Richard Haining Vases and Vessels

Early on, Richard’s folks taught him that if you don't like what you're given, learn to make it better. So, he learned to garden, because the taste of a warm home-grown tomato fresh off the vine cannot be found at a grocery store. He learned to cook, because gathering for a home cooked meal creates community and fosters lasting relationships. In this era of disposable design, he became committed to finding the intersection of sustainability and fine craft, learning to create objects with the intention of permanence, and always with a reverence for the materials he uses. Raised in Atlanta, GA, and educated at the Rhode Island School of Design, he resides and works in Brooklyn NY.

He finds inspiration in the abundance of wood being discarded throughout NYC, from wood shop offcuts to old growth lumber scrapped from the pre-war buildings of NYC's architectural landscape. This “waste” becomes his building block, calling into question what qualifies as valuable.

Each object Richard creates is built, sculpted, and finished entirely by hand...there is no lathe work involved for any of his pieces. The desired profile is defined during the building process, something akin to coil pottery, or an analog version of 3-D printing. Piece by piece, layer upon layer, he places each individual wood block, controlling both the wall thickness as well as the overall profile. Once constructed, Richard shapes the surfaces using a variety of hand held tools, resulting in a finely honed quality with subtle undulations very similar to that of hand built ceramics.

His STACKED process is a slow methodical ritual, applying a meditative focus to this previously discarded material, stacking individual pieces of wood to create an object that’s much more than the sum of its parts. As Richard learned early on in life, and applies to his work today, strive to make it better.