The Mosaic Desk

In the Summer of 2010 Kevin designed and built a custom desk with a mosaic inlay top.

Measuring 44" long x 24" deep x 34" overall height the legs, apron and frame are crafted from solid walnut.

The pullout keyboard tray is by Accuride.

The mosaic inlay pattern on the top combines East Indian Laurel, Angelim Fava, Walnut Burl, Cherry and English Brown Oak cut as geometric shapes set into a field of flat cut Maple.

This desk is numbered 2010-#023

IDS11 is Ready for Lift Off

Kevin is off to Toronto this morning to finish setting up for the Interior Design Show (IDS11) . After a feverish marathon session yesterday he also has some Press Kits to drop off at the Media Centre.

Meanwhile, I'm off to the shop to focus on some of the more mundane things in life, such as the actual making of custom furniture.

In today's installment of relentless promotion I am showing a detail photo of one of Kevin's mosaic inlay panels. Kevin has cut each inlay by hand, and what I find most amazing is that he doesn't even work from a drawing when creating these panels. He simply starts with one segment and then intuitively decides what size, shape and wood species the next one will be, etc etc etc until a finished panel is created - much like you see here.

At one point he did try to optimize the process by using standardized shapes and templates, but the end result (although faster to make) ended up looking too uniform and "engineered". I encouraged him to revert to his original method of doing this free hand which is, frankly, brilliant both in design and execution.

A mobile video showing the recently completed display has recently been uploaded to Youtube. Please excuse the poor audio, since there is still a great deal of background noise as other exhibits are still being completed.

As you can see a large example of Kevin's mosaic inlay will be featured as a rotating panel on the media cabinet.

It will be on display in Studio North booth SN-42 for the next 4 days.

Meanwhile, IDS11 opens tonight with a gala bash called "All You Need is Love".

Kevin and I will be there to enjoy some fun before IDS11 ramps into high gear tomorrow morning with Professional Trade Day.

Social Media is Just a Tool

Three days ago violent mobs overthrew the government of Tunisia. While many are quick to credit social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube for this sudden turn of events, the fact is that it was the people who overthrew the government - not social media. As far as I'm concerned Facebook, Twitter and Youtube were merely tools that helped mobilize disgruntled Tunisians to facilitate the outcome.

In my own little world of custom furniture making I have come to similar conclusions regarding the effectiveness of social media sites for marketing and sales. Over the past few years I have undertaken a number of digital initiatives including starting this blog, setting up a Facebook page, and signing on to Linkedin, Twitter and Youtube - in addition to maintaining a website that was started well over 10 years ago.

Given the considerable amount of time that's been invested in these efforts I've come to realize that, in the grand scheme of things, all of this marketing via social media is really little more than a means to an end. While this blog , or my Facebook page, or my Linkedin profile, or a clever tweet made on Twitter might catch someone's attention - at the end of the day it's going to take more than a digital presence for me to successfully sell my work to a potentially interested customer.

In this regard I feel that doing business today is in many ways no different than it was back in the days before Internet. Namely, somewhere along the way a potential client has to feel confident that I will deliver on my promises at a level that's going to meet or exceed their expectations.



This is something I've been trying to stress to my son Kevin as he prepares to participate in next week's Interior Design Show (IDS11). So far he's done an admirable job of creating his own Facebook page, Youtube site and Twitter feed . While these tools will help him tell others about who he is and what he can do, his success at this show will ultimately be determined by how he presents himself and instills in others the confidence of wanting to do business with him.



Nevertheless, I can be counted on to use social media tools in the coming week as I shamelessly promote Kevin and his abilities as a custom furniture maker.

Would you expect anything less from a Dad?