Travis Dinsmore Salvaged Oak Wood Shelf

Travis Dinsmore Salvaged Oak Wood Shelf

It is our great pleasure to introduce a concentrated selection of furniture work by Travis Dinsmore, an American furniture maker and woodcrafter who found himself in Paris because of love. Now, he’s established himself in that city with his family, and – just as years ago he followed his intuition in his personal life – today he pursues an intuitive method in his approach to creating unique objects with wood.

Travis lets the silhouettes that naturally emerge from his material guide him, not always knowing in advance which shapes or functions will come alive. He collects abandoned pieces of wood from around Paris, often off-cuts from friends’ ateliers. When he’s gathered enough pieces to inspire him, he allows them to strike up a conversation among themselves, following their grains as they interact, with each piece generating its own miniature cultural moment.

He is indebted to the historical approaches of craftsmen like Isamu Noguchi, J.B. Blunk and Alexandre Noll in shaping an object by following its inherent forms and applying ancient methods for modern surroundings. His objects carry the stories of the lives each piece of wood has lived before it came into Travis’ hands, while also presenting their new lives lived together in conversational connection.

Having come from an art and sculpture background, Travis developed his current technique experimentally over time, leaning gradually more towards the craft of furniture making. In his previous life he designed and built interiors for architectural firms and created sets for, among others, photographer Steven Meisel.

This Salvaged Oak Wood Shelf is made from a single found piece of oak sourced in Paris. Its irregular silhouette and raw surface are retained as part of the object, allowing the existing form and character of the wood to determine the finished piece.

Each piece by Travis Dinsmore is unique.