Don Mangus' "It Only Hurts When I Smirk.": Sam Maloof

Sunday, October 15, 2017

George Nakashima: Writing Chair

George Nakashima

The George Nakashima Woodworker Complex, located in New Hope, Pennsylvania, was the home of the internationally renowned furniture designer and architect George Nakashima. The 12-acre complex has 21 buildings, all designed by Nakashima. The assortment of buildings, scattered across a wooded forest and open lawns, served as Nakashima's home and workspace until his death in 1990. Nakashima is recognized as one of America's most eminent furniture designer-craftsman and his style of "Organic Naturalism" can be seen in the buildings, landscape, and furniture located in the George Nakashima Woodworker Complex.

Friday, September 1, 2017

Sam Maloof House

Sam Maloof

Master woodworker Sam Maloof and his carpenters designed and built a lovely, thoughtful home piece by piece in his on-site workshop -- no two door openings are the same here, and each joint is a wonder of craftsmanship. A MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient, Maloof has had his iconic rocking chairs shown at the Smithsonian -- he also designed the chairs that were used on-camera at the history-changing Nixon/Kennedy debates.

Visitors can see some of this furniture, as well as the wide-ranging collection of Arts-and-Craft pieces that he and his wife of 50 years, Alfreda, amassed together. The garden, which he tended, and the house are both open for tours -- if you ask, you might be able to peek into the workshop, where he continued building until his death in 2009 at the age of 93.