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Inspired By: Lighting Designer Tom Rossau

This week, we are 'Inspired By' the rising Danish craftsman and designer Tom Rossau, whose imaginative, sculptural lights are impossible not to marvel at. With their bending, twisting, and inter-weaving handmade forms, Rossau's signature Pendant Lights are, understandably, showing up in more and more thoughtfully designed spaces (and on more and more envious design blogs). 

The man behind these distinctively intricate lights is Copenhagen-based Tom Rossau, a 40-something maker who is self-admittedly obsessed with light and shadow. Since 2004, Rossau has been crafting his intricate lights from malleable wood veneers such as birch. The combination of natural materials bent into delightful and surprising forms is what sets a Rossau light apart. Below you can see photos of Tom at work in his Copenhagen studio.

As a Scandinavian, Rossau has an intimate knowledge of the dramatic changes in light throughout the calendar year, and the corresponding effects these changes have on interior spaces and people's moods. With this context in mind, it's no wonder why Rossau's lamps are celebrated for both their artistic forms as well as their practical function. The experimentality and diversity in Tom's work is clearly a result of the designer's deep reserves of creative energy and curiosity, "I will never be finished making lamps." 

We certainly hope that's true.

Read more about Tom's stroy here. See the whole line of Tom Rossau lights here.

The Hudson Company Family of Select Harvest Walnut Floors

The Broome Street Hotel, New York., featuring The Hudson Company Select Harvest Walnut [Clear Finish] floors.

The Broome Street Hotel, New York., featuring The Hudson Company Select Harvest Walnut [Clear Finish] floors.

The Broome Street Hotel, New York.

The Broome Street Hotel, New York.

Unlike our range of Reclaimed products, Hudson Company Select Harvest wood floors are custom milled to meet your design specifications from new wood, and are available either unfinished or pre-finished.

Within our wide inventory of Select Harvest flooring, there is no species more diverse or attractive than Hudson Company Walnut. Select Harvest Walnut is currently available in nine custom finishes, including (from left to right above) Lunar, Barley, Herringbone, Roebling, Charred, and Cacao - each with their own distinct aesthetic qualities and installation profiles (click the links to learn more). 

From the purple-brown tones of Charred Walnut, to the timeless elegance of Herringbone Walnut, to the warm, broad swirling grain patterns of the Lunar and Roebling finishes, the entire family of Select Harvest Walnut floors is character-rich and versatile enough to succeed in a wide range of design applications. 

To learn more about our unique family of Select Harvest Walnut flooring, or how we can help you reach your goals for your next design project, please write to us at info@thehudsonco.com and a member of The Hudson Company Team will be in touch within one business day. 

 

The Ming: Bryan Nash Gill + The Hudson Company

Artist Bryan Nash Gill working on 'The Ming' at The Hudson Company's Brooklyn Showroom, April 2013.

Artist Bryan Nash Gill working on 'The Ming' at The Hudson Company's Brooklyn Showroom, April 2013.

‘The best art is simple, direct, and resonates without explanation. It is connected, simply, to the way things are.’ Curator and friend of the artist, Steven Holmes

Simple. Direct. Resonant. If there was ever an artist and craftsman whose work was powerful through its simplicity - it was prolific sculptor, painter, and printmaker Bryan Nash Gill (1961 - 2013).

For three days in April 2013, The Hudson Company was proud to collaborate with and host Bryan in our Brooklyn showroom, where he created the extraordinary ‘Ming’ duo-tone woodcut print. At sixteen feet in length, the ‘Ming’ became not only Bryan’s largest ever woodcut print, but also the last print he would make before his unexpected death in May of that year.

This unique collaboration was born after The Hudson Company acquired a hardwood beam originating from a temple from the Ming Dynasty of China (14th - 17th centuries). As long time admirers of Bryan’s work, we wondered what stories he might be able to draw out of such a venerable artifact; what history the grain and knots of the ancient beam could reveal?

