The Cygnus lamp is crafted from one piece of iroko wood. Two wood braces wing out from either side to create a stable structure. Embedded in a groove along its spine is the black cloth electrical cord from which hangs a fibre pendant shade.
Chris Cardy was born in a small lake town in Western Michigan, USA. When he was 22 and living in San Francisco, it was a place full of young people doing all kinds of things. In the early 1990s, pre-internet, there was no way for an artisan to sell their work outside of their community. “Several of us artisans grouped up, allowing all our marketing and distribution to be combined,” says Chris. “It worked spectacularly well.” In the 2000s he began to make handmade bed frames and his business thrived. “I had long wanted to open a second studio in Europe and decided the time was at hand.” Chris sold his house and in 2020 set up a new studio in Spain, in Navarra, where he now lives.
Read the full interviewPhoto: ©Christopher Cardy
The Cygnus lamp is crafted from one piece of iroko wood. Two wood braces wing out from either side to create a stable structure. Embedded in a groove along its spine is the black cloth electrical cord from which hangs a fibre pendant shade.
Photo: ©Christopher Cardy
The Neolithic Nouveau coffee table is hand formed from iroko wood. Each of its four legs is intentionally erected in an irregular pattern reminiscent of stone age monuments.
Photo: ©Christopher Cardy
The Orion floor lamp is hand carved from iroko beams. A fibre pendant shade hangs from its extended arm and a black fabric electrical cord runs down its spine cleated by small bits of leather and tiny forged nails.
Photo: ©Christopher Cardy
The Neolithic Nouveau bed comes in several pieces. There are two side rails of iroko with steel supports, and two uprights of iroko, along with a thick solid singular piece of iroko for the headboard. Beech wood slats support the mattress.
Photo: ©Christopher Cardy
The Kanso HiFi station is a three-tier storage unit for vinyl, amplifier and turntable. The shelves are each one piece of solid hand shaped iroko wood. The steel structure is welded from solid stock and rod.