Nakashima Pen Holder
Early 2000s American Arts and Crafts More Desk Accessories
Wood
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Animal Sculptures
Teak
Vintage 1960s Scandinavian Scandinavian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Leather, Wood
Antique Late 17th Century Scandinavian Baroque Sculptures and Carvings
Wood
20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Opaline Glass
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Animal Sculptures
Teak, Leather
Vintage 1970s American Scandinavian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Teak
Vintage 1960s Scandinavian Modern Animal Sculptures
Travertine
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Wood, Leather
20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Early 20th Century Scandinavian Folk Art Sculptures and Carvings
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Wood, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Sculptures and Carvings
Softwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Walnut, Wood
2010s Danish Scandinavian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
Vintage 1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Animal Sculptures
Brass
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Recent Sales
Early 2000s American Arts and Crafts More Desk Accessories
Wood
Early 2000s American Arts and Crafts More Desk Accessories
Wood
Early 2000s American Arts and Crafts More Desk Accessories
Wood
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories
21st Century and Contemporary American Desk Accessories
Wood
Mira Nakashima for sale on 1stDibs
For nearly two decades, Mira Nakashima worked in the shadow of her legendary father, master woodworker George Nakashima. She never intended to follow in his footsteps, but she was persuaded to join him in his woodworking business after earning a graduate degree in architecture from Tokyo’s Waseda University.
“My father was an architect who went to Harvard, didn’t like it and switched to MIT,” Nakashima explains.
“I went to Harvard and loved it. He encouraged me to study architecture, so I did. I would rather have studied music. I was in a dance group and a choral group. After college, my godmother took me on a tour of Zen monasteries in Japan. I went to live there with an aunt to master Japanese, flower arranging and the tea ceremony. Then I went to Waseda University, learning architecture by the atelier system, where you actually build things. I married a fellow student and we began having children. After we moved to Pittsburgh and had more babies, my father asked me if I wanted to come ‘home,’ promising to build us a house near him. My husband liked the idea, so we went. I began to do part-time work for my father. It was just a job. Then my husband and I parted, so I went to work with Dad. It was never planned.”
That part-time position turned into a full-time job, and when George Nakashima died, in 1990, Mira was faced with a choice: continue the family legacy or shutter the business. As news of her father’s death spread, clients started canceling orders, fearing that the studio’s innovation would wane without him at the helm.
Skeptics proved wrong. Mira Nakashima continued to execute her father’s iconic designs — such as his Conoid chair — while also creating new ones of her own that take advantage of and highlight the unique characteristics and allure of her, and her father’s, favored material.
“Keisho means ‘continuation’ in Japanese,” she says. “I am just as interested in traditional lines, classic proportions and fine wood specimens, but I work out my designs differently. The boards tell you what they want to reveal.”
Shop authentic Mira Nakashima tables, case pieces and more on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right desk-accessories for You
Whether you’ve carved out a space for a nifty home office or you prefer the morning commute, why not dress up your desk with antique and vintage desk accessories? To best tiptoe the line between desk efficiency and desk enjoyment, we suggest adding a touch of the past to your modern-day space.
Desks are a funny thing. Their basic premise has remained the same for quite literally centuries: a flat surface, oftentimes a drawer, and potentially a shelf or two. However, the contents that lay upon the desk? Well, the evolution has been drastic to say the least.
Thank the Victorians for the initial popularity of the paperweight. The Industrial Revolution offered the novel concept of leisure-time to Europeans, giving them more time to take part in the then crucial activity of letter writing. Decorative glass paperweight designs were all the rage, and during the mid-19th-century some of the most popular makers included the French companies of Baccarat, St. Louis and Clichy.
As paper was exceedingly expensive in the early to mid-19th-century, every effort was made to utilize a full sheet of it. Paper knives, which gave way to the modern letter opener, were helpful for cutting paper down to an appropriate size.
Books — those bound volumes of paper, you may recall — used to be common occurrences on desks of yore and where there were books there needed to be bookends. As a luxury item, bookend designs have run the gamut from incorporating ultra-luxurious materials (think marble and Murano glass) to being whimsical desk accompaniments (animal figurines were highly popular choices).
Though the inkwell’s extinction was ushered in by the advent of the ballpoint pen (itself quasi-obsolete at this point), there is still significant charm to be had from placing one of these bauble-like objets in a central spot on one’s desk. You may be surprised to discover the mood-boosting powers an antique — and purposefully empty — inkwell can provide.
The clamor for desk clocks arose as the Industrial Revolution transitioned labor from outdoors to indoors, and allowed for the mass-production of clock parts in factories. Naturally, elaborate designs soon followed and clocks could be found made by artisans and luxury houses like Cartier.
Find antique and vintage desk accessories today on 1stDibs.