Material

Construction Ply, Milk Paint, American Elm, Pine Dowels

Dimensions

24 in (Width) x 36 in (Depth) x 24 in (Height)

Description

My good friends Sam and Cami have a coffee table built by Sam for their Chicago apartment. I love that table in a nostalgic sense; it has been the setting for drinking tea after working to build playgrounds in the wintry rain coming off Lake Michigan; for attempts to maintain proper etiquette when tempted by plates of Cami’s baking; and for many conversations, snacks, and dog-rubbins. Sam’s coffee table saw the three of us get closer, which speaks to the power that certain objects can wield.

As if that weren’t enough to ask from a craftwork, the table also could be reconfigured at will. It’s two simple components can be rotated and moved with respect to each other, sometimes taking up more space and other times less. Sam once called from the kitchen, “Jacob, decide how to move the table, it feels like it’s about time we switch it up again." I’m fairly certain Sam didn’t intend any deeper significance, but in the world according to me, there sure was.

Changing something simply because it feels right is so common that by the time the idea is formed the change has been made. To ask, “Why did I just do that?,” is to apply post-processed logic: “Oh, I just skipped a bit cause I’m happy,” or “I walked into this room because it was cold in there.” While the logic may very well stand, it misses the more primal nature of what compelled the change.

Objects designed for reconfiguration can translate this impulse for change. When you ask questions of an object, the answers emerge through its use. The logic-seeking requisite evaporates, and you are instead free to simply feel that something is right, like a toddler or pet might. I designed and built the table pictured above as an extension of this revelation.

This table is named after Cami’s dog, Buddy, a wise old boy. Though blind, Buddy was a very skilled practitioner of feeling his way. He was a feng shui diviner and it would be clear that this table was configured well if Buddy navigated it without incident.