And they return...

After years of development, and re-development I am now producing the STUMPT stool as an on-going line. Been in negotiations with some "outlets" who are interested in carrying the stool and selling them through their companies. Hopefully, something will work out soon.

The stools, which are patterned from the 2.0 version differ in material mostly, as well as having a subtle but useful addition, too. Where the original, and version 2.0 were comprised of found pallet wood, the production line version (I'm still thinking about what 'version I'll call it) is made from FSC plywoods and veneers and have hand rubbed stains and finishes. For now there is a birch, white oak and walnut version that come in various finishes: natural, "driftwood" (graywash), and "charred" (blackened). The "subtle" addition to these models are a smaller, but similar shaped, "knothole" which facilitates picking up and moving around. There is still one of the faces that is slightly undercut, which allows for multiples to be nested into a cluster or even a bench...

Fort George Brewing

In a city and region overflowing with fantastic breweries, there is one which resides in Astoria, Oregon that is poised to jump ahead of the pack...Fort George. The recently rolled out a new canning line featuring two of the beers in their line, Vortex IPA, and 1811 Lager. Both can be found at various grocery stores about town now.

A couple months ago I teamed up with Josh Berger, who founded and runs Plazm magazine (and is an overall talented artist), to design, prototype and produce a new line of tap handles for the brewery. They will be showing up very soon at bars and restaurants up and down the West Coast.

They are made of bamboo, hand-rubbed with Japanese calligraphy ink with inset aluminum logo's...They turned out looking very sharp and definitely stand out in a crowd of tap handles.

LODGE

Some recent shots from the LinePlaneObject sculptural installation that is being done by the Art/Design collaborative, LODGE, sited at the intersection of E. Burnside and MLK, in Portland, Oregon. See more at: lineplaneobject.wordpress.com. Also, the Portland Tribune, had a picture of us with Mayor Sam Adams at a ribbon cutting ceremony on-site to celebrate the completion of the traffic couplet. The top image is of Brother Dave B. standing next to one of our models for phase. We displayed the scale models for the first time at the ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the couplet for traffic.

BROOKS Pure project

I just finished an intense month working on a project for Brooks (running shoes). After co-designing (with The Great Society) and building a prototype, we presented our result to Brooks and received valuable feedback that helped us re-shape the kits as a whole. Bamboo was a key ingredient throughout the process and these kits were designed in such a way that they would hold and present (in a unique way) each of 4 new lines of mens and women's shoes. These new shoe models will be released to the general public in small amounts this coming Fall.

Here are a couple shots of some parts at various stages...more coming soon, including some shots of the assembled final kits.

Pallet wood- plentiful, and guilt-free*

http://www.dezeen.com/2010/10/07/brandbase-pallets-by-most-architecture/#more-98545

For many years now, I have been collecting, playing with, designing for and, in general, using found shipping pallets for making both usable and aesthetic objects.

There is info here at my website about the Portland Pallet Project and some images of things i have made:

http://www.djlstudio.com/index.html

I will be posting some more things soon as I have been compiling links to creative uses of pallets and pallet wood.

* guilt-free: I source my pallets that have been dropped out of service/circulation and are set out along the curbs for the taking. Every now and then I come across a particularly heave, dense pallet and when I get it back to my shop and clean it up I discover that it is a hardwood, and sometimes even an exotic hardwood from a land far away. What would be expensive at the local lumber store ends up being free, but with a great story that stretches around the world. In Portland there has been an on going emphasis on local sourcing of foods and goods. I would love this to continue on in even more strict fashion. This would help eliminate the need for shipping so much product into and out of the community. Further, the act of rebuilding pallets out of wood could be replaced by recycled plastic pallets that would last longer and not need to be treated for pest infestation...

New occasional table...

Just completed a table for a client whose recent architectural addition includes floor to ceiling windows on the North and East sides affording some amazing views...a fantastic design that includes some great contributions from local artisans and designers. I am honored to have a piece amongst such company.

The tabletop is white oak with a custom finish that resulted in a creamy light gray wash that enhanced the natural woodgrain but does not obscure it. The base is blackened steel and is designed in such a way as to allow plenty of light to pierce through. This was an important feature so as not to block natural light or views...