In my last design blog I talked about the potential for artisan made furniture to function as a kind of probe or avant garde for the broader world of industrial design. I can think of no better example of this sort of thing than the work of Rich Tannen. Rich, who teaches Furniture at Rochester Institute of Technology, has explored the use of the computer controlled router to achieve wonderfully sculptural textures in solid wood, sometimes in the making of sculpture and sometimes in pieces of furniture.
You can see his work at http://richtannen.com/home.html.
But the synergy of design inspiration isn’t unidirectional. The design world has a lot to teach craftsman as well. Here I think of historical examples like the work of the Finnish architect and furniture designer Alvar Aalto.
If you aren’t afraid of a heady case of design fever, check out some of the links we have provided on our website (you’ll find them at the bottom right of your screen on every page) with various design blogs and sites.
