18 0 2 , 6 1 – 3 1 JUNE
UDIOS T S H C T A P G // DO A C , O C S I C N SAN FRA
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
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Meg Bye in partnership with Knot & Burl Studios, Creoworks, Lewis and Starbucks, Detail of Arched Burlap Weaving 2 of 3, Starbucks Headquarters, Seattle, WA. 2018. Woven burlap dyed with coffee and tea.
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Welcome to FS18 NEXUS Dear FS18: Nexus attendee, Over its 22-year history, the Furniture Society has changed drastically. We have evolved (or devolved, depending on who you talk to), grown and shrunk, succeeded and failed, won and lost. Over the past twelve years, it has been my privilege and pleasure to serve The Furniture Society's community in various capacities: as a committee member, board member, vice president, president, and now soon as the outgoing president. In this time, I always deeply valued and marveled at the warmth and acceptance of our membership. You may be a traditional maker, furniture historian, digital designer, or sculptor; I have always felt that there is something for you in the Furniture Society. At the very least you will find inspiration for your own practice, at the very best you experience camaraderie and friendship developed through communication and shared experiences. If we disagree, we are at our best when we learn from and discuss issues with those who practice and think differently from us. Our board members, volunteers, and staff, current and past, strive to facilitate experiences for our members, allowing them to enrich their lives of mind and hand, and create a community based on mutual respect. It is in this spirit and on behalf of the Furniture Society that I offer a heartfelt welcome to FS18: Nexus. Forest Dickey, President
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FS18: NEXUS – Program
Teresa Audet, Kitchen Wares, 2018. Walnut, Cherry, Maple, Brass, Copper. PHOTO: TOM DEBRUYN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13
Wednesday, June 13 EVENING EVENT
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. 1050 26th Street San Francisco
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Welcome Reception and Conference Kick-Off at Harmonic Brewing
The Furniture Society welcomes all attendees to an informal get-together. New to the organization? First-time at a conference? We'd love to meet you. Cash bar.
REGISTRATION OPENS
8:00 a.m.
Silent Auction
All day.
Conference Opening
INTRODUCTION
FOREST DICKEY, FURNITURE SOCIETY PRESIDENT Conference Welcome
Remembering Wendell Castle GARRY KNOX BENNETT Commemoration
Fear Less. Build More. EMILY PILLOTON Keynote Presentation
U.S. Craft Bureau
PETER SCHEIDT The U.S. Craft Bureau is Peter’s newest exploration into using woodworking for social practice. During this demonstration, Scheidt uses a bicycle-based, mobile woodshop to offer services, education and resources to conference participants and local passersby. Observe the power of The Bureau‘s motto “To Advance the Union of Thinking and Design” at work!
Taking the Grad School Plunge: Considering an MFA and What's Right For You
THURSDAY, JUNE 14
Thursday, June 14
MAIN FLOOR
9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. MAIN STAGE
EVENT
9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. MAIN STAGE
KEYNOTE
9:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. MAIN STAGE
ARTIST DEMONSTRATION
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ENTRY AREA
PANEL DISCUSSION
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. MAIN STAGE
MODERATOR; ADAM JOHN MANLEY PANELISTS: TERESA AUDET, MATTHEW HEBERT, MATTHEW OSHEROFF, LIZ THORP San Diego State University faculty, Adam Manley and Matthew Hebert, discuss with student and alumni guest panelists questions surrounding the decision to pursue an MFA. What benefits might this give MFA graduates in the future and how does the furniture world benefit from academically trained makers entering the field? Panelists of artists at various stages in the MFA timeline will discuss, in conversation and with our audience, these questions and more.
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ARTIST PRESENTATION
12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. THURSDAY, JUNE 14
3RD FLOOR
PANEL DISCUSSION
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. MAIN STAGE
PANEL DISCUSSION
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. 3RD FLOOR
Constructed Identity: Furniture as a Stand-In
BRITTANY RUDOLF Wood is a grounding material. It can give a body to ideas that don’t have one, it can support, or be used by a body. From the lens of furniture, sculpture, and performance, this presentation looks at some of the ways wood is a substrate, surrogate, or prop, for exploring memories, identity, and the future.
Women at the Intersection of Craft, Technology, and Design
MODERATOR: MEI-YEN SHIPEK PANELISTS: PANELISTS: ELIZABETH MEILEJOHN, JOSETTE MELCHOR, ALEXIS MORAN, SUSAN WORKING, YELIZ KARADAJI As machines and computer software advance and become more accessible, craft and technology become increasingly symbiotic. The influence they have on each other and design can end in new and surprising ways. This group of women from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and careers will share their ideas and advice on what they've learned and what craft, technology, and design means to them in this new age of digital tools and the future they see for craft, technology, and design.
Midwest Makers: Spotlight on the Flyover States
MODERATOR: TERESA AUDET PANELISTS: BA HARRINGTON, JESS HIRSCH, KATIE HUDNALL, KIMBERLY MCNEELAN, MAGGIE SASSO Does the mix of cold weather, flat lands, and the skeleton of American Industry become an incubator for creative expression and opportunity? In this panel discussion we will hear from several young luminaries working in the Midwest speaking on the topics of craft traditions, creative process, and career paths. We will view slides of these makers’ works to accompany our discussion. A short Q&A will follow.
