Interesting pieces of furniture - 4

[DomValente]

Spot on ! Love it
It would work in a number of woods, the form is beautiful and would probably be somewhat impractical but if you can afford it who cares, you have the space to display it

 

[Anonymous]

Hasnt it always been the way that furniture making has been driven by the very wealthiest clientel? There are great pieces from the 17th and 18th century the golden age of furniture creation etc. But that was only aplicable to the people who could afford the extravagance and get top trophy designer maker's to create pieces as a way to show off their wealth (inherited, new industrial whatever) Did the hordes of tradesmen employed to create these trophy pieces that were used to show off wealth, influence, and reinforce the top heavy social order, have nice veneerd rosewood and mahogany chairs and table's?? Even the modernist/socialist utopian stuff from the early 20th century which was "for the masses" is now marketed as exclusive style statements for the wealthy.

 

[Anonymous]

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[innesm]

Eugh. A shiny tasteless lump of flashy ostentation.

Just my opinion

 

[StevieB]

Well the write up on the website is certainly pretentious, although possibly what the well healed like to feel the craftsmen they employ put into the work they do. As to the table itself, either the top did not come out like the write up describes it or the photography is not designed to show it off - it simply looks like a polished surface to me.

Do I like it? In all honesty I don't think I do. Its clearly expensive just from the timber used, but that doesn't make me want one. To me it is neither a functional table nor a piece of sculpture. In fact at first from Tony's photograph I though it was a bench Its a little too modern and a little too 'arty' (for want of a better word) for my tastes I think.

Steve.

 

[Neil]

Well, I suggested this piece to Tony. A very interesting (polarised) response!

I don't think that using Rosewood is critical to the success of the piece, although I think it would have to be a dark wood to work well. Also I think it needs a high shine on the bevelled edge.

personally I think its fairly simple to make even with the curves

I'm relieved to hear you say that, although having seen your work I suspect that what is easy for you wouldn't be easy for me :lol: How do you think you would do the bevel? The only way I can think is to get close by some means (bandsaw before glue-up, Arbortech etc.) and then use a drawknife/spokeshave/lots of sandpaper, with templates attached top & bottom to provide a reference. I would guess that it would have to be close to perfect to look right.

What about movement though? I don't know much about rosewood, but isn't there going to be a tendency for the 'legs' to move away from the perpendicular? Perhaps there's some steel angle brackets in there somewhere

Wood movement was a concern I had too. If I remember correctly, I think he just used double splines at the joints. Maybe he was very confident in the drying...David, if you're reading this, it would be great to hear your comments!

Love him or hate him, half of the pieces in Tony's threads thus far have been connected directly or indirectly with DS!

Cheers,
Neil

 

[woodbloke]

Hmmmmm....very tasty, I like it muchly, allot - Rob

 

[AndyBoyd]

Wonderful huh, but I just keep staring at it and thinking how in earth would I make those beveled edges to that depth!

I'm really scratching my head at the moment on how to do it for an 15mm plate as the back rest of my version of his love chairs, and it's that that's causing my lack of progress on that project at the moment (that and not having any wide thin London Plane pieces to use in the inner lamination process - and having no vacuum press too now I come to think about it, and living in 2 countries and the kids etc etc)

I just love his bravery though, and the skill of his people

 

[Philly]

Andy
You could dry fit the bench together, mark the bevle and then dissemble. You then could rough out each part separately before the final glue-up. This gives you the rough shape with all the hard work done for you on the bandsaw.
Hope this helps
LazyPhilly

 

[AndyBoyd]

Andy
You could dry fit the bench together, mark the bevel and then dissemble. You then could rough out each part separately before the final glue-up. This gives you the rough shape with all the hard work done for you on the bandsaw.
Hope this helps
LazyPhilly

I see that Philly but finishing it to look that square is just

I guess a spindle moulder with a template and a tilting arbour might help but gee, still seems difficult to me.

Oh well, but isn't it just so uplifting to be inspired to have a go at this yourself.

(Mind you a few mistakes on 1000 UKP worth of Rosewood would make you timid to be brave again in the future, huh? :roll

 

[Jake]

Uh hum :lol:

Your table isn't what I meant.

I meant, say, a whole kitchen's worth of veneer, to get the really in your face look that is supposed to scream expense in a Beckhamite way. Anyone who has stayed at the Radisson hotel at Stanstead may have an idea of what I mean, for instance.

 

[MikeW]

I have always liked this table. It's bit of complexity in building vs. the apparent simplicity of the design is what has always intrigued me. Like much furniture of an artistic design, it simply wouldn't look good in many homes, but it would in some depending on the environment it would be situated.

Would I like it in my home? No. Simply wouldn't do for who I am nor where it would live. But I have had clients where it would fit into the overall setting of their homes quite well.

As regards an earlier comment regarding the use of material, my feeling is it is an extravagent use of any timber in solid form. Once past that, solid would be how I would approach it. It would need to be a wood which would take a high polish, a wood which had clarity of grain and tone.

Take care, Mike

 

[Johnboy]

I like it. Maybe the use of rosewood is a bit OTT but I love the simple lines.

John

 

[Anonymous]

Hasnt it always been the way that furniture making has been driven by the very wealthiest clientel?

