1. Tucker Robbins- Asian Fusion Style Contemporary Rustic Living
On the subject of slab furniture, one of the first designers to perfect this look was Tucker Robbins, whose 16,000-square-foot studio/warehouse in Long Island City used to host many interesting soirees for friends and fans. His artful manipulation of locally harvested teak, acacia or hardwoods boasts varied silhouettes, real material integrity and an understanding of how to juxtapose raw unfinished wood with complex dynamic sculpture.
2. City Joinery – Modern designs built using traditional furniture-making techniques.
Each piece is made one at a time and it shows. Your booth exceeded all my expectations for custom, handcrafted furniture by adhering to a few basic furniture tenets: restrained combination of materials and discerning use of solid woods. Director and designer Jonah Zuckerman primarily creates contemporary, minimalist forms with taut lines, unexpected and sometimes contrasting surfaces, often combining other materials such as metal, glass, upholstery, and acrylic as a subtle embellishment for the wooden surfaces.
3. BDDW- Brooklyn-Based Handmade American Furniture
Arguably the most justifiably overrated furniture maker in Brooklyn creating custom made American furniture/home decor. Tyler Hays is the founder and designer of his contemporary woodsy styles, which mix the sophistication of an urban loft with a chunky rustic style. Apparently, he still manages to stay ahead and act as a leader in the oversaturated “slab furniture” scene. Bonus points for photographing your furniture with your dog!
4. Boca de Lobo- Modern limited edition furniture that combines art and design
This Portugal-based furniture and décor company is clearly targeting the New York market with product names like “Moma”, “Hudson” and “Tribeca”. Judging by their 100 coats of piano-finish lacquer, the blending of different stylistic periods into one piece, and viewing the furniture as conversational art, I can’t detect any New York flair or even “American Made” classicism in them…yet , my pulse quickened, my eyes widened and an uncontrollable goofy smile appeared, precisely because of his total lack of control in the combination of materials, colors and scale. The carved elements were ornate and gilded on top, the scale was teetering on top heavy on most pieces, but lavishly, and EVERY finish was so shiny it looked wet – all the makings of pure eye candy! but refreshingly free of clichés!
Boca de Lobo takes furniture as art to collectible status, placing enough visual mojo in each piece to make you wonder exactly how you’re going to furnish the rest of your interior AROUND its piece. Happiness.