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THURSDAY, JUNE 14 Brittany Rudolf, Good Mourning, 2016, 64" x 24" x 32," cedar, maple, coffee, milkpaint, brass
You're Allowed to Laugh
ARTIST PRESENTATION
How Wood Can Change State
ARTIST PRESENTATION
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ANNIE EVELYN MAIN STAGE Evelyn will discuss how her path as furniture maker and upholsterer (alternative and traditional) led her to seek joy, human connection, and self-discovery in the shop and out in the community. This presentation is made possible by the generous support of the American Craft Council.
NICK POLANSKY What if you take a 4X4 and cut kerfs that a bandsaw can’t cut...but with a water jet? Kerfed wood that bends in two dimensions can bloom in three dimensions, seeming to stretch and expand in volume. Nick Polansky details how a new technique, pushed to its failure point, highlights its full range of results and new potentials.
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 2ND FLOOR
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ARTIST PRESENTATION
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. THURSDAY, JUNE 14
3RD FLOOR
TOUR
5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
MUSEUM OF CRAFT AND DESIGN 2569 THIRD STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Special Ticket Tour Only
RECEPTION
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
MUSEUM OF CRAFT AND DESIGN
RECEPTION
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
SHOPFLOOR DESIGN AND HARMONIC BREWING 1426 MINNESOTA STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA
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Geometry in Islamic Design: History, Practice, and Possibilities
BESTON BARNETT The geometry found in Islamic design is a sophisticated language of motifs and patterns, but unlike the aesthetic traditions of Europe, Scandinavia, or Japan, it is almost entirely unrepresented in the studio furniture movement. In this image-rich presentation, Beston Barnett surveys historical and modern examples of interest to furnituremakers, and discusses his own work with Islamic geometry, dwelling particularly on unique technical challenges and how they can be met with an amalgam of CAD modeling, lamination, CNC routing, laser cutting, and handwork.
Curated Tour at Museum of Craft and Design
ARIEL ZACCHEO Join Ariel Zaccheo, Assistant Curator of the Museum's current three exhibitions, on a curated tour of: (1) RAW DESIGN. (2) Anchors in Time: Dominic Di Mare. (3) Judy Kensley McKie: Cast of Characters. Special Ticket Tour Only
Reception at Museum of Craft and Design
Open Gallery Event. Museum exhibits: + RAW DESIGN + Anchors in Time: Dominic Di Mar. + Judy Kensley McKie: Cast of Characters
NEXUS Exhibition Opening
Conference Exhibition NEXUS JURORS: DEREK CHEN, Founder, Council Design, San Francisco, CA JENNIFER JONES, Principal, Niche Interiors, San Francisco, CA JENNIFER NAVVA MILIKEN, Independent Curator, New York, NY JULIE MUÑIZ, Independent Curator and Art Consultant, San Francisco, CA
Thinking Through Making: Furniture From Students, Faculty and Alumni
CCA was founded in 1907 by Frederick Meyer, a German cabinetmaker, with the goal of providing an education for artists and designers, integrating theory and practice. Still vital today, as CCA marks it’s century-long commitment to theory and practice in art and design, Thinking Through Making: Faculty and Alumni Work from the CCA Furniture Design program highlights outstanding talent of CCA's Furniture Department, from purely functional production furniture to conceptual craft objects.
RECEPTION
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
CCA HUBBELL STREET GALLERIES 161 HUBBELL STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Karen Ernst, Tree Branch Desk, quarter sawn white oak, 56” x 24 ½ x 30.
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THURSDAY, JUNE 14
CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS PRESENTS:
FRIDAY, JUNE 15 Slice Lab in collaboration with Dustin Feider (O2 Treehouse) and Sean Cusack (SMA Events), Pinecone Tree House– Santa Cruz. PHOTO CREDIT: GARNA RADITYA
Friday, June 15 All day.
Silent Auction
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Morning Announcements
MAIN FLOOR
9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. MAIN STAGE
PANEL DISCUSSION
9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. MAIN STAGE
Too Much Stuff: Being a Maker in the Age of the New Luxury and Alt-Commerce
MODERATOR: REGINA CONNELL PANELISTS: BRITTANY GERSH, JULIE MUÑIZ, PRINCIPAL FROM 'FYRN' Consumer tastes and behaviors are undergoing a major shift. In many ways it’s good news: a renewed appreciation of making, quality, and sustainability. At the same time, however, a fundamental shift has occurred in the way people think about their relationship to “things” and with new forms of commerce facilitating that shift, accelerating and amplifying it. These changes have profound implications for makers, artisans, and craftspeople. This panel offers a variety of perspectives from collector, to Re-Commerce, and the founder of an emerging furniture company. 12
PANEL DISCUSSION
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. MAIN STAGE
FRIDAY, JUNE 15
Objects and Space: Collaboration Strategies For Bespoke Design and Architecture
MODERATOR: JENNIFER NAVVA MILLIKEN PANELISTS: MEG BYE, DAVID CHEN, STEVEN MILLER, JARED RUSTEN, NICOLAAS WILKENS Creating spaces with bespoke design elements demands a fluid client-designer relationship. Also critical, however, is the ability of interior architects and furniture designermakers or artists to build symbiotic partnerships based on their specific fields of expertise. This panel will identify the challenges and benefits of these collaborations from a range of perspectives and offer strategies for navigating design cooperation successfully.