No - left to their own devices the peasants of the world produce beautiful things for their own use, including those at the most subsistent level; bushman of the Kalahari, Inuit etc. It's all around us, and in every country - furniture, pottery, fabrics, music etc. Tends to be called "folk" "country" "regional" etc etc. It's a popular myth that regional styles are inferior versions of the slick city stuff. If anything it's the other way around - creativity and originality comes from the fringes.

There are great pieces from the 17th and 18th century the golden age of furniture creation etc. But that was only aplicable to the people who could afford the extravagance and get top trophy designer maker's to create pieces as a way to show off their wealth (inherited, new industrial whatever) Did the hordes of tradesmen employed to create these trophy pieces that were used to show off wealth, influence, and reinforce the top heavy social order, have nice veneerd rosewood and mahogany chairs and table's?

No but given half a chance they'd have very nice stuff but with less "bling".
I live near Chatsworth, which could be seen as a magnificent monument to design and craftsmanship etc. I tend to see it as a monument to greed, accumulation and display of wealth; the appropriation by the wealthy of others' skills. What a pity that these craftspeople couldn't enrich their own lives instead of having to tart up this gross heap of bling :roll:
Useful word "bling" - there's a lot of it about in the furniture world :lol: Savage being a leader in this.

cheers
Jacob

Yes Jacob but the whole point was that the peasants werent left to their own devices and werent given even a quarter of a chance to do what they pleased. That was why their skill's, energy, time etc were apropriated to build nice lacewood and mahoggony things for the gentry while they had to make do with a coarse stool or a stick chair. When I mention "furniture making" I'm talking about the "high end cutting edge exclusive trophy designer envelope pushing" type of furniture making, not normal every day utilitarian peasant country furniture. Like you I have a great admiration for vernacular styles of architecture, furniture etc etc (in fact you already know that). But I honestly dont know where you get the puddled idea that city styles of sophistication originated with a few salt of the earth honest bumpkins and their "betters" saw their efforts and thought oh I say thats simply wonderful, ripping stuff, employ that chap, or at least get Mr Chippendale to copy him :roll: :lol: . Like it or not (the modernists definately didnt like it) "sophistication" for want of a better expression has it's roots in greece and egpypt, they always return to those so called classic origins sooner or later. Every form originates somewhere and its a fact theres a limit as to how sucessful any one can be in inventing totally new original one's. The early 20Century furniture seemed bold and new because it used new industrial manufacturing methods which lent itself to new forms. But even the barecelona chair has greek klismos inspired legs.

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

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[joesoap]

Now where best to fit the vice ???

 

[Anonymous]

Jacob with all due respect you havent given me much foo for thought

If you read carefully what I posted you would understand that I dont necessarily regard the classical greek/egyptian standards thing as something I agree with, but that, like it or not, those are the benchmark standards that people eventually hark back to, thats why NEO classicism resurfaces every now and again. I'm not saying that this is a good thing, OK? I also dont believe in euro centrism, as you will have understood from other posts I have made in other thread's if you read them. But the fact still remains that the trends are set in furniture making (as everything else) by RICH people, even if that means creating a lucrative fashion amongst themselves for a modern/post modern/primitive/ethnic anti-classical art or including non clasical influences in other area's of culture, some of which you mentioned. Wether you accept those trends is an entirely different matter.

I must say I am at a loss as to know how impressionism was born out of peasant art?? Most if not all "art movements" are born out of a reaction against classical values pertaining to subject/representation/perspective/scale etc, to a greater or lesser degree. Thats why they often apear so esoteric and irelevant to the average person. The impressionist painters had a very simple preoccupation-they liked to paint outdoors and capture the fleeting moment of a light effect or some similar thing. The subject matter (peasant related or otherwise, they werent fussy) really wasnt that important. If you think it was your missing the point of what impressionism was about. They were trying to "paint" an invisible thing-ie a mood, they wernt creating something new so much as creating in a reaction against the salon classicism that had stifled spontaneous creativity as they understood it where you worked for days or weeks with a "sitter" or "still life" in a studio. Its the same with Picasso. People make much of his use of african masks in montmartre; its true he studied and observed various non western european cultural elements in his formative pre-cubist phase, but he still needed classicism as a benchmark to bounce off so that he could say "here look at MY work its SO different from your regular CLASSICAL view" You (in the academy school) say theres only one vanishing point (view) in a picture, I say theres as many as I like there to be.

 

[Good Surname or what ?]

...again wonderful design as a piece of sculpture. Would I put my G+T on it or even worse my socked size 10s? I wonder how the owners treat it? My fear is it becomes dated/unloved in 10 years time. A great waste then of wood and craftsmanship.

That said, as a form I love it - as I do much of Savage's work. But then I do like scupture/abstract art as well as furniture

PS - you could commission a small room full of furniture from David Savage for what this painting fetched last time it changed hands. Personally I'd sell all my furniture and have a bare room with this one painting on the wall! SWMBO would not approve.

 

[Anonymous]

No its no good, I've read and re read this page but I think I lost the plot at the end of page 2

Somebody tell me how it ends. Did sparticus or grim win, and what happened to the savages?