George Nakashima Studio Credenza in Walnut, US 2021
View Similar Items
George Nakashima Studio Credenza in Walnut, US 2021
About the Item
- Creator:Mira Nakashima (Manufacturer),George Nakashima (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27.17 in (69 cm)Width: 78.75 in (200 cm)Depth: 20.48 in (52 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2021
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:Available Now
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:Seller: cc.oz1stDibs: LU1591224621442
George Nakashima
A master woodworker and M.I.T.-trained architect, George Nakashima was the leading light of the American Studio furniture movement. Along with Wharton Esherick, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, Nakashima was an artisan who disdained industrial methods and materials in favor of a personal, craft-based approach to the design. What sets Nakashima apart is the poetic style of his work, his reverence for wood and the belief that his furniture could evince — as he put it in the title of his 1981 memoir — The Soul of a Tree.
Born in Spokane, Washington, to Japanese immigrants, Nakashima traveled widely after college, working and studying in Paris, Japan and India, and at every stop he absorbed both modernist and traditional design influences. The turning point in Nakashima’s career development came in the United States in 1942, when he was placed in an internment camp for Asian-Americans in Idaho. There, Nakashima met a master woodcarver who tutored him in Japanese crafting techniques. A former employer won Nakashima’s release and brought him to bucolic New Hope, Pennsylvania, where Nakashima set up a studio and worked for the rest of his life.
Nakashima’s singular aesthetic is best captured in his custom-made tables and benches — pieces that show off the grain, burls and whorls in a plank of wood. He left the “free edge,” or natural contour, of the slab un-planed, and reinforced fissures in the wood with “butterfly” joints. Almost all Nakashima seating pieces have smooth, milled edges. Nakashima also contracted with large-scale manufacturers to produce carefully supervised editions of his designs. Knoll has offered his Straight chair — a modern take on the spindle-backed Windsor chair — since 1946; the now-defunct firm Widdicomb-Mueller issued the Shaker-inspired Origins collection in the 1950s.
Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 gave Nakashima his single largest commission: a 200-piece suite for his suburban New York estate. Today, Nakashima furniture is collected by both the staid and the fashionable: his work sits in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in the homes of Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Diane von Furstenberg and the late Steve Jobs.
Mira Nakashima
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.
- Mira Nakashima Credenza based on a design by George Nakashima, USABy George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in Berlin, DEMira Nakashima Credenza based on a design by George Nakashima. The credenza is made in black walnut. Due to the unique wood structure of each item t...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- One of a Kind Studio Sideboard or Cabinet by John Kapel Studio, US, 1960sBy John KapelLocated in Berlin, DE1960s sideboard or cabinet designed by John Kapel. Made from beautifully selected walnut and oak. This cabinet has sculpted walnut handles and the interior is fitted with adjustable ...Category
Vintage 1960s American American Craftsman Sideboards
MaterialsOak, Walnut
- Ray Kappe RK5 Credenza in Red Oak / Teak by Original in Berlin, Germany, 2020By Original in BerlinLocated in Berlin, DERay Kappe RK5 credenza in red oak / teak by Original in Berlin, Germany, 2020 This Credenza has Teak veneered doors, formica sliding doors and red oak boa...Category
21st Century and Contemporary German Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsFormica, Oak, Teak
- 1950s Italian constructivism studio sideboard or credenza made in walnutLocated in Berlin, DE1950s Italian constructivism studio sideboard made in walnut.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut
- Conoid Lounge Chair by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George NakashimaBy Mira Nakashima, George NakashimaLocated in Berlin, DEConoid lounge chair in American black walnut with hickory spindles by Mira Nakashima. Based on a design by George Nakashima. Newly upholstered in Mark Alexander...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood, Walnut
- Conoid Bench by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George Nakashima, USABy George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in Berlin, DEConoid bench in walnut, US 2021, by Mira Nakashima based on a George Nakashima design. The Bench is made in black walnut with hickory spindles and is s...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- George Nakashima Wall-Mounted Sideboard in Walnut and Pandanus ClothBy George Nakashima Studio, George NakashimaLocated in Waalwijk, NLGeorge Nakashima, sliding-door wall-mounted cabinet, American black walnut, pandanus cloth, United States, 1963 With regard to its essential form, material use, and woodwork, this s...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut
- Walnut Sideboard with Top Shelf by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Atlanta, GAA two-piece custom sideboard pr credenza handcrafted by George Nakashima, circa 1969 in his new hope studio. It is constructed with American black walnut with solid oak interiors. Th...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut, Oak
- Hanging Wall Cabinet by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Long Island City, NYHanging wall cabinet by George Nakashima featuring a single board plank top with free-edge, elongated expressive detail atop case with three slidi...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsRosewood, Walnut
- 1954 George Nakashima Studio Triple Sliding Door Cabinet / Credenza Black WalnutBy George NakashimaLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a gorgeous 1954 George Nakashima Studio triple sliding door cabinet /credenza in American black walnut. This is an early piece, representing a number of refined ea...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Sliding Doors Dresser CredenzaBy George NakashimaLocated in Rockaway, NJGeorge Nakashima Sliding Doors Dresser CredenzaCategory
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- George Ciancimino Walnut & Quadrilobed Aluminum Executive Credenza, C. 1970By George Ciancimino, Jens RisomLocated in Bainbridge, NYGeorges Ciancimino for Jens Risom Walnut & Aluminum Quarefoil Credenza. Featuring a rectangular framework, Walnut veneered surface, strong Aluminum surround detailed with quadrilobed...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsChrome
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Original in Berlin’s Lars Triesch Has Turned a Passion for Design into a Booming Business
His two gallery spaces in the German capital bring together thousands of pieces ranging from mid-century classics and Murano glass to covetable reproductions manufactured in-house.
Visionary Women: Mira Nakashima
Four trailblazing creators discuss how they approach their craft — and the transformative influences that continue to guide them. Here, Mira Nakashima tells us how Wendy Maruyama has inspired her woodworking creations.