Women's Work: How Women Have Shaped The History of Woodworking
DEIRDRE VISSER Well into the 20th century in Europe and the U.S., women were consigned to the domestic sphere, and though parity remains in the distance, in a few decades women have made a huge impact on the field of woodworking. We’ll take a deep look at the historical record to explore the role that women have played in the woodshop from the 17th century to the present day, and address challenges and opportunities for the future.
Analog Animation with Digital Tools
COBY UNGER The ancient form of animation known as the 'Zoetrope' creates the illusion of motion on the surface of a vessell utilizing flashing strobe light and a series of in-layed images. Coby Unger provides a brief history of zoetropes and shares his creative process in working with the Shaper Origin and wood lathe to create these fascinating objects.
ARTIST PRESENTATION
11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. 2ND FLOOR
ARTIST DEMONSTRATION
11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. 3RD FLOOR
This presentation is made possible by the generous support of Shaper Tools.
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FRIDAY, JUNE 15 Alan Wexler, Interchange, 2008 PHOTO: RONALD FELDMAN GALLERY ARTIST PRESENTATION
12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. 2ND FLOOR
Becoming James Krenov
LAURA MAYS James Krenov is widely known in the field of woodworking for his lyrical books—part memoir, part philosophy, part approach to the material. Laura Mays, Director of the Krenov School, discusses Krenov's life leading up to the 1976 publication of his first book, 'A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook'. Mays will tell the story of this pivotal moment in Krenov's career - in middle age, as he shifts from a relatively unknown cabinetmaker in Sweden to a widely-read and influential author in the USA and how what appears inevitable in retrospect, was, in fact, a remarkable combination of work, happenstance, luck, and the efforts of a group of people.
ARTIST DEMONSTRATION
12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. 3RD FLOOR
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Understanding the CNC Workflow for the Shopbot
JOEY GOTTBRATH The robots are coming! CNC machines and design software are a race to the bottom and it's time to get on board! Gottbrath, Technical Lead at the Jacobs Institute of Design Innovation, offers this demonstration of the Shopbot Desktop MAX, and will discuss the software workflows involved from ideation to realization. Machine operation basics and a demonstration of advanced tool pathing techniques from meshes will be covered. This presentation has been made possible by the generous support of ShopBot.
MODERATOR: DAVID FLEMING PANELISTS: MIGUEL GÓMEZ-IBÁÑEZ, ADAM JOHN MANLEY, LAURA MAYS, J.D. SASSAMAN, TAKAHIRO YOSHINO In the rapidly evolving world of digital and other high technologies in furniture making and related fields, what is the place—and more importantly, the future—of traditional craft? Is it worth preserving? What can be done to nurture it? Does The Furniture Society have a role to play? Drawing from both worlds, the panelists—all makers and educators— will explore these and other questions.
Digital Production Methodology and Greater Utilization of American MFG Infrastructure
PANEL DISCUSSION
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. MAIN STAGE
FRIDAY, JUNE 15
Craft. Reports of its Demise are Premature
PANEL DISCUSSION
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. 2ND FLOOR
MODERATOR: MARTIN GOEBEL PANELISTS: LONNIE CAMPBELL, RON EHRET, PAUL MUNSON This panel will discuss the usage of CNC technology for non-mass manufacturing makers. During the past few decades, high level technology has significantly reduced in price. It is accessible for all makers, even those without space or capital to bring a machine in house. Surplus machining hours on automated machinery is accessible, affordable and available around the country. The panelists will explain their view of how makers can harness this powerful tool.
Hidden Agenda: Conceptual Elements in Furniture Design MODERATOR: JULIE MUÑIZ PANELISTS: KAREN ERNST, ADRIEN SEGAL, CAROLYN PASTEL The marriage of art and ideas is well established, but the use of conceptual elements in furniture design is less common. As more designers are entering the field with an arts school background, furniture has moved beyond the limits of functionality to become a platform for powerful artistic statements. This panel will examine the role of ideas in furniture design today. Can furniture have a hidden agenda? What role does such work play outside the normal art establishments?
PANEL DISCUSSION
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. 3RD FLOOR
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ARTIST PRESENTATION
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. FRIDAY, JUNE 15
MAIN STAGE
ARTIST PRESENTATION
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 2ND FLOOR
ARTIST PRESENTATION
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 3RD FLOOR
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The Craft of Digital Customization in Furniture
PAUL MUNSON The accessibility of digital design tools and advanced manufacturing techniques is changing not only how we think about product customization, but also who controls the final design of a product. Through the use of parametric design, a customer facing configuration tool, and 5-axis CNC router technology, Munson Furniture offers a custom line of furniture in a production model.
