photos from the day. And am about to have a…
Read MoreLet’s talk Contemporary Furniture – Sept 22nd
When Ken Stone and I chaired the Furniture Society Conference here at MIT in 2010, we worked with Gail Fredell to create a book intended to be an overview of the contemporary furniture landscape in the US. On Tuesday September 22nd, I’ll be talking about the subject, the book, and the furniture that is being…
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