INSPIRED BY: MICHAEL ANASTASSIADES

This week's 'Inspired By' is coming to you on a Sunday night, just before the new week is about to begin we take one last breath of weekend freedom and prepare for the coming week. What better way to do so than with a bit of fresh inspiration?

Michael began his studio in 1994 so by 'fresh' in no way do we mean that he is new to the world of design, though this may be an introduction to his work for some of you. Born in Cyprus he currently lives and works in London.

Below we take a look at some our favorites of his hand crafted products, not that it is easy to choose by any means!

The Captain lights were designed for Flos to be a multi-purpose free-standing lamp with a rotating head for reading or directional lighting. Brass and career marble or anthracite vanish with black marble are the two color way selections available, aptly suited for a multiplicity of interior spaces. 

'AMA' was created as a tribute to the pearl diving mermaids of Japan who spent centuries free diving in search of oysters along the ocean bed. This chandelier was another design for Flos. 

This family of IC Lights, also for Flos, is a favorite lighting design, period. The thin, elegant metal tubing that suspends a perfect sphere is really quite intriguing. The series includes a table lamp, floor lamp, sconce and pendant. 

One of his newer creations, Copycat is a table lamp composed of a hand blown glass globe and a solid metal aluminum sphere. 

“A simple shelf, suspended by a strap, seems to be in perfect balance, supporting the acrobatic equilibrium between the objects at each end. Both elements hug the wall with a precision reminiscent of impeccably wrought architect drawings.”

The triangular Tube chandler can be made in custom lengths to your specifications in satin brass or black patinated stainless steel. 

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]

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

INSPIRED BY: FAYE TOOGOOD'S CLOAKROOM

One of the highlights from this year's London Design Festival, currently taking place at the Victoria & Albert Museum, is designer Faye Toogood's interactive design installation 'The Cloakroom.' 

To get the full, immersive experience, festival-goers can walk into The V&A's actual cloakroom and put on one of Toogood's 150 custom-made topcoats - made in collaboration with Danish textile maker, Kvadrat. Each coat is composed of Kvadrat's Highfield fabric - a high-tech compressed foam material - and inside each topcoats is a map that guides the user around the museum's exhibits and toward a featured exhibit featuring a series of statues made by local British craftsmen and manufacturers, representing the materials of their respective fields, from plaster, studded rubber, marble, ceramic and bronze [see photo below].

If you're fortunate enough to be in London during this year's festival, make sure to stop in 'The Cloakroom' of the V&A Museum and put on a Toogood/Kvadrat coat as you tour the exhibit.

Product In Focus: Reclaimed Mixed Oak [Parquet De Versailles]

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.

Product In Focus: Reclaimed Hand Hewn Beams

Along with our custom-milled Reclaimed and Select Harvest wood flooring products, The Hudson Company also offers our customers and partners a wide range of high-quality, high-character Reclaimed Wood Beams. 

As a part of our line of Reclaimed Beams, our Hand Hewn hard and softwood beams are definitely our most commented upon; the rugged profile, slightly irregular geometry, and fascinating stories that accompany these beams inevitably make them conversation starters. 

Sourced from decommissioned agrarian structures across The Hudson Valley and Canadian Territories, these Hand Hewn beams include characteristics common in antique material crafted in the days before mechanized milling - including checks, mortise holes, and pockets.

Learn more about our Reclaimed Mixed Softwood Beams [Hand Hewn] and Reclaimed Mixed Hardwood Beams [Hand Hewn] or write to us with any specific questions you might have.

Installations Pictured Above: Restaurant ISA, Brooklyn and Private Residence, Greenwich, Conn.