George Nakashima Tray

by George Nakashima, from Knoll

george nakashima tray

Design George Nakashima, 2008
American walnut, hickory
Made in the USA by Knoll

George Nakashima is best known for his unique pieces of furniture, which are prized for their respect for the natural forms of the tree and the inherent grain of the wood. The Tray was designed in 2008 under the guidance of George Nakashima’s daughter, Mira. It is standard constructed of solid Douglas Fir that is quarter-cut and finished in a clear low-sheen finish. The edge details are available in solid Brazilian Santos or solid Wenge. Feature the designer's signature and KnollStudio logo on the underside.

Nakashima, a wood craftsman and poet, studied architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle, the Ecole Americaine des Beaux-Arts Fontainebleau in France and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nakashima received the gold medal for craftsmanship from the American Institute of Architects and the Hazlett Award. The subject of several one-man exhibitions, Nakashima also authored The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker's Reflections.

21.4" w | 1.75" h | 16" d | 5lbs.

$531.00 + plus shipping
(please allow 8-12 weeks for this special product to be created and shipped to your location)

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George Nakashima

George Katsutoshi Nakashima (1905 –1990) was a Japanese-American woodworker, architect, furniture maker, one of the leading innovators of 20th century furniture design, and a father of the American craft movement. In 1983, he accepted the Order of the Sacred Treasure, an honor bestowed by the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government. He studied architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle, the Ecole Americaine des Beaux-Arts Fontainebleau in France, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received the gold medal for craftsmanship from the American Institute of Architects and the Hazlett Award. The subject of several one-man exhibitions, Nakashima also authored The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker's Reflections.

Hans Knoll, the son of a pioneer German furniture manufacturer, founded the Knoll company in New York City in 1938, one year after immigrating from Germany. He hired Florence Schust, a Cranbrook graduate who had worked for Gropius and Breuer, and the two were married in 1946. The next year, they opened a textiles division and showroom that was flanked with some of the worlds leading designers. Knoll would triumph thanks to impressive international contacts, gaining exclusive rights to the works of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and producing them to their original specifications. This included the 1929 Barcelona Chair. They also commissioned Eero Saarinen to design the now iconic Tulip chair, and hold the rights to Marcel Breuer's seminal Wassily Chair. Artists such as Harry Bertoia, Jens Risom, and Isamu Noguchi would also collaborate with Knoll.