http://www.evanbortzfield.com/red-oak-shelves daily 0.75 2014-10-12 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/543afbdce4b0dca077dee6da/543afd46e4b00b9cbab73367/1413154532230/Shelves_full.jpg red oak shelves - red oak shelves one Here is a shot of the front of the unit. This shot gives a good view of the floating shelves. The unit is almost 4 feet tall, and was built to house some larger books. For this reason I incorporated 20 mortise and tenon joints to supports the weight of a heavy book for a long time. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/543afbdce4b0dca077dee6da/543afdc2e4b0d28bb48ee17f/1413156398930/Miter_from_outside.jpg red oak shelves - red oak shelves two I really love the miter joints at the top of the unit where the frame sits on top of the floating shelf. The strong grain of the red oak folds over at the miter, giving a nice feeling of continuing motion from the leg to the top rail. I found the lumber for the frame at a local mill (http://www.phillyprovenance.com/) that specializes in reclaimed architectural items, reclaimed wood, and also has a booming slab business. The wood is an undetermined age (undetermined, but on the older side of undetermined). The quartersawn lumber was most likely fencing in a previous life, but once the boards were milled down and cleaned up, this beautiful grain and almost silvery flecking popped out. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/543afbdce4b0dca077dee6da/543afdf2e4b05c01349c21bd/1413154273793/Foot.jpg red oak shelves - red oak shelves three Here's a detail shot of the foot of the unit. The purpleheart pillows are in place to hide some screws which were used to help solidify the construction. Since the unit was so skinny and tall (25" x 45.5" x 10.5") the eight corners needed to be reinforced with something more than wood glue and mortise/tenons. The purpleheart comes from some boards that the client had from their farm. The personal touch of incorporating the sentimentally valued material is what makes this piece really special to me. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/543afbdce4b0dca077dee6da/543afe0fe4b05c01349c21ed/1413154762765/installed.jpg red oak shelves - red oak shelves four Here is the unit in it's rightful home. The client did a great job deciding on size and positioning. Cheers to a happy client! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/543b07fee4b0d9969af6187b/1413154824472/Shelves_full.jpg red oak shelves http://www.evanbortzfield.com/live-edge-desk daily 0.75 2014-11-04 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/545835fee4b0a2f014f51372/5458361be4b08add9b297e61/1415070102536/Desk_full.jpg live edge desk - live edge desk one Here is the desk in my bedroom. I lucked out and found a nice corner for the desk to sit in. I never wanted the desk to be flat against the wall behind it while I was designing the piece because I wanted a general lightness/airiness to the setting. This is a good perspective to see the shape of the live edge. The large print is a photograph of surfers in the winter at Long Beach Island, taken by the talented Pat Nolan. If you are a fan of the beach/water/surfing/photography or any combination of the before, check out his work by clicking on his name. The Small painting is an illustration of Don Quixote by my grandfather. His Don Quixote series has always had a sentimental value to me, and I treasure this painting dearly. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/545835fee4b0a2f014f51372/54583622e4b08add9b297e8e/1415068699358/Desk_top_grain.jpg live edge desk - live edge desk two I added this shot of the grain to show the different patterns found in the live edge slab. There's always a special moment after you've sanded a piece of wood and put the first coat of finish on and you see the grain pop for the first time. This live edge was one of the best moments I've experienced while doing this (the finish I used was a polyurethane cut with mineral spirits). There are so many different ideas in this grain, with veins of purple, green, dark and light walnut, and marbling/flecking. In the distance you can see the branches and a knot, each which add a beautiful element of disruption to the grain. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/545835fee4b0a2f014f51372/54583628e4b08add9b297ea9/1415068891453/Desk_drawer.jpg live edge desk - live edge desk three The drawer on this desk is not very large, but I think the drawer was necessary to liven up the otherwise very plain base. The drawer adds the right amount of shadow to the front of the desk. I never throw out hardware, and when people do, I usually take it off the street and bring it home. This drawer pull was from a once beautiful mahogany laminate set of drawers I found in pieces on the street in my neighborhood. I was able to save this pull, and another brass piece, but unfortunately the entire unit was beyond repair. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/545835fee4b0a2f014f51372/54583632e4b0e7ba708b4f4d/1415069736742/Desk_in_garage_2.jpg live edge desk - live edge desk four This is the first photo of the unit completed. Although I love the desk the way it is, I attached the top in a very versatile way. If at any point I would like to re-purpose the base or the top, they are very easily removed from each other to be used in other applications. I like this, because not only is the desk top very special to me and something I would like to keep in some application for the rest of my life, you never know where life will lead you. I like furniture that is solid enough to not broadcast that the unit can be deconstructed in seconds, but is still adaptable to any changes in environemnt like a larger apartment or house. