Taylor Donsker Designs

Taylor Donsker is a Los Angeles based architectural designer who creates beautiful furniture pieces that are extremely unique. Donsker uses a wood that is quite special; his designs have developed immensely since his time as an apprentice for some of Los Angeles’ most well-regarded architects.

Donsker’s fascination with woodworking developed over a several month guided tour throughout the continent of Asia, including centuries old Japanese temples that were assembled from ancient timbers without glue or metal fasteners. Almost entire self-taught, Taylor’s interest with various materials stems from his believe that “one must have an absolute interest and a partial knowledge of everything.”

The studio specializes in Claro Walnut, a rich hardwood that only grows in California and is unique in that it has amazing variations of color and figure… the most of all walnut tree varieties. Taylor Donsker Design works only with responsible mills that specialize in salvaging diseased or felled trees. They believe that they are able to offer their clients the finest wood with the least environmental impact.

Materials are all hand-selected according to Donsker’s philosophy, “Every material has a grain, a strength and a weakness, an origin and an end.”

One especially unique piece is the Strike/Slip Table that was inspired by wood movement and the fractures caused by earthquakes. It features a multi-layered, “ruptured” surface with two independently supported halves that make it different than most live edge slab tables. Each half is made of multiple wood slabs which gives it the look of a strike-slip fault. This also allows the table to be separated, when the occasion demands, into two separate tables.

In order to accentuate and complement the cracks, the table is finished in natural oil and wax. It sits on reclaimed Douglas fir beams that are “torch charred” to enhance the texture of the grain and to give the top the recognition it deserves. Another wonderful detail is that the top appears to “float in space” due to the charred base. To finish off the piece, Taylor also inlays his signature polished brass corsets into the top and base to stabilize and complement the cracks. It is a true work-of-art!

Donsker graduated from USC’s School of Architecture during the height of the recent recession. With a hiring freeze in the industry, he bought a few tools and slabs and began tinkering in his parents’ garage. Donsker quickly realized that wood is his calling… maybe because it has such a close connection to architecture. In virtually no time, the designer has become one of the world’s most sought after woodworkers. He works out of a massive 6,000-square-foot studio where he creates his large pieces of incredibly detailed furniture.

When asked about his favorite thing to make, he answered, “I like to make really big tables. They can get so large that they almost become a piece of architecture that people assemble around.”

We think this quote by Donsker sums it all up perfectly, “Realizing that every material has a grain, a strength and a weakness, an origin and an end, my work seamlessly combines materials with different and oftentimes opposing connections that join the differing materials and allow them to become physically and visually stronger than they are on their own. The resulting heightened strength allows for moments of structural defiance such as the appearance of weightlessness or flotation and increased functionality.”