With his signature passion for exploration, Bryan applied his creative process to the ‘Ming’ project with a childlike excitement. During those three days, Bryan described what drove him to continually experiment and develop his craft: ‘...it’s a process of discovery, a process of learning, a process of putting yourself on the edge and kind of having the courage to go forth and see what happens, and learn from the process.’

At the end of his three days of ‘discovery’ at The Hudson Company showroom, Bryan produced a large-scale print that is both beautiful and surprising. Far removed from its place and era and utility of origin, ‘The Ming’ shows us a new perspective on the patterns of life encapsulated in the lines and layers of wood. Like a massive fingerprint from a distant time and place, ‘The Ming,’ like all of Bryan’s woodcuts, draws viewers into the very heart of wood - past it’s surface and color and hardness - to the nucleus of it’s identity.

Steven Holmes describes the woodcuts of Bryan Nash Gill as a way to, ‘participate in historically anchored beauty,’ by understanding wood, ‘not as an object, but as a verb.’ Today, ‘The Ming’ hangs proudly in The Hudson Company showroom as a symbol of the new perspectives that can be gained from reimagining historical artifacts. It hangs as a tribute to our friend Bryan. It hangs as an example of beautiful craftsmanship and innovative vision. It hangs as a reminder of the resonance that comes from simple beauty found in the way things are.

Watch the video below to see Bryan at work on The Ming in The Hudson Company's Brooklyn Showroom, in April 2013.

Wood At Work 2015 Conference | Oct. 29 - 30 at The Bronx Zoo

 

The Hudson Company is proud to be a partner and sponsor of this year's Wood At Work Conference, taking place at The Bronx Zoo on October 29 and 30.

Wood at Work: Elegant Strategies for Architecture, City-Building, and Forest Conservation promises to be one of the world’s most dynamic forums (and, we believe, its first) focused on the link between sustainable wood use in an urban context, and the strategies that make sourcing this wood truly beneficial to global forest conservation efforts.

The event will bring together influential architects, foresters, policy makers, ecologists, and urban planners. Keynote speakers will include renowned architect and historian Kenneth Frampton; Eric Sanderson director of the Manhattan Project; Lars Laestadius of the World Resources Institute; and celebrated forest ecologist Robin Chazdon, as well as a lineup of urbanists, artists, craftsmen and musicians.

Wood at Work is positioned to radically impact the discourse around wood and forest policy in American cities. Situated in NYC, the global centre of innovative urban thinking, our intimate setting at the Bronx Zoo and multidisciplinary lineup of speakers, panels, and activities will accelerate the kind of solutions that cross-disciplinary collaboration strives for but all too rarely achieves.

Learn more about the exciting Wood At Work 2015 Conference and register to join us here (space is limited).

Product In Focus: Select Harvest White Oak [Barley Finish]

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The Hudson Company's Select Harvest White Oak [Barley Finish], shown above as installed in New York's exclusive Spice Warehouse, celebrates the rustic nature of White Oak and is inclusive of knots, sap wood, and grain variation. The material's grain structure invites penetrating stains or can be fumed to create a warm walnut-like tonality. Our Select Harvest White Oak [Barley Finish] floors are pre-finished with a low-VOC finish.

Specifications: 3/4" x 4-8" x 3-14'. Tongue & Groove. End Matched. Micro-Beveled. New Face. Solid or Engineered. Pre-finished.

Learn more or get a quote for your next project here.

Featured Design Installation: A Brooklyn Brownstone Reimagined

As a part of a move from Manhattan to Brooklyn, a New York family took on the exciting, albeit daunting, task of not only renovating but, completely redesigning a Carroll Gardens brownstone.

Reimagining this particular Brownstone included opening up the interior spaces to more light, rejoining the house into a single family residence (it had previously been three apartments), and refreshing both the rear and the front facades.

Led by Lang Architecture, the interior redesign included the installation of 1,000 square feet of The Hudson Company 6" Select Harvest White Oak [Rift and Quartered] flooring. This uniform 6" oak plank contributed significantly to helping the client and architect reach their goals of creating a fresh, modern interior that honored the rich, historic tradition of the home. Once installed, the Select Harvest flooring was finished on site.

