Inspiring Video - Amazing Ethiopian Furniture Craftsman

Irwin Weiner ASID - I've been talking about furniture makers this week. Well, Sentayehu Teshale is an Ethiopian craftsman working around Addis Ababa, and he gives new meaning to the term "handmade." He has no hands, you see, but he uses the extraordinary strength and flexibility in his feet and legs to saw, measure, hammer, carve, and wield power tools to make stools and chairs. Life is a bit more precious, amazing, and inspirational because of Mr. Teshale's accomplishments, and I value his work over the finest custom-made furnishings in NYC. Enjoy this video, and a special thanks to my friend Drew Giehl for steering it our way.

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5 Handmade Furniture Favorites from BDDW

Irwin Weiner ASID - Last week I told you how I was early for a client appointment in lower Manhattan and took advantage of the extra time to go for a Soho neighborhood stroll, discovering some teriffic design stores. A cluster of posts on Design2Share will be devoted to telling you what I found during my pre-meeting walkabout.

Imagine my delight in discovering the BDDW showroom on 5 Crosby Street! The space is wonderful (soaring) and the furnishings are phenomenal. The Craft is on full display with heirloom quality hardwoods, traditional joins, hand-rubbed oil and lacquer finishes, imaginative finishes and materials (add leather to a mirror, and I'm fully engaged), and beautiful designs that gently twist classics - but one would expect no less from Tyler Hays, the accomplished artist and sculptor who founded the company and serves as its design chief. Here are a few of my favorites from BDDW; click on each photo for more information - and explore

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Handmade Goods Elevate Design Beyond the Ordinary

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's not a rarity to find a young, talented, good-looking interior designer shooting a professional video like the one we're featuring today - but I'll be darned if the video only identifies him as "Andrew," a bohemian, globetrotting interior designer who spans the gap between everyday-yet-exotic handcrafted products and multi-million-dollar interiors. If you know who this designer is, please drop us a comment so we can amend this post and link to his website. Many thanks!

At any rate, Andrew and videographer Samantha Schutz have put together an entertaining show about introducing handmade Japanese pottery into a high-end NYC sushi restaurant's design presentation.
 

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Pittsburgh's Handmade Arcade is Just Tip of Handmade Iceberg

Irwin Weiner ASID - If it's made by hand, it's going to be better. Probably more tender loving care into the object, more eco-friendliness, and carloads of personality. I've often commented that if there's a cure for contemporary mass-produced and machine-made home goods, it's buying handmade items to warm-up a space. I'm attracted to bulky-knit rugs, hand-screened prints in WPA colors and retro sensibilities, sculpture of any kind, and imaginative metal work. Of the latter, I love working with a local blacksmith and metal master Ray Matthis of Tutto Metal Design - see photo above. If you're a designer or homeowner, working with someone like Ray will guarantee that you have a unique handmade item in your home or client project. Other handmade sources of inspiration: Etsy shops, of course; Pittsburgh's Handmade Arcade (check out the Handmade Arcade for the Holidays this Saturday, November 12 from 11am to 7pm by going onto the Handmade Arcade website - and check out the video below for a look at a past arcade event); and the Modern Victorian/Steampunk home renovation work and furniture design of Bruce Rosenbaum (see photo below) and ModVic.

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