Delicate Density
ARTHUR AZOULAI, DIEGO TACCIOLI Concrete, as a material, has been used for thousands of years, being valued for its strong compression strength, yet only recently has it begun to be explored as never before. Influenced by their architecture backgrounds, Azoulai and Taccioli, are drawn to this commonly used building material, believing in its unique potential to take on any shape it interacts with, similar to how 3D printers produce forms from complex digital models. Azoulai and Tacchioli present their findings from working with concrete, utilizing the newly emerging techniques including CNC technology and 3D printing concrete directly, and will share their process and explorations towards the goal of creating a piece of furniture embodying an optimal balance of delicateness in form, strength and density.
Mt. Fuji School of Fine Woodworking
TERESA AUDET, BRYAN GEARY Mount Fuji School of Fine Woodworking is an international craft school in Yamanashi, Japan focusing on both traditional Japanese and modern woodworking. Master Tak Yoshino obtained 3 acres of forest to establish this International Woodworking Platform for Woodworkers who work on sustainability at the foot of Mt Fuji. During this presentation, Bryan Geary and Teresa Audet will speak on their experiences at the Mount Fuji School of Fine Woodworking under Master Tak Yoshino's teaching of Japanese handplanes and Zen seating. Geary and Audet will speak on their respective experiences at the school, Bryan as a deishi apprentice and co-founder, and Teresa as a student of the one-month intensive. This discussion will be accompanied by images of the Fuji school, Japanese handplanes, and the artists’ work prior and since studying in Yamanashi.
TAKAHIRO YOSHINO Master Takahiro Yoshino, provides this hands-on workshop during which participants can learn to use the kanna.
Slide Wars
From unknown makers to household names, conference attendees share images of their work on the big screen at this fast-paced, informal event.
ARTIST DEMONSTRATION
5:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. 3RD FLOOR
FRIDAY, JUNE 15
Mt. Fuji School of Fine Woodworking
EVENT
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Main Stage
Radius Collection, by Munson Furniture.
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Saturday, June 16 SATURDAY, JUNE 16
All day.
Silent Auction
MAIN FLOOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. MAIN STAGE
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. MAIN STAGE EVENT
11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. MAIN STAGE
ARTIST PRESENTATION
12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. MAIN STAGE
EVENT
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. 3RD FLOOR
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Morning Announcements Membership Meeting Steffi Dotson Service Award
Recognition of an active member of The Furniture Society who has demonstrated an extraordinarily dedicated effort on behalf of and/or to the benefit of the Society.
Blurring The Edges Of Craft Through Collaboration
MICHAEL CULLEN Collaboration has been an essential part of Michael Cullen’s lifelong relationship with craft. Michael's talk aims to encourage people to step away or out of their world to experience how others work and create. Michael likes to say that materials may differ, but the language of creating remains a common thread. Sharing stories and experiences of the joys and realities from early days at "Emma Lake International" to working in France, Nepal, and most recently, Cambodia, Cullen will discuss how working collaboratively has affected his work as an artist, woodworker, and writer.
Award of Distinction Celebration and Luncheon
Award of Distinction celebration honoring Craig Nutt
Thank you
Absurd Thinking: Between Art and Design
CAPSTONE PRESENTATION
Q&A With Allan Wexler
CAPSTONE
Capstone Q&A
Closing Remarks
BART NISWONGER, PRESIDENT
MAIN STAGE
SATURDAY, JUNE 16
ALLAN WEXLER Wexler will lead us through his creative process and discuss his multi-scalar, multi-media work across his forty-five-year career. Allan reveals a curious, comedic and analytical mind, certain to instigate creative thought among artists and designers, and offer new strategies for examining and re-evaluating basic assumptions about our relationship to the built and natural environments. Wexler's work mediates the gap between fine and applied art. Sometimes functional—tangible and tactical— sometimes theoretical, it is often a hybrid of the two. In all cases, it demonstrates a commitment to re-evaluating basic assumptions about what we thought we knew.
3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
4:30 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. MAIN STAGE
CLOSING REMARKS
4:50 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. MAIN STAGE
Silent Auction Pick-Up
PICK-UP
Closing Dinner and Dance Party
EVENT
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. MAIN STAGE
for joining us!
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PRESENTER BIOS
Presenter Bios
Teresa Audet is an artist
and furniture maker based in Northeast Minneapolis. Audet holds a BFA in Furniture Design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and has studied at the Mount Fuji School of Fine Woodworking in Yamanashi, Japan. She has been awarded several grants and artist residencies Arthur Azoulai and and will be a Fellow at the Diego Taccioli are the Center for Furniture Crafts- co-founders of design studio manship this fall. Slice Lab, a think tank specializing in innovative digital design. Slice Lab strives to push the threshold where digital design meets tangible product, optimizing the workflow of high end fabrication design implementation. Slice Lab works on projects ranging from digital design, fabrication consulting, to concept visualization. Arthur is a Project Manager and Designer for Rockwell Group in New York. Diego is a Senior Designer at WRNS Studio in San Francisco and graduate instructor at the AAU for advanced digital design and 3D printing.
