Overview

Every piece of furniture tells a story, has a lineage. Embedded within the design of each object are historical tells, bits of information about the interactions of people in a given period of time, their values and the materials they had access to. So too, then, does a range of furniture tell the larger story of the times; present and past. These stories reveal as much about the designers as they do about the ones being designed for - influenced by inherited styles, the economy, ego, practical need or whimsy. Any given exposure to furniture of today, in say, a showroom, the internet or this book, will at first glance appear as a discreet collection of functional items made for the 'now'. Looking more closely though, the larger story comes into focus. One piece may be the product of 21st century price conscious manufacturing while another piece looks (and probably feels) as though it was deigned for the ages. All in all, every sketch, CAD drawing, material source, machine cut, build and finish will be the product of many stories coming together. What distinguishes one piece of furniture from another is the heritage it adheres to. The design narrative Ed Cruikshank embraces comes from a time almost lost on many furniture designers today. His education and practice have been grounded in an aesthetic (visual and practical) that listens closely to a history where the details of design and production were so painstakingly applied that each chair, table, sideboard or bed became a piece of highly functional art, made to last hundreds of years (at least) so that the story of the piece and persons, would endure. In today's design and manufacturing milieu - where getting the most stuff for the cheapest price determines design, materials and quality, the idea of a bespoke piece of furniture intentionally made to outlive its owners - creating value and joy for generations - is an uncanny thing. A thing, nevertheless, Cruikshank strives to achieve. The ability to see back through time and appreciate the values of 17th century masters right through to functional modernists is what enables Cruikshank to make products that stand upon these stories while adding his own distinct sense of form, beauty and quality. To Cruikshank, this is the basis of enduring design. The Furniture of Ed Cruikshank is a visual narrative. A simple yet beautiful exposé of the relationships, materials and design that has gone into hundreds of peices on display here.

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