Travis Dinsmore Shelf in Salvaged Elm

Travis Dinsmore Shelf in Salvaged Elm

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.

This small shelf is made from salvaged elm collected in Paris. Its restrained form follows the natural character of the wood, retaining the irregularity and material presence central to Dinsmore’s practice. Conceived as a functional object, it also reads as a small sculptural plane — a place for presenting and giving presence to other objects.

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.

If you have a special project and are interested in striking up a conversation with Travis, please contact us for consultancy or to make an introduction.