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Beston Barrett is
principal of Beston Barnett Design, a boutique woodworking shop for fine custom furniture. His work focuses on quality craftsmanship, solid wood, modern lines, incorporating Arabic-, Asian-, or African-inspired motifs. Beston holds a BS from Harvey Mudd College in engineering and sculpture. While running Art Hurts Records, an independent music publisher, he attended the Cabinetry and Furniture Technology program at Palomar College, receiving awards from the Furniture Society, the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association, and the North County Woodworking Club. He became a full time furniture maker in 2011 after joining Studio 6608 in San Diego. His work has been shown at juried international shows in California, Washington, and Illinois.
Meg Bye is the owner and Regina Connell principal artist at Knot & Burl studios, where she works collaboratively with clients to design and fabricate custom installations. Her background in conservation, sculpture, and furniture inform her design direction. Bye also has a line of lighting and furniture fabricated in her Seattle, WA studio.
A connector with deep expertise in the intersection where strategy, brand, media, and experiences meet, Regina specializes in helping established and emerging design, lifestyle and new luxury brands position themselves to define and intensify their relationships with customers. Regina was formerly Communications Director at Heath Ceramics, and is the founder of Handful of Salt, a magazine exploring the intersection of craft and design.
Lonnie Cambell
is the founder of Vision Machinery (2009) with the goals of providing the most advanced solutions to an ever changing manufacturing environment. Vision Machinery offers one of the largest Manufacturing Machinery Showrooms in the West, which features monthly hands-on demonstrations, educational workshops and open-house events.
Rob Ehret is the owner of
Lucid Machine Art and is focused exclusively on CNC routing and manufacturing services. Lucid Machine Art serves a range of clients from large to small, working in a range of materials from wood to foam, and manufacturing processes from cutting nested shapes from plywood to trimming carbon fiber. Their 5-axis CNC capabilities and experience give VIsion Machine Art the advantage of working in complex organic shapes and large machining areas, allowing for working on large pieces.
Michael Cullen works
out of Blue Horse Studios in Sonoma County where he’s been designing and making pieces for almost thirty years. His work ranges from delicate boxes that fit in the palm of your hand to monolithic sculptures that are best lifted by crane. 21
PRESENTER BIOS
He’s written extensively on furniture-making and design for both Woodwork and Fine Woodworking magazines. His work is widely published and has appeared in museums and exhibits across the country.
PRESENTER BIOS
Annie Evelyn Joy, laugh- Bryan Geary is a furniter, and the unexpected are at the heart of Annie Evelyn's work. Employing a range of materials, from handmade paper flowers to Swarovski Crystals, she primarily makes alternatively upholstered seating. Using furniture’s inherent interactive qualities and relationships to the human body, Evelyn sets out to invent new and surprising tactile experiences.
ture designer, maker, and teacher. After completing his MFA in Furniture Design at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, he traveled to Japan where he studied under Master Takahiro Yoshino. Bryan currently makes furniture in Northwestern Pennsylvania.
Brittany Gersh
is the Associate Director of Art & Home for The RealReal, a premier site for online David Fleming was a dog musher and bush pilot luxury consignment, and is passionate about the in northwest Alaska where lifecycle of everyday objects. he learned pre-industrial Brittany holds a BA from the woodworking methods University of Michigan and while living 300 miles from the nearest road. He studied an MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from with James Krenov in Parsons School of Design 1984 – 86, and currently and Curatorial Studies. Prior teaches woodworking at Arizona State University and to joining The RealReal, Brittany worked for museums, privately in his Scottsdale galleries and Phillips auction studio. house. She is an Associate Member of the Appraiser's Association of America and USPAP compliant. 22
Martin Goebel is the
President and Creative Director of Goebel & Co. Furniture, based in Saint Louis, Missouri. Goebel & Co. is a lifestyle brand, heavily utilizing a hybrid of digital design, automated manufacturing and traditional handcraft. Now in their 8th year of business Goebel & Co. creates product for the residential, hospitality and contract furniture markets. Martin was traditionally trained in cabinet making under James Krenov at College of the Redwoods and holds an MFA in furniture design from RISD. Previous to Goebel & Co. Martin worked for both Toshiba and Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers.
PRESENTER BIOS
Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez Matthew Hebert creates BA Harrington attended is a nationally recognized architect and furniture maker, as well as the current President of North Bennet Street School in Boston. His work has been featured in prominent craft journals and exhibited in galleries and museums across the country. He is a past President of The Furniture Society.