More about Select Harvest White Oak [Rift and Quartered} here.

More about this project at Remodelista.com.

Photos by Ty Cole for Lang Architecture.

 

Our client came to us with a very clear vision, they wanted to restore the historic elements of the house, but they also wanted it to feel fresh and modern—to bring light in and make the room as open and spacious as possible.” Drew Lang
— From 'A House United' at Remodelista.com
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Product In Focus: Reclaimed Mixed Oak [Parquet De Versailles]

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Sometimes a floor is just a floor. And sometimes, a floor is a statement piece - a work of functional art. That's how we feel about our Reclaimed Mixed Oak [Parquet de Versailles] flooring - a classic that has stood the test of time.

Available as either finished or unfinished, this unique reclaimed flooring product is fabricated from antique, new face oak and assembled in a historically accurate Parquet de Versailles pattern.

The history and grain patterns evident in the wood compliments this esteemed flooring pattern with character inclusive of nail holes, ferrous stains, light checking and natural variation associated with antique oak. As an installation, the floor pays homage to the historic French parquetry while utilizing America's agrarian history.

Specifications: 3/4" x 36" x 36". Parquet de Versailles. New Face. Solid. Unfinished or Pre-Finished.

Get a quote for Reclaimed Mixed Oak [Parquet de Versailles] here or let us know how we can help you with your next design project here.

Featured Design Installation: Rag & Bone at Bloomingdales

For rising designer brand Rag & Bone, quality craftsmanship and true style go hand in hand.

And so, for the Rag & Bone boutique located within the men's department of Bloomingdale's at 59th and Lexington in New York, The Hudson Company created a floor to complement the brand's stylish, 'downtown sensibility, signature clean silhouettes and an inherent integrity.'

Utilizing 500 square feet of Reclaimed White Oak [Bare Finish] floor, laid out in a timeless Herringbone pattern, The Hudson Company custom crafted a floor to complement Rag & Bone's New York aesthetic.

Stop by Bloomingdales and see this installation for yourself or contact The Hudson Company today to get a quote for your next design project.

Product In Focus: Reclaimed Hemlock [Mushroom Wood]

One of our most popular products, 'Mushroom Wood' is a distinct offering from The Hudson Company and is available to our customers as both flooring (shown above) and for use in paneling applications (shown below).

Sourced from the decommissioned wooden bins used in mushroom growing facilities, Mushroom Wood has a character all its own. During the mushroom growth cycle, enzymes digest and erode the soft wood grain and produce an organic, sculpted effect in the wood. After the mushrooms are harvested, the wood displays a deep, open-grain texture and caramel hue. 

And while all of our Mushroom Wood products are made up of primarily Hemlock woods, they may also include elements of cypress and other softwoods. These natural variations in the Mushroom Wood are part of what endows these products with the strong aesthetic qualities that allow them to work well in numerous design applications. 

Learn more about Hudson Company Reclaimed Hemlock [Mushroom Wood] flooring and paneling or contact us to get a quote today.

Featured Design Installation: Private Residence, Rhinecliff, NY

Here's a little sneak peak at a new design installation that is currently still under construction in Rhinecliff, New York.

Located in one of the oldest hamlets along The Hudson River, this private residence, designed by local architect Warren Temple Smith, features several products from The Hudson Company's full product line, including Reclaimed Softwood Joists, Reclaimed Barn Siding [Brown Board], and Reclaimed Hemlock [Surfaced Mushroom Wood].

Above right you will see our Reclaimed Factory Maple used in an engineered chevron pattern designed to work with a set of bi-fold doors. Above left, you can see new structural beams custom-wrapped with Reclaimed Barn Siding [Brown Board] to introduce an weathered patina to the home's interior aesthetic (note the chevron bi-fold doors in the background). In the same image, below the large exposed beams, you will notice Reclaimed Softwood Joists installed above the kitchen.

Stay tuned for more photos and updates on this design installation in the weeks to come.

Click here for more examples of Residential Design Installations featuring Hudson Company wood products and design solutions.