After what worked out to be a little over a month, the Belomo sideboard was ready for delivery. Last time I saw it was a week prior when all the components were made and legs welded. Waiting those nail biting 7 days was nerve racking. I have the nails to prove it. What if I don’t like it? What if it doesn’t look right in my space? Why the hell am I so pessimistic? Curtis has given me no indication that he was anything less than stellar throughout this entire process. My phone rang… delivery. Hit the jump!

Pardon my language but it’s fucking gorgeous! I love it. It fits perfectly into my space, right under the window and my Belomo has a sidekick – a custom fabricated box to hide my ugly box a/c unit. It’s all raw looking but so smooth to the touch. The top surface is finished in a white wash along with the white legs, helping to frame the linear lines now so familiar with the Micklish design aesthetic.

Honestly as my first custom piece made for moi, I couldn’t be happier. You guys don’t realize it but I can be quite critical. My writing staff is pretty well aware of it so when something amazing comes along, I better love it, especially if it’s going to live with me. Speaking of which, Belomo and I have been happily living together for months. Now I understand handmade quality in furniture. It’s as solid and study as the day it was delivered and has held up to everything from constant sunlight beating down on it to a dog name Miko who has figured out he can open the doors if he presses his nose against them hard enough. I love the little cubby holes Curtis made to display my Playsam toys. I love that there’s no exposed hardware on the doors.

Thank you Curtis, thank you Micklish. Read parts one and two.

Designer: Micklish

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Yanko Design Store - We are about more than just concepts. See what's hot at the YD Store!
(Commissioning Work: Micklish Part 3 was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Related posts:

1. Commissioning Work: Micklish Part 1
2. Commissioning Work: Micklish Part 2
3. Between Art and Work

Over the past 5 years editing YD, I’ve noticed a clear divergence between two kinds of furniture designers – the ones who are pure creatives that rely on manufacturing partners and the “old school” kind – the ones who were craftsman long before they ever thought of themselves as designers. Last year, I embarked on a scary, yet exciting project to create several custom pieces for my home. I met a guy name Curtis Micklish – young, talented, gifted even if he didn’t know it.

He comes from the old school, built my hand and methodically perfected to suite the needs of each customer. I want to share my experience working with Curtis over the course of several months, from what started as a simple sketch of a sideboard, to a complete piece inspired by and named after the retro 35 mm Belomo – it was incredible to witness the entire chain of design executed from the hands of one person.

The early stages of design was exciting. I didn’t give Curtis much direction. I believe in letting a designer play whenever possible. My only restrictions were height and width to ensure the new sideboard would fit. He also quickly picked up on my minimalist aesthetic and a few weeks after our initial conversation he came to my office and showed me a sketch. It was long, streamline and stark in appearance. Made entirely of poplar wood with a light white wash, the yet unnamed sideboard became less austere. Complete with a set of tripod legs that gave it personality and a cubby hole for show & tell opportunities.

The construction begins. Out of his restored mid-century home (which he did himself), there’s a garage filled with dangerous looking machinery of which he obviously mastered. I watched him route the doors of the sideboard and listened to him tell me about his childhood. He comes from a family of craftsmen. He and his father are contractors but his eye for design eventually led him away from construction into doing his own thing. I could sense that infant creative spark surrounded by uncertainty and a bit of self doubt. Bigger than that was his passion. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. It’s just a matter of taking it day by day to get there.

By the end of the day, the frame was finished. The steel shelves were in and the doors routed.  Me? – completely excited! Come back tomorrow for part two.

Designer: Micklish

-
Yanko Design
Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Yanko Design Store - We are about more than just concepts. See what's hot at the YD Store!
(Commissioning Work: Micklish Part 1 was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Related posts:

1. Between Art and Work
2. Work Your Bod at Work
3. Bookmark Does The Work For You