Joey Gottbrath works
as Technical Lead at the Jacobs Institute of Design Innovation, a fabrication lab at the University of California, Berkeley. Gottbrath has taught sculpture and digital design processes at Autodesk Pier 9, The Crucible, California College of the Arts, and Diablo Valley College. He specializes in creative space management and his furniture work involves contemporary interpretations of Queen Anne furniture.
work that deals with technology and its effects on the domestic environment and our sense of space. Matthew holds a BA in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and an MFA from California College of the Arts. He has taught at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, CalArts, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is currently Associate Professor of Furniture at San Diego State University. His award winning work has been shown internationally.
the Cabinet & Furniture making program at North Bennet Street School. She holds an MFA in Wood and a Master’s Degree in Art History from the University of WisconsinMadison. She is currently Assistant Professor of Art and Director of The Wood Center at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Katie Hudnall builds
other-worldy, interactive furnitural objects that behave in expected and unexpected ways. She received an MFA in woodworking/furniture design from Virginia ComJess Hirsch is a sculptor monwealth University and with a strong love for the a BFA in Sculpture from the utilitarian object. Her art Corcoran College of Art in practice explores wellness Washington, DC. She lives and alternative medicine and works in Indianapolis, through participatory IN, where she is an Assissculpture. She studies Sloyd, tant Professor of Furniture Scandinavian handcraft and Design at Herron School of is a recipient of the MN State Art & Design. Arts Board Folk and Traditional Craft Grant. 23
PRESENTER BIOS
Kimberly is a woodworking instructor at the Indianapolis Art Center and a frequent contributing author for Woodworker’s Journal.
Adam John Manley
was raised in upstate New York. After earning a BA in Political Science, he started making furniture and opened a small cooperative studio. He is currently Assistant Professor of Furniture Design and Woodworking at San Diego State University, where he earned his MFA in 2012. Manley exhibits work nationally and has taught at Maine College of Art, Umass Dartmouth, University of New Hampshire, and the Haystack Mountain School of Craft. Adam earned his MFA in furniture from SDSU in 2012 and his BA in International Relations from Suny New Paltz in 2006.
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Laura Mays is the Director
of The Krenov School in Fort Bragg California (until 2017 known as the College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking Program). The Program draws students from across Elizabeth Meiklejohn is the world, drawn by its focus a designer specializing in clothing, textiles, and the on craftsmanship and methods and tools used to attention to material. make them. Her work examines analogous digital and traditional processes, valuing a hybridized hands-on approach as crucial to building knowledge of material tendencies, histories and potential. Most recently, her role at Levi's has included designing sustainable menswear collections and building a series of prototypes through Kimberly McNeelan, an Autodesk's Pier 9 residency. Indianapolis-based furniture maker and sculptor, celebrates nature and healthy living through art. She engages with the community through public installations and woodworking education. Kimberly received her MFA from Herron School of Art and Design and her BFA from Purdue University. Her unique training includes an apprenticeship with Michael Cullen of Petaluma, CA and direct influence from several other members of the Baulines Craft Guild.
Josette Melchor is a
Human classified as a Community Organizer, Curator, Entrepreneur, DJ, Queer Mexican Woman, programming life at the intersection of art and technology. Based in San Francisco, she founded Gray Area Foundation for the Arts a leading nonprofit media Jennifer Navva Milliken arts center more than a is the Artistic Director for the decade ago and is driven Center for Art in Wood in to serve diverse audiences Philadelphia, PA. A curator with her work. and writer who has worked in international art museums and as the founder of an art space, she brings a fresh yet comprehensive approach to a broad diversity of arts initiatives. Her exhibitions have been presented in museums, art fairs, galleries, and unconventional spaces, and her writings have appeared in exhibitions and publications that investigate and critique the intersecting fields Steven Miller has been of art, craft, and design. With designing events, residenc- a global perspective, honed es, hotels & restaurants for through a life split between more than 20 years and two continents, she is driven continues to work on projby the extraordinary power ects around the Bay Area of the arts to challenge and beyond. Miller spent his preconceptions and bridge youth on Chicago’s North divides. Shore, later taking stints in Boulder Colorado and New York City, on his way west to study design and architecture at the California College of the Arts. (BA Arch. ʼ92)
PRESENTER BIOS
Since then, his career has been marked by awards and publications, celebrated by great clients private and public (Apple, Joie de Vivre, Virgin America), and been prolific with collaborations that have taken him to places including Mexico, France, and Japan.
Alexis Moran is a
fourth-generation Bay Area native. Alexis studied Industrial Design at Georgia Tech and graduated with honors from the Wood/Furniture Program at California College of the Arts (CCA). In 2010, she established Alexis Moran Furniture Design, successfully designing for tech giants including Dropbox and Google’s Real Estate & Workplace Services Group. AMFD expanded in 2015 to design restaurant and residential interiors. Clients include Hapa, Hogwash, Del Popolo. In 2016, she has appeared in design reality show, Ellen’s Design Challenge, on HGTV.
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southeast regional fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. A founding board member of the Furniture Society, Craig chaired the website committee in the early days of the web, and served on the conference and exhibitions committees. He co-chaired the third FurniJulie Muñiz is an Paul Munson has worked ture Society conference held independent curator living as a furniture maker serving at the Appalachian Center and working in the San design professionals for for Craft in Smithville, TN Francisco Bay Area. For over more than a decade. To in 1999. He has served on 15 years, she has worked meet the demands of a many other regional and nawith both institutional and competitive custom furniture tional boards including the private art collections on market, he and his team Craft Emergency Relief Fund both coasts. She received have designed a dynamic (CERF) and the American her MA from the Bard furniture collection with a Craft Council Southeastern Graduate Center in New unique workflow software Regional Assembly and curYork and has worked in that addresses the challeng- rently serves on the Board museums including the es of mass customization. of Governors of Arrowmont Museum of Fine Arts, School of Arts and Crafts. Boston, and the Oakland In 2006 he served as the Museum of California. A Interim Executive Director of lover of design, she shares the Tennessee Association her unique perspective of Craft Artists. through her Instagram feed @Chair_Aware.
