Former jewelry designer Steven Pollack has crossed media to become a designer of exotic wood furniture. His specialty is making unique and contemporary tables and shelves from exotic hardwoods sourced around the world.
You can see his jewelry influence guiding this fresh furniture design style. email Steve@Bathgems.com today to talk about your LumberGem Furniture™
Lumbergem™ Furniture
What is a Lumbergem? Most wood used in furniture is fairly plain. There are exotic species, however, which display different color and grain than normally used in mass produced furniture.
Within these exotic species, there are a few truly exception slices that stand above the rest in figure, color, and sometimes shape when natural edges are involved. Only those really spectacular examples of various species make the grade to be called a Lumbergem. (continues below)
I liken Lumbergems to the gemstone minerals such as lapis lazuli, picture jasper, and jade that I used to work with as a jewelry designer of 15 years. These natural materials usually came to me already beautified by a lapidary. Here, exotic wood furniture making requires me to apply lapidary principles to raw unique wood specimens.
Exotic hardwood species used in our furniture include bubinga from Africa, cocobolo from South America, walnut burl from Europe, mahogany from South America, wenge from Africa, and sheoak from Australia.
What is Lumbergem furniture? A Lumbergem is used in its solid form. This creates special challenges for the furniture it goes into. The functional challenge is that it should remain indoors and in a relatively dry environment because wood expands and contracts as its cells expand and contract. This is why we don't recommend using solid wood in bathrooms for instance.
The design challenge is matching different pieces of wood in the same piece of furniture, a problem usually overcome by using sequential slices of veneer. In Lumbergem furniture, the harmonizing of features is done at a design level, not at the materials level.
What is the value of a Lumbergem? Like a fine gemstone a Lumbergem can be pulled out of its current furniture and be reset. It also has the thickness to be completely refinished many times so that the furniture itself can last forever. It is an investment in the very best of a rare earth material that can be passed on from generation to generation.
