Michael Elkan Studio Large Live Edge Oregon Maple Burl Box with Lid

Deceptively simple in design, the furniture of artist and woodworker Michael Elkan reveals the influence of mid-century modernism and the American Craftsman style and renders prominent the raw, rustic and natural beauty of wood.

Born in Philadelphia in 1942, Elkan spent his youth working in his family’s store, which sold children’s clothing. At the age of 18, he started his career as a salesman in the fashion industry before working in manufacturing. 

Despite a lack of formal education, Elkan began designing apparel and his talents led him to becoming a designer for brands such as Forum Sportswear and Faded Glory during the late 1960s. His fashion designs appeared in numerous publications including Esquire, GQ, Menswear Daily and the New York Times.

In 1973, Elkan quit his job as a fashion designer and, with his wife, trekked across the United States. Upon arriving in Oregon, Elkan became enamored with the state’s forests and decided to settle there. After several years of farm and forestry work, Elkan became deeply interested in maple burl wood and began making live-edge burl boxes.

By 1980, Elkan established Silver Splinter (later Michael Elkan Studio) where he designed and produced items such as decorative boxes, jewelry boxes, console tables, stools and other furniture and objects. That year, Elkan’s unique approach to design caught the eye of acclaimed American designer and architect George Nakashima, who bought several of Elkan’s pieces to sell in his studio. 

In 1993, Elkan was commissioned to create furniture for Oregon’s newly opened Museum at Warm Springs. Two years later, he wrote his book, Reading the Wood: Techniques and Projects from a Master Woodworker.

Elkan decided to retire from woodworking in 2002. After closing his studio, he moved to Mexico to explore other artistic endeavors such as architecture, garden design and creating cement furniture. 

Before he died in 2014, Elkan’s pieces were shown in several major gallery exhibitions and featured at the Smithsonian Craft Show, the American Craft Museum and elsewhere. Today, Elkan’s works are held in many private collections, including that of acclaimed textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen and others, and are highly sought by interior designers, decorators and collectors of 20th-century wood furniture.

On 1stDibs, find a range of vintage Michael Elkan decorative objects, seating and tables.

Roman Erlikh is a professional woodworker with over 20 years’ experience. Roman Erlikh Studio creates bespoke and limited edition contemporary furniture and art objects. His first furniture collections were inspired by traditional Art Deco and Biedermeier styles interpreted through a modern lifestyle demands. Stepping away from merely utilitarian view of everyday objects, his recent collections are filled with meaningful textual context while incorporating traditional and modern woodworking techniques. Roman is using practical function as a common denominator to create emotionally charged art objects, blurring the boundary between art and function. While appreciating possibilities of ordinary materials, Roman is developing new mixed media multilayered composite varnishes and utilizes decorative gilding and mica veneer to actively engage ambient light, giving an additional aspect to relation of his objects to their environment. The decision to work in custom format was based on environmental concerns and opposition to culture of mass production and pure consumerism. The choice of materials was heavily influenced by sustainability and environmental concerns. All objects are made locally in the Brooklyn Navy Yard workshop. Elimination of storage and transportation needs for mass-produced furniture in lieu of creating a custom made objects on demand allows us to reduce waste of materials and energy.