Monday, December 29, 2014

Happy New Year! A Surprise! And a Gift!


   Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year  from FilliQuist! Many new things are coming out from the studio. A new bed, a candle holder specifically for burning stubs of candles, a mobile (the kind that hangs overhead), a new table (or two!), and some new lighting.
  Also I would like to introduce my first born child, Ellis Muir Filliquist! Born in October, he has been keeping my wife and I very busy!

  And finally a little gift! For those times you need some white noise, the sounds of nature, or something to distract you from the hectic world around you, check out Noisli.com! You can use the app right form the home page or download it from the Apple store. Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Mid Century Barn Find Has Surgery and Makes a Comeback

   When collecting windows for a greenhouse project to be completed next summer I found these cabinets neglected in a barn. They had 15+ years of dirt and dust on them and, unfortunately, their little legs and feet were beginning to melt into the mud and needed to be amputated.
   After a thorough cleaning and a little surgery, the two mid century style boxes were fitted with a shared prosthetic...

Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Magnus


   A little something out of the shop. It comes from a design that a friend found, apparently it had already been purchased and he wanted it. So a replication was in order.
 The frame is made of solid steel 3/4 inch (19mm) square rod. The top is butcher block oak that has been fumed and then finished with an antique recipe that I have been dying to try for years. It came out amazing! The middle shelf is zinc coated sheet metal that has been given a nice black patina. All of the metal is waxed to seal it from any corrosion and protect the steel for many years.
  There are more detailed pictures (click on to magnify) after the jump:

Monday, September 8, 2014

I Am Not a Storyteller, I Am a Designer

  While at a recent conference or whatever you want to call it- a convention really- I was asking different people of the design industry what they saw as important for breaking into the design industry and getting a business moving, growing, breathing! Anything!!  Of all the BS remarks that I can't even remember there was one that really got under my skin. They said, "you need to tell a story...." Whhhaaaaatttt? So now that I design, manage, produce, sell, and finance my little world now I have to become a what? A storyteller? Like J.R. Tolkin? David Sedaris? Rudyard Kipling? What are storytellers known for designing that we are sitting on, talking/texting on, playing, or otherwise using today?
Nothing. That's what.

Rant over.

 Then I saw this video and realized I wasn't so alone in the world. I am so happy, I am going back to designing!

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Design Hangover- Birch Beer Edition

Dear Blog,
  I never thought that I would be writing a letter to you; I suppose, though, that it has come to this. I just finished that last of the Birch Beer and after much thinking there are some conclusions that I have come to.

First- I am bored with design. Now this is a loaded statement. By "design" I mean the design world as a whole. Some new chair being released! so what....  There is a new app that will help you design your whole garden and even tells you where to put the plants! Amazing!!! big whoop...  Nearly every aspect of the design world is seems to come across as totally and completely hollow, fake, and over hyped.

Second- Reflecting on the FilliQuist portfolio I am not too impressed right now. I was forced to look at my work as the deadline for the Greenhouse application for the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair approaches. Perusing things that I had thought were great once now seems a little blah. I have better and you will see them little Blog- I promise.

Third- Those better ideas that I have... I will make them a reality and you (Blog) and you (readers) will see them. These are not ideas that are mediocre, but ideas that I hope will truly inspire and show what I have hoped for FilliQuist to present all these years past and continue to show well into the future.

Finally- My dear little blog, I no longer will be sharing mostly FilliQuist information, products and achievements. The world will be allowed to make it's impression upon your pages and things that shape the FilliQuist world shall be exposed here upon you.

Ever your humble servant,
  Skip Filliquist

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Crafting Beer


   After visiting Formex and then the Stockholm Furniture Fair FilliQuist has been working mostly on a strategy for entering the main stream market. As a result the work completed looks more like paperwork, notes, and networking than anything that is normally posted here. So here is a beer.
  The crafting has not stopped completely though. I had enough time to make a batch of Birch Beer! All bottled and clarified it will be ready in time for midsummer. A nice light beer with a 7% kick! Can't wait!
    Things will begin moving in the shop very soon. First there is a visit to see friends and family and get some inspiration in the U.S.A. After that I will be constructing a sawmill, reorganizing the current shop, and building a bit of outdoor workspace.
   If you are looking for a fix, feel free to check out work on our house at Building Bjorkliden.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Restoration of Swedish Woodstove


   How is this for instant gratification? We bought this Handöl wood stove in bad condition and I spent some time (quite a bit actually) cleaning, polishing, welding, resealing, and reassembling this little classic. It is made of a cast iron frame that holds together many pieces of soapstone and cast iron ports (ash clean out, stoking door, and exhaust port out the back of the stove).

Monday, February 3, 2014

Stout Oak Coffee Table


   Here is the latest piece out of the studio. The top is most plainly a solid slab of European White Oak that has been resting in a barn for many years. To prevent the checking (or splits) from growing any bigger three bow ties have been added dressing this little gent nicely.
   Being fortunate enough to work with large slabs of wood it is difficult to mount the top on suitable legs. Search just a little and one will find a very eclectic mix of mostly awkward bases under a gorgeous monolith of wood. Work is still being done on a variety of supports that are appropriate and closer to the perfection that will rest above. 

Friday, January 24, 2014

Chandelier No. 5.1


  It has been just over a year since Chandelier No. 5 was introduced so for it's first anniversary I thought a I would do a version with more shine and polish. So with gloss black paint and copper fittings I present Chandelier no. 5.1!