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DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

: I love pushing my design process. I had seen a few designs that tried to mimic tufted fabric in wood. These designs were hard and uniform. I wanted to achieve a soft look that people would be drawn to feel. I feel the Swavorski Crystals gave an added touch of elegance and glamour to the design.

DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

: I wanted to achieve a an elegant piece that exudes a soft look that people would be drawn to feel. A lot of my work focuses on the tactile sensation; a theme of replacing traditional function with that of touch

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

: I plan to show this globablly and put them into production. I am hoping that I can work with larger brands in a collaborative way

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

: I worked on this for two years, the process took longer than anticipated as I was also teaching and running a business during this time.

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

: In 2016, my father passed away from Lung Cancer and I had to have 2 surgeries to remove cervical cancer. This project was a way for me to heal. I needed a god challenge to sink myself into. The tables are design for me as the client, but after finishing them I feel they deserve to be shared with others

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

: I am open to licensing the design but I also have a production shop that can create small batch runs of these

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

: Since college I have been fascinated with using the CNC tool as an extension of my creativity. With each design I have been exploring new surface challenges

DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?

: I am a big fan of Vladimir Kagan. He is a wonderful man who has a creative style that I admire.

DI: Who is the target customer for his design?

: People who appreciate unique design in the high end luxury market

DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?

: My concept is incredibly soft like worn leather due to the design. It also has a complex joinery of where the surfaces intersect each other as they wrap around your basic box shape

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

: I tried to find something unique that resonated with feeling or touching

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

: Rhino CAD Modeling and CNC Fabrication

DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?

: Its a tie between the softness of the design and how the surfaces connects at the corners.

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

: For the most part, I only asked questions on how to best execute specific wood working joinery in the design.

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

: I use Rhino CAD Modeling and CNC fabrication to create these tables. My goal is to use technology to replicate aspects of the design that look like they are created in a more artisan hands on application.

DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?

: No. I looked briefly at pictures on line and tufted fabric in stores.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

: Some of the traditional wood working challenges like doing spline miter joints were new to me. I had to create jigs and very precise table saw sleds to execute this joinery.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

: I wanted to gain more exposure for my work

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

: I gain the knowledge of this process and now can apply it to future designs