Craig Nutt is a studio
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furniture maker and sculptor, whose work is held in numerous museum collections including the Smithsonian American Art Museum; the High Museum of Art; the Tennessee State Museum; the Georgia Museum of Art; and the Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville Museums of Art in Alabama. He has received fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and a
Michael Osheroff was
born and raised in Nashville, TN. He received a BFA in Painting from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013, and graduated this May from Herron School of Art and Design’s Master’s program, with an MFA in Furniture Design. He now lives and works in Indianapolis.
Emily Pilloton is a
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the TED Stage, The New York Times, and The Colbert Report, and awarded recognition by the Obama Administration's Office of Science and Technology Policy, the SEED Design Award, and the Curry Stone Design Prize.
Brittany Rudolf is an
artist from Indianapolis, currently living in Portland, OR, while she earns her MFA in Applied Craft and Design. With a background in furniture design, sculpture, creative writing, and psychology, her work takes varied forms, such as Nick Polansky grew sculptural furniture and up on the coast of Northperformance. She is a 2018 ern California, studying GLEAN Artist in Residence in architecture and landscape partnership with Recology, architecture at UC Berkeley’s Portland Metro, and College of Environmental crakedpots. Emily holds a BA in Architec- Design. After graduating in 2006, he began working ture from the University of with Lundberg Design, in California Berkeley, and an MFA in Architecture, Interior San Francisco. Nick studied Architecture, and Designed graduate Architecture at MIT Objects from the School of and is currently a project dethe Art Institute of Chicago. signer and project manager She is currently a Lecturer in with Feldman Architecture the College of Environmen- in San Francisco. Nick is also an associate researcher tal Design at the University with MIT's Urban Risk Lab, of California Berkeley, principle of the design and is the author of three practice NWP, and previous- Jared Rusten Since books, Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower ly an Artist in Residence at 2002, Jared Rusten has Autodesk's Pier 9 Workshop. created hundreds of original People, Tell Them I Built This: Transforming Schools, furniture designs for public Communities, and Lives With and private space. His work Design-Based Education, has been seen in The New and Girls Garage: A Fearless York Times, exhibited at the Builder Girl's Guide to Tools Harvard Graduate School of (forthcoming, 2019). Her Design, and in the collecwork is the subject of the tions of clients including documentary “If You Build Google and Levi's. It”™, has been featured on designer, builder, educator, and founder of the nonprofit Project H Design and its sister program, Girls Garage. Using architecture and design as a vehicle for social justice, her work seeks to change the authorship of our built environment and cultivate power in underestimated communities, specifically young girls, undocumented youth, and communities of color.
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architecture and furniture design firm and for U.C. Berkeley's College of Environmental Design, setting up the Digital Fabrication Lab, creating workshop curricula and teaching students how to use manual and CNC machines.
Maggie Sasso produces Peter Scheidt’s work is conceptual bodies of work that express macrocosmic concepts through microcosmic detail and examines the role of material culture in relationship to our past. She is a lecturer and works at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design as the Sewing Lab Technician. She is currently on the Board of the Furniture Society and is the Board Secretary.
concept-driven yet firmly grounded in the craft of furniture. He is interested in finding ways to bring woodworking out of the studio. Peter holds an MFA from San Diego State University and is currently the Windgate Artist in Residence at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Mei-yen Shipek works at
Autodesk's Pier 9 Workshop supporting an array of users to push the limits of Senior Creative Workshop Manager at Autodesk’s Pier cutting edge machinery in a state-of-the-art machine 9 facility in San Francisco. shop. In 2018, she co-foundWith a Master of Architeced Workbench Alliance, a ture degree (MIT) and a membership organization certificate in Fine Woodworking from College of the advancing women working at the intersection of craft, Redwoods, her career encompasses craft, design, technology, and design. teaching, and fabrication. Shipek holds a Studio She currently swims yearFurniture degree from the round off the SF coast. California College of the Arts and has worked for Union Studio, a small interior
J.D. Sassaman is the
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Liz Thorp Born and
raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Liz earned degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design, BFA (2007), and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin (2018). She currently lives in Oakland, California and has taught at numerous educational institutions. She currently manages the Fabrication Shop at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design.
