“Rub the belly…” were some of the first words spoken to me by Andy Riiska when we first met. I obediently rubbed the underside of his belly table and what a delight. The sensation took me back to Junior High. It was like corduroy, but it was wood. The underside of the belly table, which resembles the ceiling of a cathedral, is carved by a CNC, while the legs are carved and mortised through the top by hand. The CNC creates grooves as it carves out the shape which give it a unique tactile quality.
Belly Table
Andrew Riiska – Who is that masked man? When you uncover the mask, you find a good-humored, multi-faceted man. By day — he’s debonair while coffee drinking and cream puff eating. By afternoon, he might be found at Sci-Arc’s wood-shop teaching kids how to keep their fingers out of the chop-saw.
The many faces of Andrew Riiska
If anything can be said about Andrew’s designs, it’s that they’re evocative and that they have to be seen (and often touched) to fully appreciate them. He craftily blends old world woodworking techniques with modern to create his responsibly produced designs. He uses only re-purposed materials and takes great care in creating beautiful objects out of what some would call trash. The Dragon Table plays with scale and texture. It’s two separate 7′ tables with a continuous bubble pattern underneath and his signature crosses on the top. It’s a stunning 14′ piece of sculpture.
Crosses used to reinforce stressed areas of wood
Marshmallow boxes were a hit giveaway at the 2009 Dwell on Design event in Los Angeles last June. Each box carved out of scrap Douglas Fir to create a toasty home for your marshmallow.
Marshmallow box bottoms
Marshmallow box lids
Ford&Ching laser branded marshmallows
While function isn’t necessarily a prerequisite with his designs, Andrew also makes some extremely useful pieces as well.
Fold Chair
Chair
Four legs wasn’t enough, so Andy pushed the limits and literally pushed sixty-nine maple legs through the Douglas Fir top. The leg pattern inspired by the visual you get as you drive by a field of corn.
69 Leg Table
Andrew’s working on new pieces to be launched shortly, so stay tuned.
posted by Andrea on February 19th, 2010 in Designer Profile
