At 16′, the table is the same length as Calabash, my homemade rowing/sailing sharpie.
Here’s a glimpse of the Community Table I designed for Shed Healdsburg. I assembled the parts for the first time to take progress photos for the client before making final adjustments and finishing the top, and was excited to see the table come together as I had imagined it.
Consisting of two identical planks of full length, laminated ash, the 16′ top rests on three X-trestles of welded, galvanized steel. The modular concept lends itself well to different versions of varying length and wood stock, and the easily (dis)assembled parts ship practically flat. I plan to make shorter versions with two trestles available for sale exclusively at Shed.
Ene and Aili chat it up with local residents on the shores of Lake Merritt.
We’ve been spending a lot of time roaming the shores of Oakland’s Lake Merritt as we enter the research phase of our public art commission for the City of Oakland’s Lakeside Green Streets initiative. Our project is to be integrated into the landscape plan somewhere in the vicinity of 20th Street where it approaches Lakeside Drive, part of which involves the conversion of the waterfront block of 20th Street into a pedestrian promenade. Ene and I are excited to be working with DCE Planning, who have developed an inspiring landscape plan that combines classic, city park design with ecologically sophisticated structures and plantings.
Wowhaus public projects always commence with a series of improvised community charrettes, where we meet with random samplings of people who represent our target audience. We usually have a survey prepared and visual references to encourage conversation, but mostly we just talk to folks, see what’s on their minds about the neighborhood, the city, the state of the world. Sometimes we stumble into new territory to develop as we advance our project, but most often we find evidence that our thinking is on the right track. The results of this process help us to make a strong case for our proposal, while assuring its successful reception by the community.
Click here to learn more about Deep Craft Atelier, a pop-up store at Storefront Lab.
I designed a portable, adjustable-length hole-drilling jig for mounting trucks to decks.
I’ve been having fun making my first production run of Deep Deck longboards in Jupiter, my hydraulic press, whose crushing force shapes camber and concavities in veneers of elm, black walnut and acacia. I love when production runs give me a chance to invent specific jigs and fixtures, and I’m getting ready to try out my new truck hole-drilling jig in anticipation of my Deep Craft Atelier project at Storefront Lab.
The jig is the latest development in my line of portable tools to make skateboard decks at remote sites in anticipation of a series of pop-up stores in the SF Bay Area and along the West Coast. Consisting of two identical blocks of 3/4″ thick aluminum, threaded along standard 3/8″ diameter all-thread, the jig allows for an adjustable wheelbase, and serves as a template for drilling mounting holes for standard trucks using a hand drill.
Click here to read more about the development of the Deep Deck longboard.
Clothing Designer Gabriel Russo models the Deep Jersey.
I’ve been collaborating with my friend Gabriel Russo on the first in a series of Deep Craft garments, an open-neck, pull-over jersey. Inspired by the vintage LL Bean canvas fisherman’s tunic I wore daily as an apprentice house builder and later as a deckhand on a salmon seiner, the Deep Jersey evolved over several conversations and took shape under the capable hands of Mr Russo, master pattern-maker, clothing designer and all around style maven.
We worked together to alter the shape of the original tunic to suit a more contemporary fit, less about work and more about leisure. Using himself as a model, Gabriel made a new pattern; we both tried on the canvas prototype and agreed upon some further alterations to optimize the jersey’s multi-functionality and comfort in motion without losing its simplicity. Gabriel made a new series of prototypes in stretch denims of various weights and colors, shortened the collar, added a button loop at the neck, and emphasized the interior pocket with colorful stitching.
We’ll be introducing the Deep Jersey at my Deep Craft Atelier pop-up store project later this summer at Storefront Lab in San Francisco’s Mission District. Meanwhile, we’ve already begun to talk about a suitable trouser.
Gabriel tries on the original tunic and measures for alterations.
We critiqued Gabriel’s canvas prototype on board ‘Suddenly’.
My latest Simple Chair prototype is ready for presentation.
Following some welcome critique with the client I’ve modified the design of my Simple Chair and made a new prototype. The new chair is a little wider, with a slightly taller backrest, more mortised joints, beefier legs and wider but skinnier components, all realized in white ash from the Pacific Northwest.
My original concept was pretty close to the mark, but was wanting in comfort and stability and held a bit too stridently to my desire to make a dining chair from one repeated part. The original spirit remains in tact, with improvements on all fronts. I’m going to recommend the chair be whitewashed with milk paint in production, a simple, non-toxic and easily maintained alternative to other paints and finishes.
‘Jupiter’, my recently completed hydraulic press, forms two Deep Deck blanks at a time.
I first started calling my new hydraulic press ‘Jupiter’ when I was forming up the concrete blocks, knowing its compressive force would exceed that of the planet Jupiter, whose gravitational pull is about three times that of Earth’s. The planet Jupiter is named after the ruling god in Roman cosmology, the god of sky and thunder. As the press took shape I realized it evoked the ancient stone alters dedicated to Jupiter, so the name stuck.
I can now press two Deep Deck longboard blanks at a time, doubling my production capabilities and eliminating a complex clamping procedure. ‘Jupiter’ will be central to my Deep Craft Atelier, to premier at Storefront Lab in San Francisco’s Mission District this summer. My longboards will now sport the distinctive stamp, ‘Made in Jupiter’.
The planet Jupiter has roughly three times the gravitational force of Earth.
I’m proud to post the final episode of Kirsten Dirksen’s three part documentary she filmed in one day this past winter when she was visiting from Barcelona, home base for her company, faircompanies.com. This is my favorite one and I think it does a wonderful job of presenting the core of my Deep Craft philosophy. I especially appreciate her featuring my Deep Deck so prominently, which I’m poised to launch this summer at Storefront Lab in San Francisco through a three week pop-up store project I’m calling Deep Craft Atelier (more about this soon).
To watch the video on Kirsten’s site, read her commentary and link to her other video productions featuring “community and access to tools on sustainable culture”, please click here.
