Andrew Riiska’s work features expert joinery and original silhouettes that transcend style and period.  Equally at home in a contemporary loft or a turn of the century Victorian his furniture stands on its merits: craftsmanship, utility and beauty.  He uses only recycled materials to meet his aesthetic and functional needs.  Riiska culls materials from deconstruction sites, seeking out old growth native Californian wood, and wood that’s already served a previous purpose to meet his aesthetic and functional needs.  Riiska’s 15 years of recycling old growth lumber has lead to many signature methods of construction including the “wood stitch,” an extremely strong half lap cross that is embedded into the wood to stabilize already formed cracks.  Riiska enjoys making pieces that change and come alive as you move around them by incorporating subtle details that play with the viewer’s perspective.  Riiska grew up in a family design studio and workshop in a small town in Connecticut where he learned to make the highest quality furniture using only hand tools.  Andrew has taught design and construction techniques at the Parson’s School of Design in New York City.  His work has shown at the Rare Gallery in Chelsea, The Replace interior design gallery in Manhattan, and is featured at The Space, a photography studio in the Chelsea Market.  He currently designs and builds out of his downtown Los Angeles studio and teaches woodworking at The Southern California Institute of Architecture. Riiska designs are available for purchase by contacting agents Ford&Ching.