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Coby Unger is a maker of Allan Wexler has worked Nicolaas Wilkens is things and a connoisseur of high fives. His background is in woodworking, product design and mess making. He currently holds a position at MIT as an instructor in the Hobby Shop. Coby prides himself on being a professional amateur, and dabbles in many fields. He likes to make whimsical, comical, and playful projects when appropriate.
in the fields of architecture, design, and fine art. He is represented by the Ronald Feldman Gallery in New York City, is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (2016), is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, and a winner of a Chrysler Award for Design Innovation. Lars Mßller has recently published Absurd Thinking: Between Art and Design, a book on Wexler’s work and creative process. Wexler currently teaches at Parsons School of Design in New York City.
a licensed Architect and Owner of Wilkens Design Studio. Founded in 2005, Wilkens Design Studio is an interdisciplinary Architecture and Interior Design company developing new, adaptive reuse, and renovation projects, installations and furniture. Originally from the Netherlands, Nicolaas is always alternately inspired and surprised by how people live within their surroundings, with their things, and their aspirations for making the places they live unique.
Deirdre Visser is a San
Francisco-based curator of contemporary art, and an instructor of arts practice, history, and theory. Also a woodworker and graduate of the 9-month program at College of the Redwoods, Deirdre is collaborating with Laura Mays and Phoebe Kuo on a book about women in woodworking.
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Susan Working has been Tak Yoshino A native of working with wood for more than 30 years. Currently, she is a curator of art & technology at the Randall Museum in San Francisco, a free public hands-on learning center that celebrates the interplay of art, science and natural history. Formerly she was the director of the Furniture Design and Sculpture Programs at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado and the Academic Director of the Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art in Brittany, France. Susan has also taught at California College of the Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of California Santa Cruz. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.
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Tokyo, Japan, Tak Yoshino earned a degree from Rikkyo University and studied woodworking at the Shinagawa Training School. He later studied under Mr. Jiro Hayashi and Mr. Kenji Suda. Since 1988, he has lived and worked at the foot of Mt. Fuji, where he trains apprentices and students in traditional Japanese woodworking.
Fyrn The Stemn Series is
Fyrn’s debut line of furniture and the foundation for a broader system that offers an alternative to disposable culture and hopes to inspire more considered choices. Stemn emphasizes the strength of metal and the warmth of wood and upholstery. In designing the line and the manufacturing process Fyrn's founder, Ros Broughton, relied upon his family's rich history of craftsmanship and his own 25+ years of building and furniture making expertise to develop proprietary hardware and manufacturing equipment that would make production feasible and scalable in San Francisco.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Steffi Dotson Service Award RECOGNIZING AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE FURNITURE SOCIETY WHO HAS DEMONSTRATED AN EXTRAORDINARILY DEDICATED EFFORT ON BEHALF OF AND/OR TO THE BENEFIT OF THE SOCIETY.
The award is named in honor of past President Steffanie Dotson whose dedication and service during her tenure as President and as a Trustee ensured The Furniture Society’s continuing strength and accomplishments during a period of great transition. Steffi, as she is known to appreciative members of The Furniture Society, is the recipient of the inaugural award bestowed in 2018. The award will be given during the membership meeting on Saturday, June 16, 11:30 am on the main conference floor. The 2018 Award of Distinction committee thanks Amy Forsyth, creator of this year’s award trophy presented to our honoree. 31
SPECIAL EVENTS
Exhibitions
Exhibitions are free and open to the public, no conference pass needed.
NEXUS OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, June 14, 2018 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. EXHIBITION HOURS: Friday, June 15, 2018 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday, June 16, 2018 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. EXHIBITION VENUE: ShopFloor Design 1426 Minnesota Street San Francisco, CA PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Justin Bailey Chance Coalter Fiddle & Hammer Fyrn The Krenov School Papay Designs Po Shun Leong for MU Form EXHIBITION JURORS: Derek Chen, Founder, Council Design, San Francisco, CA Jennifer Jones, Principal, Niche Interiors, San Francisco, CA Jennifer Navva Milliken, Artistic Director, Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA Julie MuÑiz, Independent Curator and Art Consultant, San Francisco, CA 32
Papay Designs (Marcus Papay) Papay.com
Sinuous Floor Lamp, Fiberglass, resin, walnut, aluminum, 24"dia x 60"h.
SPECIAL EVENTS
MUSEUM OF CRAFT + DESIGN EXHIBITS: + RAW DESIGN + Anchors in Time: Dominic Di Mare + Judy Kensley McKie: Cast of Characters. LOCATION: Museum of Craft and Design 2569 Third Street San Francisco, CA VIP TOUR: Ticketed Event Thursday, June 14 5:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. RECEPTION: Open to All 6 p.m.– 8 p.m.
Judy Kensley McKie, Grazing Horse Table, 2012, cast bronze. PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT MCCUE
REGULAR MUSEUM HOURS: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.,Tuesday – Saturday 12 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sunday
CCA DESIGN DIVISION PRESENTS
Thinking Through Making: Faculty and Alumni Work From the California College of the Arts Furniture Design Program EXHIBITION DATES: June 5 – 29, 2018 Opening reception: Thursday, June 14 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Open Saturday, June 16 12:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. LOCATION: CCA Hubbell Street Galleries 161 Hubbell Street San Francisco, CA GALLERY HOURS: Wednesday – Saturday, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Asa Hillis, Sydney Cabinet, 2016, 64 x 32 x 20, Cherry, Brass.
A satellite exhibition featuring tours and demonstrations will be on the main campus at 1111 Eighth Street. 33
Many Thanks to Our Sponsors
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