Jun 3, 2009

New Furniture Talent Debuts

Englewood, New Jersey — Designer-artisan Richard Nardone announces the launch of his new furniture studio, offering eco-friendly wooden beds, tables and decorative accessories. The dramatic pieces are all made to order, by hand, and feature large-scale slabs of sustainable hardwoods, whose sinuously organic edges are left in their natural states. “The slabs themselves suggest the direction of the design; I let my work be a channel to expose the singular character of the tree,” he notes.

Nardone sells his work to the trade as well as directly to consumers; each piece is one of a kind, created to the specifications of his residential and commercial clients. His nod to the spirit of Nakashima extends to his use of traditional hand-tooled Japanese joinery techniques without the use of hardware, including mortise and tenon braces, butterfly inserts and dovetailing.

Green properties. All woods have been harvested by environmentally responsible mills or from foresters who salvage pre-fallen trees or those destined for cutting due to disease, area construction or highway development. Finishing oils contain no V.O.C.s and are 100% non-toxic. A partner with American Forests, a nonprofit which replaces irresponsibly cut acreage and fire-damaged forests, he has made a “Tree Planting Pledge” to plant 100 trees for each of his pieces sold. He is also an active member of the Sustainable Furniture Council.

Debut collection:

• “L’onda Bed.” A spare, modern platform and frame of South American Ipe wood anchors a commanding, asymmetrically-shaped headboard sliced from a log of rare English elm. King, queen or custom proportions and woods.
• “Bella Donna Tavola.” When the slab for this coffee table was cut from a large English walnut log, the dark grain heartwood center suggested a silhouette of the Virgin Mary. The base is constructed of two slanted opposing walnut arched boards, secured via mortice and tenon brace. Custom woods and proportions.
• “Scrivania Di Fortuna.” This unusual writing desk was sawn from a rare English elm log, inherently “ornamented” with burl clusters and idiosyncratic grain patterns. The desk top is balanced on a wishbone leg sculpted from reclaimed mahogany; the opposing side has a dovetailed corner edge. Custom woods and proportions.
• “Fiamma Tavolini.” An end table with acacia slab top reclaimed from Hurricane Katrina, cantilevered over an angled plane of reclaimed mahogany. Bocote butterfly keys secure stress cracks. Custom woods and proportions.
• “Atlante Specchio.” Mirror support of Y shaped heavily burled English elm piece. Inspired by Atlas carrying the world on his shoulders. Available as wall mount or console pedestal. Custom woods and proportions.
• “Piccola Donna.” Coffee table with elements inspred by mid-century modern design. The English walnut slab is balanced above two planes of reclaimed mahogany, one angled and one upright each braced by oblong floor stretcher. Custom woods and proportions.
• “Oleaje.” Surfboard shaped claro walnut coffee table set upon angled arc-shaped base at one end and tapered leg at the other. Stress cracks secured with rosewood butterfly inserts. Custom woods and proportions.

About Richard Nardone. Richard is the fourth generation of a designer craftsman family. His great grandfather Gerardo was a cabinet maker, known in his small town of Avelino, Italy, as the rigoroso perfezione (strict perfectionist). His grandfather Sabatillo (Peter) followed in his father’s footsteps as a carpenter/ home builder, bringing his craft to America in the early 20th century. Richard’s father Ramon, a structural engineer, taught his son basic architectural principles. With such a strong lineage and the opportunity as a child to work with his father and grandfather in the shop, the attraction to woodworking and precision craftsmanship was instinctive. And though after university Richard became a telecommunications marketing expert and ran his own successful business for 12 years, he recognized recently he’d been fighting against his passion and decided to follow his dream as a furniture designer & craftsman. He’s now the heir to Gerardo’s vintage tools, which he cherishes and uses for old world techniques.