The California Desk by J.Rusten Furniture Studio takes state pride to a whole new level and is constructed from salvaged Claro Walnut for the top, and native, salvaged, Western Big Leaf Maple for the base.
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Comments (30)
About the only person who should own this desk is the Governator.
For some reason, I absolutely love this. I don't think it is too obviously CA-themed, so you can just admire the beauty of the wood. And the shape is practical for working.
Hot.
Until one side ends up covered in sliding mud, and the other spontaneously and frequently bursts into flames. :)
I wonder is the wood more moist and shiny in the northern part of the desk than it is in the southern part?
and the most difficult thing about using this desk is making sure to directionally orient it properly in the room.
Hot. Too large for my rooms... but hot.
Yeah, I'm waiting for the Rhode Island version.
Perhaps Virginia...
LOVE it. Looks awesome for restaurant/bar interior.
Well executed indeed! Being a native, I'm over CA hype... but the grain in the top is dead sexy.
I almost didn't notice it was California.
Hot. Way hot. And not on some "Dude, Cali is way awesome" tip, its just a cool azzz piece.
oddly functional. the SFBay would, ironically, be good for cable management...
I hate to admit it, but i kinda love it. And I'm not from California
Claro Walnut for the win. That is totally tubular man.
love.
While the fact that it is the shape of the state is a bit hokey, the wood is gorgeous, and I like the contrast of the angled edge and the organic edge.
I love the wood despite the shape of the outer edge.
I also like that the guy is sitting in Reno and his book is covering Fresno - I'd block that place out too...
"... and the other spontaneously and frequently bursts into flames."
Lotsa flames out here...
...some bigger than others.
It would make a rad coffee table.
Love "SFBay area for cable management"...love it!
I like it, but I'd love it if it weren't so obviously California-themed. A more natural organic shape would make this piece amazing. Then again, I'm not a Californian so that could explain a lot.
Love the look of the wood. I don't have any ties to CA, so I'm not interested in the shape, but it reminds me of a similar coffee table I saw a while back that was in the shape of D.C.... very cool.
the wood is lovely. this reminds me of a "dining table" i saw at one of Florida's historical landmarks, coral castle. the artist created a table in the shape of the state of Florida completely out of natural coral (back in the day, before it was outlawed). he even made a little fingerbowl where lake okeechobee is located.
Totally HOT! And I agree with 'beckyjo' that it would make a rad coffee table. Love it!
Oh, and I forgot to mention. They have a HUGE California shaped table at the new California Academy of Sciences in SF's Golden Gate Park. It is made of reclaimed Redwood trees or Monterey Cypress trees (I believe) from past storms etc. It is also HOT! Just plain gorgeous.
Hey! Thanks for all the feedback folks! I was actually planning a more elaborate "launch" of this piece, but I thought I'd make an etsy post just to see what the immediate response would be.
The California desk is something I've been working on since 2007 when I was living in Brooklyn and seriously missing my home state. This is the prototype I built back then: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrusten/1329395578/in/set-72157601879772067/
I totally understand what feels gimmicky about building any kind of ________ shaped desk/table, etc. The exploration for me is: when is comes to defining "good" design, how much is repetition/familiarity, and how much is some elusive formula of proportions/angles/lines?
For example: as long as I have been alive, certain iconic works of design (Eames lounger, Nelson bench, etc.) have been promoted to me as "good" design. Certainly, they were innovative in the context of their initial conception, but how much of my current regard for them is inherent in their proportions/materials/shape, and how much is the familiarity to those forms and the association as "good" design?
Like, consider a song that is played all the time on the radio (I'll resist the urge to name specific vacuous "artists"). If you were to consider the composition of the song on it's merits alone, it may prove lacking. But, once it's in your head, you'll be singing the hook all day... and liking it.
As a woodworker/maker/designer, there are many factors that will inform what decisions you make... where you cut... what proportions you choose. Often, I think these choices are pretty arbitrary: you make the table ____ long because thats how long the boards you have are.
