John Grillo, a former business intelligence analyst from Denver, Colorado, is proving to be a highly creative designer whose use of negative space and clean, simple lines create a feeling of openness.
A previous project was a beech writing desk which exemplifies that philosophy, owing much to the contemporary movement of the late 20th century, with a pared-back design to create a piece both functional and highly decorative.
John has now completed a bird’s eye maple and fumed oak console table, with brass inlays to highlight the sense of the table’s top floating from its legs.
Bird’s eye maple is formed when a maple tree is grown in poor conditions and attempts to start numerous new buds to get more sunlight – but which are then aborted, leaving tiny knots that resemble the eyes of small birds.
It’s a relatively rare and unusual wood veneer, and John has incorporated it beautifully into a console table that reflects his simple yet elegant approach to furniture design.
John hopes to sell his table at one of the school’s graduation events next month, after which he’ll be setting up Rocky Mountain Fine Woodworking back in his native Denver.
