New Backrest for a Danish Teak Chair

 

Not having a whole lot of dimensional teak I went with a similar looking wood, red oak. Planed it from 3/4 inch down to just under three eights inch. The customer will finish the piece as they see fit. Groovy original fabric, don’t you think?

Traced out and remove the extra wood, round it over the edges with a tiny spokeshave. 

Started matching the stain color after comparing similarities between the original.

Steamed it bent it over a tire that happened to be just the right arc, hence the black tread pattern. 

Glued into place. 

Preview to a Door

Here is a snapshot of a new door that is coming out of the shop. This is the door just before it received a fresh coat of black paint. The fresh paint needs to dry completely before the glass goes in. 

Axes for the Wall

 

  Following the hipster return to the tried and true FilliQuist took some time to remake some axes that is had procured. After cleaning up the heads and handles, replacing as needed some paint was carefully applied in individual patterns to allow the axes to be kept out in the open instead of being hidden away with the other tools. I really like these and will have a hard time letting them sell at the Filliquist store!

Not Germany but close...

I think I had socks like this in the 80's...

I might keep this one so go buy it before I remove it from our store!

A Cut Above

  I had a large volume of oak scraps in the shop and instead of putting them to the fire as many might I used their unique shapes to dictate the final form. They turned out great and are going to last a long time and are sure to serve all the kitchens they have the fortune to end up in very well.

Who said a cutting board had to be a rectangular slab?

Live Edge Bed

  Here is a little project that I put together from an Aspen tree that I had cut into planks at the local sawmill. The bedposts were cut with a bandsaw from the cores of the upper portions of the felled Aspen. The headboard, footboard, and side rails are live edge pieces of Aspen wood. The bed posts show just a hint of natural edge.
  The Aspen is really nice since it doesn't yellow quite the same way that pine can and it has a nice soft wide grain with those darker contrasting knots. In the right light you can even see some ripples in the wood. The color of the footboard in the pictures above and below is the true color of the wood.
  The bed is a queen size mattress is topped with a nice memory foam mattress with a wool pile mattress cover and a nice down comforter. I still haven't slept on it yet but I hear it is really comfortable!

Headboard detail

Even closer detail

Full view of the headboard

Oh Blog How I Neglect Thee...

Please forgive my absence. Again. Again. It will be argued that I may be a better father than blogger (doesn't he look happy?). Either way I have not stopped working.
  That being said, here is a fire basket, or eldkorg in swedish, to be used outside on those cold winter days while you decorate your home for the holiday season or watch family games on the lawn.

 As for use in Sweden, we like to put them at the end of our driveway to mark our house so that friends don't miss the driveway when coming over for festivities after dark (about 4pm or so). They can be purchased for 1200 kr (about $150 USD). If your are thinking, "gosh, why so much?", it is because this is the last basket you will need to buy as is welded solid, no screws or other nonsense, and is made from 10mm (3/8") steel and will not rust and fall apart after two years.

See it works!

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!

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...

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:

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!

You are not a storyteller - Stefan Sagmeister @ FITC from FITC on Vimeo.

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

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.

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).

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. 

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!  

Light3

   Fresh off the prototype bench- here is a light design that I have been thinking about for a while. I needed something that could bridge the gap between a pendant and a bedside light that was compact but still gave enough light to read by- you know- so as to not upset my optometrist.... 

  Each little window can accept a piece of wood or steel that reflects light as well as let light through holes for a pattern on the wall. As pictured, the wood veneer used as a shade adds a natural element to the design. The light can be outfitted with any type of plug and FilliQuist is working on making different panels (fabric, frosted glass, patterned glass, woven shade panel, metal screen, etc.) that can pop in or out easily.

The Norrsylta Bookcase (Painted)

     We left our tall bookcases back in the US which means we are still sort of "moving in". Well we have now finally put our books away. This bookcase is just over 3 feet tall or for us folks in the metric part of the world an even meter. And they are also about 8 feet long or 2.5 meter. Now- I keep saying "they" since I made two thinking that we had all these books and stuff to organize. Well turns out that these cases hold much more than I could imagine since just one case absorbed all of our stuff with room to spare! Now what to do with the extra one?....Hmmmm? Ideas? anyone? Bueller? (movie reference there)

Norrsylta Entry Shelf

   It is the details that can bring a home together and keep you sane. In this case the phones and modem were sitting on the chair in the lower left corner of the picture and it drove me nuts! Now they all have a proper place. Features include a forged hanger for a purse and a lower shelf  that is great for loose mail and all those little things (but not too little) like sunglasses, car keys, a plant, a bottle of wine, firewood, car parts, Honey Badger repellent- or whatever else one needs as they head out the door!

The Norrsylta Desk

  New home. New office. New desk!

The variety of engineered wood products in Sweden is exceptional. Taking advantage of that the Norrsylta Desk has a butcher block Acacia wood top (FSC of course) and fabricated steel legs. 

An American Round Table - Only Bigger (of course)...

 Sometimes finding the perfect table can be so very very daunting. In this case I had clients that had found the perfect table from Restoration Hardware (RH) where the round table was too small and not quite the right finish. You can see the RH listing here (for now at least). Ultimately they needed the same table, only a little more ....perfect? The table from RH is built with Pine. They said that this wouldn't really work for them so they asked for other woods. In the end there were three types that went into the table- Oak and Poplar for the top and Pine for the pedestal and feet. The pedestal part of the table is carved from a single piece of wood with the legs being attached separately. Perhaps the best for the client was that I was able to use locally sourced wood from a nearby farm in Washington state. Just remember- if you want it you can get it!