Mosaic Inlay Furniture

The work we bring to shows or display in our studio gallery is of course for sale as original pieces. In addition, that work often serves to inspire custom projects from our clients. Here are a few more recent pieces of collaborative custom furniture influenced by our dining room table collaboration, as well as Kyle’s forged bench with cherry seat.

First up is a pair of small custom side tables with forged steel bases and mosaic inlay in tabletops provided by the client.

Next we have a coordinating bench and coat rack. For this set, the client sent photos of the entry area to serve as color and texture inspiration. The gold in these mosaics is drawn from a large gold tapestry hanging nearby in their home. The bench base and hooks are forged steel and the wood in both pieces is walnut.

Finally a set of three maple tables made by our good friend and frequent collaborator Christina Boy Design with custom mosaic inlay by Johannah. This set was created as part of our co-exhibit as guest artists of the month at Crozet Artisan Depot a few years ago. The tables are crafted in three different heights and sizes: end table, side table, and coffee table.

Dining Table Collaboration

We’ve said it before, combining our skills to create original collaborations is one of our favorite parts of the work we do. This custom dining table with benches was a special project we designed and built.

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The bases are, of course, forged steel. The tops are walnut, made by our friend, local woodworker Lee DiJospeh. A line of mosaic inlay in blue, green, and gold extends in a continuous curved arc across the tops of both benches and the table itself.

Kyle first created a maquette, or preliminary model, of the table leg to see how his ideas worked in the real world. He and his team then built the bases to all three pieces. The table base is designed with folded steel legs. A trestle of two mirrored arcs is tenoned into the legs. The bench bases are a simpler curved steel shape that compliments the curves in the table base.

Once Lee finished making the walnut top, he carved a line across the tops of all three pieces for the mosaic inlay. Johannah then created a line of mosaic that flows from dark to light blue, light green to dark, and back again, continuously across all three tops. The inlay waterfalls over the edges for a satisfyingly finished feel.

This custom dining set is available! If you’re interested in this unique and original handmade dining room table set, reach out for more information.

"Forest Flora" custom mosaic series

Do you remember, early in the pandemic, when the government sent checks to help us hold out through those strange and frightening times? And do you remember the discussion that it was up to us to support the small businesses we valued, like book stores and hair stylists, to make sure they lasted?

This series is an example of one couple deciding artists were the ones they wanted to support with that check they received. Their regular income continued uninterrupted and they viewed that check as a bonus. By using those funds to purchase work from artists (aka small business owners) they could both enjoy that art in their home for years to come, as well as help ensure those businesses carried on into the future.

As the recipient of a commission from this couple, this work was welcome income during those fraught days. It was also meaningful to us, as artists and as a company, to know we were valued in that way. And in the days when we were restricted to our own homes and yards, it provided an opportunity to find respite in the great outdoors we so love from the safety of a computer.

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The patrons of this set are natives of the eastern United States. In moving to the Midwest, they had discovered an appreciation for the prairie environment. But they had also found they were missing the forests of their childhoods and early years as a couple. The goal of this series was to create a tactile and visual reminder of those woods.

The first piece in the series, “Into the Forest,” is the largest. Johannah wanted to convey both the cool darkness at the forest floor as well as the bright green chaos and light looking up through the tops of a trees. This piece is created in Mexican and gold smalti in a raw maple frame.

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The next three pieces are progressively smaller. With these pieces, we wanted to represent native plants and fungi found on the forest floor, specifically a mushroom, a flower, and a fern. Johannah and the clients chose the bright orange Cantharellus cinnabarinus mushroom, red and yellow Eastern Columbine flowers, and Ebony spleenwort for the fern. These pieces were created from hand-cut stained glass set in tinted black mortar, in a style inspired by a previous series depicting endangered flowers.