Fine Art
Peg Woodworking
The Euclid Bench from the Fireside Collection.
This bench is made with coopered solid white oak and each bench has faceted grain-matched legs. The seat is hand-woven from a solid braid cotton cord.
Image courtesy of: Fiercely Curious
The Brooklyn-based Peg Woodworking was founded in 2014 by designer and woodworker Kate Casey. Casey, a former sculptor and fabricator, has experimented with varying materials and is proficient in customizing each design to culminate with the utmost form and function.
Casey pays homage to clean lines and intricate weavings that are often found in both Rush Shaker and Danish Cord Scandinavian design. Peg Woodworking beautifully adds a contemporary touch to the traditional, yet timeless, craft of weaving.
Casey says, “I’ve always wanted to try coopering but have never done it. It involves geometry, which is a math I like to work with; it’s something you can see and hold and there’s playing as I go but this prototyping phase is the best part for me.”
Image courtesy of: Fiercely Curious
Casey’s interest in new materials led her to the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship’s intensive program. It was here, in Maine, where she learned about woodworking and the various techniques used in this field. This led to coopering, a technique that creates pieces that have gently curved shapes by cutting pieces of wood at slight angles and combining them.
The Freya Lounge Chair is from the Freya Collection. Inspired by mid-century modern seating, clean lines and form are contrasted by a traditional woven pattern.
Image courtesy of: Leibel, photographed by: Joe Kramm
Casey enjoyed adding weaving to her skills because she says it’s meditative in contrast to the physicality of woodworking. She has gathered pattern inspiration from Peruvian and Native American weaving. Each piece is hand-woven with an array of colors and made up of different patterns.
Combining the intricacies of hand-weaving with the clean lines of woodworking, each piece is unique… and also delicate and bold in details.
Photos of the Fireside Bench in black and white, two separate designs.
Image courtesy of: Decanted
Although Casey has traditionally preferred simplicity in color, she periodically adds another hue in addition to white. She says, “Colors are tricky because you don’t want to isolate anyone. The cotton comes in pastels and I’ve recently found a nylon material that comes in more vibrant colors I’ve started to play with.”
Image courtesy of: Design Milk
Earlier this summer, Peg Woodworking displayed at Salon Design in Boston. The collection displayed was “Calypso” and was a nod to the power of women. With reference to the Odyssey and the use of mythology and the historical significance of weaving as a historically female craft, it has been suggested that “Calypso” has the ability to entice and entrap with hypnotic temptations.