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/54583f13e4b0f9a8810c8f33/1415069489255/Desk_drawer.jpg live edge desk http://www.evanbortzfield.com/work daily 1.0 2021-07-30 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/60e38b634e60a26a8321941a/1625526999993/Esherick+Stools.jpg Work Wharton Esherick’s iconic Three-Legged Stools, 1950 – 1970 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/60f1c79b5e4c41309e153bb8/60f1c9cea7f86910c75aeb26/1626458684656/Start%2Bthe%2Bscoop.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/60f1c79b5e4c41309e153bb8/60f1c9cec394b23e97376883/1626458655326/Planing%2Bthe%2Bcurve.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/60f1c79b5e4c41309e153bb8/60f1c9ccb16e1a779ccfcea2/1626458670685/flattening%2Bthe%2Bgouged%2Bbits.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/60f1c79b5e4c41309e153bb8/60f1c9ccb214e05d85308ac3/1626458630229/Chiseling%2Bseat%2Bshape.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/60eb3d965fa2eb14b920f8eb/60eb3d99dc37083541cddc2c/1626029473868/Planing_leg_process.JPG Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/60eb3d965fa2eb14b920f8eb/60eb3d985ebba154a811c704/1626029472709/crossbars.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/60eb3d965fa2eb14b920f8eb/60eb3d962f3c4128e19fd2cd/1626029471422/blank+to+leg.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/60eb3d965fa2eb14b920f8eb/60eb3d9666be7e490f254b55/1626029470188/All+four+legs.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/6103f1d649a02f6eb3d7fc41/6103f1d75393ba3003ea97fe/1627648486746/lay-out.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/6103f1d649a02f6eb3d7fc41/6103f1d6bce34815144b965c/1627648479868/Glue+up.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/6103f1d649a02f6eb3d7fc41/6103f1d64006d64c0eff8d46/1627648476642/Dry-fit.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/60e38fe5a9c617141d9d1137/1625526258203/Walnut+rough+cut.jpg Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/6103f2371a576b659e647e95/1627648578926/Rooney.jpg Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/6103f217d89bb1783bc7e546/1627648558822/finished.jpg Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/6103f5b699dc2f21d0f59ab8/1627649471382/Rooney.jpg Work http://www.evanbortzfield.com/alps daily 0.75 2014-08-19 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/53e50930e4b0fcd64f646c58/53e50951e4b053de8a5db0d0/1408468778916/footstool_large.jpg reclaimed footstool - reclaimed footstool one Here is a clean shot of the walnut top. You can see how the grain interacts from the different sections of the board meeting. The sapwood (light brown) creates a differentiation that the eye focuses on, which helps show the authenticity of the wood. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/53e50930e4b0fcd64f646c58/53e50952e4b08bfde27b8481/1408468785260/footstool_side_large.jpg reclaimed footstool - reclaimed footstool two This is a shot of the ironwork that started the project. The intricate rose and vine pattern made me look for a simple solution to create the top, rather than overpowering the piece with too many busy designs. The watch sitting on top is provided for visual size comparison https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/53e50930e4b0fcd64f646c58/53e50951e4b08bfde27b8477/1408468790837/footstool_profile_large.jpg reclaimed footstool - reclaimed footstool three The profile added to the edge of the wood was chosen to differentiate the top from the ironwork, and then gradually draw your eye down to the iron through the curve. From the average vantage point of 5' to 6' at a 45 degree angle, the profile had to be strong enough to standout to the eye, but not too strong to clash with the ornate work in the cast iron. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/53e50c19e4b0c611b6bd663f/1407519786719/footstool_profile_large.jpg reclaimed footstool http://www.evanbortzfield.com/desktop-organizer daily 0.75 2014-08-19 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/53f38490e4b0f7f8fee81f3e/53f384b9e4b0e378e9027afd/1408469007152/organizer_1.jpg desktop organizer - desktop organizer one Here is a nice shot of the organic lines on the top half of this piece. Everywhere there is a joint, the two pieces of walnut are meant to look like they melt in to eachother. This specific image is closest to the piece's natural color, the other images posted came out a little dark due to the contrast between the wall and the organizer while I was photographing them. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/53f38490e4b0f7f8fee81f3e/53f384b9e4b0cf69a8db1210/1408468617900/organizer_2.jpg desktop organizer - desktop organizer two Here you can see the front face of the organizer, and also the piece in use. The little wall in the front half of the orgniazer is adjustable, and can be moved along the entire front compartment to account for different sized objects. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/53f38490e4b0f7f8fee81f3e/53f384b9e4b0e378e9027afb/1408468742031/organizer_3.jpg desktop organizer - desktop organizer three Another shot of the piece in action. This shows the most drastic lines I incorporated in the piece, with the back right corner dipping almost three inches to reach the front right corner. I was really happy with the effect this had on viewing the piece. I also think the sharp edges in the brass corner protectors contrasts the top of the piece nicely, exposing both to being easier to recognize as design elements. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/53f387c3e4b076451c6ac61a/1408468938358/organizer_3.jpg desktop organizer http://www.evanbortzfield.com/about daily 0.75 2021-07-05 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d7ff85e4b057b6da91614f/t/53e50a26e4b0e9902e0c89a7/1407519282764/27ef868543abf9c4e16439c1aeb8f0bd.jpg About Image taken in Haugesund, Norway