Woodworking
ABOUT
Since 2022, I have been taking woodworking classes each semester, acquiring skills in computer–assisted machining, shop power tools, and handicrafts. I have earned enough credits to fulfill a studio art minor.
My ongoing woodworking practice has given me a well-rounded understanding of materials and manufacturing that I apply to my academic and professional product design.
FOCUS
Furniture & lighting design, material experimentation
CONTEXT
Personal work & university projects
• CNC
SKILLS
• CNC
• Industrial–grade power tools
• DFM
• BoMs & technical drawings
• Wood carving
Doublechair
2025
knotty alder
With its 2 tiered seats, this furniture piece can function as a chair with a side table, a high–top stool, or a unique end table. I wanted it to appear charming — even slightly silly, prompting the viewer to pause and consider what its purpose might be.
When creating this design, I was inspired by my relationship to my sister. Although the chair allows two people to sit, it situates them on different levels, facing away from each other. I imagined that the two users might be doing different activities, while still immersed in the quiet comfort of each other's company.
Unity
2024
bent—laminated plywood
When designing this lampshade, I aimed to evoke three qualities: dynamism, interconnectedness, and manipulation of light. 42 "plus signs" repeat in an overlapping chain, with the unpolished finish of birch plywood. In my mind, the pattern resembles an elementary school paper chain of people joining hands, and I like the feeling of "togetherness" that it captures.
Bent lamination is a tedious process when working this small–scale. I laser–cut 168 pieces, setting half of them aside to be bent to the radius of the cylinder (figure 1). After gluing the pieces in pairs to maintain their shape, I attached the vertical pieces to the bent horizontal pieces with dowel segments, forming 42 plusses (figure 2).
Several rings (figures 3, 4) of plusses form a cylinder 4 rows high. With a low–emissive, incandescent bulb, the warm light filters beautifully through the gaps in the lampshade, casting intricate shadows like sunlight through leaves (figure 5).
figure 1
figure 2
figure 3
figure 4
figure 5
Carving
2026
basswood, pine, scrap wood
Carving is a recent interest, spurred by an impulse to get back to a type of creating that feels more physical.
I've realized that slowness is important to my creative process, and it's something that I miss in the fast–paced context of my professional and academic design work. As I decide what cuts to make, I pay attention to the grain of the wood, noticing any knots or splinters. I let the material guide me. In that respect, it's both meditative and informative for the rest of my design work. Even when designing at the computer, the goal is always to get at something real.
