Sculpted Walnut Table for the Tiny House

While I’m waiting for the chimney parts and solar panels so I can continue work on the Tiny House, I figured I might as well get to work on the furniture that will fill it when it’s actually finished! To that end, my friend Erik Curtis (follow him on Instagram @encurtis) came out from Philly to help me build the sculpted table he designed for the space!

We had four days to construct it from walnut, and I’m super happy with how it turned out!

Erik and I met five years ago working together at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. When I was in Maine assisting Ashley Harwood teaching bowl turning at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship this summer, Erik happened to be doing an artist fellowship there as well and we got to talking about collaborating together on a project in Seattle over Christmas. For me, square is easy. Coming up with a square table or cabinet design is no problem at all. Erik specializes in sculpture and design, and he had plenty to teach me on the subject during his visit. I got to apply the power carving techniques I’d learned carving the alpaca sculpture with Michael Alm a few weeks ago, Erik showed me how to design using foam insulation (carves quick and easy) and he taught me a new joinery technique I hadn’t used to affix the legs to the top.

It’s always fun to have a friend in the shop, and even more fun to have a concentrated block of time in the shop to devote to starting and (finishing) a project, a luxury I don’t often have between running the farm and keeping up with my writing, photography, and social media businesses. However, a goal I’ve set for 2019 is to find more hours in the day to spend in the shop, as I’ve got some really fun project ideas and a nice new shop in which to build them!