George Nakashima

George Nakashima Woodworkers, New Hope, Pennsylvania, n.d., p. 4 (for a drawing of the model)

George Nakashima, The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker's Reflections, New York, 1988, p. 188 (for the above mentioned drawing)

Mira Nakashima, Nature Form & Sprit: The Life and Legacy of George Nakashima, New York, 2003, pp. 68-69, 80 and 83 (for drawings of the model)

Master woodworker and designer George Nakashima utilized a variety of wood species to create his expertly crafted furniture. American black walnut was among his most commonly used species; valued for its size, color and beautifully rich grain. Nakashima embraced wood with cracks, holes, knots and burls. He employed the traditional Japanese carpentry technique of butterfly joinery, where a bowtie shaped piece of wood is inset in the wood to mend and stabilize the cracks and splits. These butterfly joints are now a signature of Nakashima’s work, for which he mostly utilized Rosewood to make the keys. As the studio worked on a per-order basis, clients were able to have special requests and at times were even invited to help select the wood to be used for their orders. The present “Trestle” dining table is unique in that the original clients requested the table to have, as the order card reads, “light sap butterflies.” In creating the table, Nakashima used three butterfly ties of walnut sapwood, yielding a contrast in tone in comparison to the dark walnut slabs of the tabletop. This unique instance highlights the craftsmanship of the table and illustrates the importance of the relationship between maker, client and nature in the practice of George Nakashima.