ICFF 2007: Palo Samko

There's not a lot of craftsmanship at ICFF. By this we mean that in giant center brimming with beautiful furniture there's actually very little evidence of the designer's hand. Most of what you see is well-designed production line furniture: manufactured at great remove from the design process, with results that can be spectacular...and a little cold.

Palo Samko's small booth stood out for its one-of-a-kind, hand-made treasures: a highly-polished coffee table, made in the Nakashima vein from a rustic, charismatic, burly slab of wood; a cloud of a bird mobile fashioned from little more than twists of rusting metal.

Pieces like these prove how satisfying it is to keep the design and production processes together in the same space. The end result is beautiful in an emotive rather than intellectual way.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard-based Samko bills himself as a woodworker but he deserves the "designer" moniker as well.