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Amazing creations are always emerging from the 3rd Ward wood and metal shop. For example, Michael Wong's spectacular Walnut Waterfall Table, which takes the natural contours of a slab of black walnut and subtlety and skillfully transforms it into an elegant piece of furniture.
"I like to think that when I create something, design- or production-wise, that I can bring insight or a focus on a certain quality that's trying to emerge but needs help," Wong says. He created the table not by imposing a strict form on the wood, but by reinforcing and refining its natural beauty and vigor. Wong used butterfly joints to prevent the wood from cracking, as well as three invisible joints inside the 45 degree cut. Then came fine sanding and a week's worth of oiling and waxing.
For Wong, a trained sculptor and architect and the founder of ETHER Atelier, the 3rd Ward shop has been a place not just to create but to learn. "When I joined 3rd Ward I had really basic skills," he says. "I've designed a lot of spaces and cabinets but that doesn't really get you too far in the shop. People are generous with giving advice, and eventually things got more serious through weeks of helping people and sometimes getting work from them."
Wong now plans to start making his own collection, which will be done in metal. Can't wait!
For now, click "more info" to feast your eyes on more images of the Walnut Waterfall Table and its creation.
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