I have a decent eye for design, and can usually figure out how to build what I can imagine, but crafting names for my designs is not my forte’.  So, I am enlisting the endless power of the interweb to see if I can shake something loose. To make it exciting without drawing blood, I will offer the winner the very bench that they craftily name. At $2,000, it’s a worth a bunch more than what you find in a cereal box and you have a better chance at winning than you do with scratch offs.

The “X” Bench family’s stunning profile creates a stir in any public setting.  Thanks to its symmetrical silhouette any number of configurations and arm options can be achieved, offering the utmost flexibility for modular indoor or outdoor seating.  Perfect as a stand-alone bench or ganged in a row, the crisp combination of hand-selected hardwoods and satin aluminum bands creates a durable and distinctive piece. Packs flat for efficient shipping.

Enter your name suggestions in the comment section below.  At the end of January  Feburary 14th!,I will weigh all of the entries and have a voting session with colleagues and friends. I will notify the winner third week of February. The bench will most likely be made from reclaimed mahogany, but I will hear out wishes.   The Bench will be shipped with the first production run and shipping costs are the responsibility
of the winner (not too bad since it packs flat).

The new version of the Swilken uses recycled aluminum for the base.  The aluminum beautifully renders the lines of the bench and the internal structure is expresses a bit differently from the concrete.

Here are a few of the new Swilken Benches installed in Polsinelli Shugart’s St. Louis office.  They make for a nice addition to their Gensler designed space.

The high polished reclaimed walnut top looks a mile deep.

The new hidden connection is very strong and unobtrusive.

The male end of the hanger is mounted to the concrete legs and allows for the top to slide onto the base with little effort, the single small set screw ties it all together.

The female hanger is nested into the wood top, allowing the connection to have a low profile.

Crisp edges and refined connections define the Flat bench family.  The unassuming silhouette is punctuated with clever joinery details, and the hand-picked grain variations in the laminated wood top highlight the materiality of the piece.  Available in a concrete or metal leg, the Flat bench’s simple form compliments any indoor or outdoor setting.

Indoor/outdoor bench with ReClaimed hardwood top and concrete or polished aluminum base.

The Swilken bench is inspired by its namesake – the Swilken Bridge on the 18th green of St. Andrew’s golf course.  Subtle curves create a graceful transition from the laminated hardwood top to concrete or aluminum legs.  The underside reveals a softly triangulated scallop that provides structural stability and delicate shadow, creating a signature profile in an interior or exterior landscape.

The Fundament series is a modern take on time-honored craftsmanship.  Through-mortise-and-tenon construction provides the strongest of wood connections without the need for fasteners.  The end grain exposed by this method creates beautiful patterning in the surface of the wood, highlighting the interlocking base and reclining form.  This distinctive piece is available in oak and a black hand-burned finish which you can watch here.

This Skunkworks project is a new stacking chair that will be released beginning of 2011. Elegant, comfortable, and immanently stylish, this chair is flexible enough for use in large halls, but provides a great design statement at your local coffee shop.

Here is the next new thing….

It will be available with arms, no arm and back with arms.  More to come soon.

MLB Designs is showing several Acronym pieces at their new Crossroads location.  MLB is a purveyor of beautiful furniture and home accessories. Maria or Cyndy would be happy to answer questions and give you a tour.

MLB Designs

2020 Baltimore Ave. Suite 105

Kansas City, MO, 64108

These columns were designed and built to be a part of my wedding this spring.  They were to be used as a outdoor wedding space to provide a bit of shade and cover for my bride and her attendants to prepare for the day and the rest to be used as the backdrop ofthe ceremony.

The reclaimed mahogany stacked for milling.  The color and grain of this wood is always pleasing to me.

The finish on the brackets is a hot dip oil finish that requires a death defying process of heating the steel to 500+ degrees and then dipping said steel into a barrel of oil.  The steel is so hot that when removed from the oil it self combusts, which is helpful in burning off excess oil, but provides a spectacle of fire and smoke.

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Here is a free standing base, allowing the columns to free stand.