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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Fifty years from now: Christian Woo

Christian Woo
Christian Woo (1973- ) says that working with wood is in his blood. His grandfather was a woodworker and a handyman, and Woo learned craftsmanship and working with his hands from him.

Woo came to furniture design in a roundabout way. He worked as a landscaper after high school. Then he got a job in the film industry building sets and rigging. From there, he went on to be a cabinetmaker and honed his craft. In 2005 he applied and was accepted at the Ontario College of Art and Design, but he decided at the last minute not to go. Instead, he started his own studio. He said, "I was already doing what I wanted to do, and so going to school would have meant doing it four years later."

His first commercial piece was a bar stool that came out in 2008. He followed with the Covert Series, a collection of low-profile chests of drawers that doubled as benches, each featuring a brightly colored horizontal strip in green, blue, yellow or white.

About his current collection,  the 39-year-old designer jokes, "We’ve been calling it the ‘2012 collection based on core geometry,’ but that’s pretty wordy." 

Woo was the winner of the 8th annual Carter Wosk British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for Applied Art and Design. He is quickly making quite a name for himself, and I predict that many of his pieces will be considered classics in fifty years.

From straight.com and christianwoo.com



Angled table
trendhunter.com

Boomerang chair
woodindesign.com

Cantilevered side table
providehome.com

Covert Series low credenza
designmilk.com

Bar stools
providehome.com

Cabinets
tinastsh.com

Maker's mark
designmilk.com

10 comments:

  1. Great post. I like the Boomerang Chair very much.x

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    1. My favorites are that gorgeous Boomerang Chair and that Covert credenza with the splash of color. Woo is really a talented guy!

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  2. They are seriously masculine pieces!

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    1. You're right. There's nothing dainty about his design.

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  3. I predict you are correct. They will be classics. I will keep an eye out for his stuff at the Los Angeles design shows. As usual I have learned something from your blog. :)

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    1. He's quite the designer, isn't he? I look forward to seeing great things from him.

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  4. ohh all that bold wood grain! I will take two of those Boomerang chairs...i just love the slant to the ottomans. Beautiful furniture.

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    1. The ottoman is a real eye catcher, I think, and the Boomerang chair is the stuff of dreams!

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  5. Simple, functional and gorgeous and solid wood! That credenza and the cabinets are my favs but love it all! I just finished refinishing a solid oak desk that looks like it could have been designed by him, only about 10 years before he was born. : ) Going to try it up on the blog later today...

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    1. I'll be looking for that desk on your blog. I always love seeing your finished projects.

      And those cabinets...I'd love to have those in my house!

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