You could make 3 tables which are identical, but their tops are all proportioned slightly different. If asked to choose one's favorite of the three, what impulses guide that choice? Will you somehow *feel* that the top which is cut into a 1:1.6 ratio is the best? What about a proportion that is familiar? The proportions of a credit card? A playing card, etc.?
To me, the iconic shape of California has always held positive associations. Sure, the state is currently in the dump fiscally, but given the creative, technical, and cultural wealth (among many other positive traits: natural beauty, etc.) I'm proud of my local geography, and the shape is representative of something rich, diverse, and positive to me.
But, the idea is that whether you also have a positive association -the shape is immediately familiar. And, that familiarity has a value to provoke more that what may otherwise be a shrug when considering one rectangle over another.
Also, I have heard about that other CA-shaped table at the Academy of Sciences, but as you can see from the flickr photo I posted, my inspiration originated differently. (just sayin.)
Thanks again for the discussion and feedback. I'd love to hear more critique.
-Jared
Has Huell Howser ordered one?
I love it because you see the beauty of the wood first and foremost. If I saw it for the first time in someone's home, with a lamp on top and whatnot, I probably wouldn't even realize the shape is CA. Which is a good thing.
It's definitely a high impact piece.... I still voted no, because for me, It doesn't make any sense having such a strong, stunning looking top with such a lame base.... I really think it needs to be rethought. First of all make it bigger, wider, more substantial. And for the base, make it glass, chrome, or a darker more subdued base to make all the colors, grain and shape of the top pop.
thanks for the comment manu_pty. I might've voted the same way in your shoes. I've agonized over the base design for this desk more than anything else.
These are the rules the base must satisfy for me:
-needs to solidly support the unique shape of the top (especially tricky given the contrary orientation of the boards and the necessity for allowing significant seasonal movement across the length)
-must be subtle enough in shape/design that it doesn't distract from the silhouette of the top. Structural members must be set far enough from the edge to be hidden when viewed standing up from about 10 feet away.
-should be created from a contrasting wood species also native to California (preferably salvaged material). I like the use of metal and other materials to compliment wood in some furniture, but I'm more comfortable sticking with my known vocabulary.
Basically, I want the base to be nothing, but it must be something.
My latest version features two cantilevered legs joined at their tips by a horizontal stretcher across the floor. I don't yet have photographs.
Here is an early coffee table version with another base experiment: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrusten/2841403130/in/set-72157605184718819/
and http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrusten/2841402286/in/set-72157605184718819/
The idea with that base was to create a very stylized, graphic presentation -like the sunburst badge on a cereal box. Also, it's got a touch of Nelson clock in there. Do you think that kind of base is more or less successful?
I suspect this base design will continue to evolve until I reach that moment when I'm settled, and I know that it's right.
thanks again to everyone.
-Jared
Hi Jared... first of all thanks for addressing me directly.... first of all this is your piece and your art of which we can just but give somewhat humble opinions.
Maybe what you have in your hands is an object d'art that can work as a surface but is not necessarily as desk. As i said, it is beautiful by all means. Probably if you give it more dimensions (wall art, seating bench, raised floor, plants bench, bar, seating.... the list goes on), you're sure to find the base (or other) you're looking for....
I love the idea of the smelling cedar... very noble use of the wood... and i also love the idea of the salvaged wood.... The sunburst legs seem complicated for a desk, but a sunburst inlaid pattern is by no means a crazy idea....
If you're no sure about the geometric shape of the base.. you can play a little game with people you know.... Cut a scale model of the CA shape and buy one of those wooden children's building block sets (you know the wooden, colored ones with cylinders, cones, cubes), have it around when you're with company and ask them casually (as if unimportant) to "keep CA horizontally" with the blocks they have at hand... Their instincts are going to show you the most succesful shapes and their position under the map to keep the right balance...This is good research and a good way to find your own answers....
good luck