BrooklynModern

Glass table by Johanna Grawunder featured at  http://atcasa.corriere.it/

GN WOODWORK is looking for someone friendly and easygoing to share space.

THE SHOP
-large windows with natural and artificial lighting
-freight elevator and roof access
-24/7 access
-1250ft
-$750 per/month
or we could do a Nights/Weekend deal for less.

Friendly situation, not a jam-packed crazy deal at all. Equipped with all major floor tools (power saw, band saw, mortiser etc.) you need to have your own hand tools (chisels, router). Shop is a well kept space and is relatively orderly.

Space provided for tool storage, also lumber and sheetstock storage (to be determined). Looking for a creative someone (boy or girl) to get along with furniture maker (lease holder) who will be in shop approximately half time and a couple folks who use shop sporadically on nights and weekends. You must be competent with tools (i.e. no bleeding on table saw) be responsible type/know how to maintain shop/clean up after yourself and get along with others. Two artists have private studio’s on the floor, a creative environment.
Contact:
GN WOODWORK
200 6th Street
3rd Floor
Brooklyn NY 11215
p/f 718.643.6968
g@gnwoodwork.com

While researching credenzas for a client, I came across Dare Studio in England. They’re located in Brighton and their collection is worth a check. Click here to visit.

American Black Walnut Console. Three drawers with optional black leather lining.
Floating shelf. Powder coated steel frame.

50″ long x 14″wide x 18″tall; $1200 by special order at kirbyjones.com

I was browsing This Old  House and the above piece caught my eye since I’ve been getting more requests for work made from reclaimed lumber. M. Fine in Brooklyn is my local source for old, nice pieces. Most of their wood is old growth southern pine, but I found a piece of  spalted oak in their yard and used it as a table top on steel legs. Kirby Jones, is the the designer and fabricator of the above piece. His work can be seen at  www.kirbyjones.com.  His series made from reclaimed wood is spectacular.

MIT has some really interesting free classes at http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm. The furniture making class has technique videos, visual reference, and a reading list. The site offers courses ranging from sustainability to history, to robotics.

Tried and True Original Wood Finish
Greenest Product per The Green Guide

Here’s a good link to National Geographic’s Green Guide. They’ve got a good guide on how to shop for and compare wood finishes with low VOC’s.

About Finishes:
Ideally, treating wood flooring, furniture or trim with a finish will both protect it and enhance its natural beauty—without exposing you to harm. But finishes typically contain solvents, such as petroleum distillates, that keep the solution liquid until applied, and a binder, such as polyurethane, that holds the ingredients together and hardens into a film when dried. Here are a few criteria to use when shopping:

Types: Clear coatings and sealants help wood surfaces rebuff water, scratches and daily wear and tear. Stains penetrate and tint woods.

Plant oils and natural finishes: Linseed, shellac, beeswax and carnauba wax.

Water-based synthetics: Although these finishes still contain petrochemicals, they are formulated to reduce air-polluting emissions.

Volatile organic compound (VOC) content: Listed on labels in grams per liter (g/L); always seek the lowest amount available.

• Safety:

• Shopping Tips

• Avoid neurotoxins, such as petroleum distillates, or heavy metals like lead acetate.
• Check labels for “danger,” “caution” and other health warnings.
• Buy only as much as you need.
• Follow safe-use directions on labels.
• If possible, work in an outdoor space. If applying finishes indoors, open all doors and windows, and use ceiling and box fans to circulate fresh air into the room. Do not inhabit the room for two or more days afterward, until the finish has dried and fumes have dissipated.
• Do not use any solvent-containing product around children or if you are pregnant.
• Allow newly finished items to cure for several days and only bring them into the house only after the finish has lost its odor.
• To reduce risk of fires, soak used oily rags in water, seal them in a plastic bag and discard in an outdoor trash can.
• Dispose of leftover finish properly: Donate it to neighbors or local community groups. Otherwise, dispose of it according to your sanitation department’s household hazardous waste regulations.

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has extended the exhibitor application for BKLYN DESIGNS 2010. Exhibitor applications, now due MONDAY DECEMBER 7th, are available online at bklyndesigns.com.All Brooklyn-based designers are encouraged to apply! BKLYN DESIGNS’ celebrity jury is a great way for designers’ work to fall into the hands of premier editors and design specialists. For more information please call Auster Agency at 718.243.1414.

The Times does a great job with their interactive pieces. Check out this story on the affordable design on a Brooklyn loft. When you get to the article, click on the buttons to listen to the clients and hear their design decisions.

By JULIE SCELFO

WHEN Sasha Haines-Stiles moved out of a crumbling brownstone studio in April and into a large loft in downtown Brooklyn with soaring ceilings and expansive views, she fantasized that the space would look as perfect as one of the many photo shoots and fashion shows she oversaw in her role as a vice president for communications at Bernard Chaus Inc. and its Cynthia Steffe fashion label. Visit article

Some people just get lucky finding valuable stuff in the trash. I just took on this restoration job for a client who found the above chair on the sidewalk in Park Slope. Other than the split in the seat, the chair is in perfect condition and is made from high quality solid wood. A seal on the inside leg says Johnson Chair Company. A few antique websites are selling Johnson Chairs for $300 and up. Below is a picture of the split. Clamps and glue will do the trick. After sanding off the old finish, Danish oil and lacquer will bring it back to life.

This chair’s lines are evocative of 1960’s design.
From its weight and joinery, you can tell it’s a good piece of furniture.

A postcard of the the Johnson Chair factory in Chicago.
In 1899, Johnson Chair Company made chairs for the US House and Senate.

TWA Terminal, New York International (now John F. Kennedy International) Airport, New York, circa 1962. Photographer Balthazar Korab. (c) Balthazar Korab Ltd.

Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future
Nov 10 through Jan 31
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St.
212.534.1672

Presented at the Museum from November 10, 2009 through January 31, 2010, Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future is the first retrospective of this architect’s career, which was one of the most prolific, unorthodox, and controversial in the history of 20th-century architecture. From the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport and the St. Louis Gateway Arch to the Pedestal Chair for Knoll Associates, Saarinen (1910-1961) created some of the most potent expressions of American identity after World War II. Saarinen’s clients constituted a who’s who of the era’s most prominent industries and institutions. For them he designed buildings that advanced the expansion of higher education to the promotion of automobile culture and air travel, popular forms of entertainment like television, and the newest information technologies. Featuring sketches, working drawings, models, photographs, furnishings, films, and other ephemera, the exhibition examines the architect’s career from the 1930s through the early 1960s.