Today I had the pleasure of getting to know more about Evan Stoller of Stoller Works. I sent him a list of questions and he answered me with a the fascinating story of his career path and all of these beautiful photographs. Take it away Evan!

Stoller with his Rail Table

My mother was a painter and my father photographed modern architecture. Modernism was kind of a religion in our home. Living with the works of family friends such as the Eameses, George Nakashima and Alexander Calder was an education in design.

Stoller’s Frog Sculpture

My wife Phyllis and I moved out of the city to an abandoned airport, and then to a disused gas station. I began making larger sculptures that were influenced by the lattice construction of cranes and the structural purity of bridges. I completed works that appeared more functional – things that looked like organic lifting devices and sculptures such as ‘Ramp’:

Ramp

‘Ramp’ is a 30’ long incline topped with asphalt. I called them ‘standing structures’ and they developed from, and as an expression of, the environment in which they were displayed. Some stood on long skids for optimal ground support or had pod-like feet to resist sinking into the turf. My sculptures were becoming supporting structures, close relatives of the tables I’m doing now. I completed a huge environmental sculpture in NYC that brought me back into the world of architecture. ‘Maya Station’ was an array of 40’ tension trusses spanning six 20’ tall towers and 10’ tall gates. My inspiration were the forms and spaces of a Mayan city. The sculpture defined an environment on an architectural scale, and after it’s completion I became an architect.

Maya Station

Architectural commissions are a real ‘through the looking glass’ experience. The thrill and complexity of architecture is always a voyage through the unexplored, an arduous but incredible experience. We built our own home  and I began designing a series of houses, studios and more recently a medical clinic and a theater.

Stoller’s Home

A painting studio by Stoller

My most recent sculpture seems like both an architectural model and a huge piece of exterior furniture. ‘Hudson Ecliptic’ is a modular 40′ diameter circular form that floats over rough terrain. It’s constructed from 120 cellular units that each display a tiny painting. Seeming like a chain of galleries, the sculpture becomes a miniature museum.

Hudson Ecliptic

Stoller Works furniture started as custom pieces for architectural clients. I strive to express structural clarity and demonstrate an efficiency of of materials and fabrication. Working with big beams I invented a system to reinforce thin beam slices with tension rods and bolt them into extremely strong and rigid trestle assemblies. With remainders of deep rolled structural sections I make standing desks and podium tables.

Stoller Works Yellow Frame Standing Desk

My tables combine high-tech trestle structures with the warm surface of wood tabletops. We use walnut and ash from known sources and avoid the use of pollutants in manufacturing our products. All our plywood is FSC certified and coated with UV-cured finishes.

Stoller Works Station Table

Stoller Works Foundation Beam Coffee Table

Stoller Works City Desk

Stoller Works Podium Table

Thanks so much to Evan Stoller for taking the time to share his work with us today. Shop all Stoller Works tables and desks here.

Thanks so much to Karen M. Anderson for sharing some peeks into her studio with us in our Fresh New Spaces Group. It’s so full of color, well-organized and happily eclectic. Here’s a look:

Thank you for reminding me how much I love turquoise and red together Karen!

Like what you see? Check out Karen’s goods in her Etsy shop.

Have a favorite spot at home you’d like to share with everyone? Please post it in Fresh New Spaces!

For a bit of eye candy today, check out this slideshow of bright eye candy over at The New York Times. I’m loving this peacock blue and brick red combination in Enid Woodward’s Manhattan apartment. It’s a great example of how careful editing, curating and arranging can make a small apartment beautiful, bold colors and all.

Image by Trevor Tondro for The New York Times

Hmmm, Clearly I’m spending a lot of time on Apartment Therapy house tours this week. Basically, I pull up their site and go straight to the House Tours tab on the left. They have their their best tour ever up right now. It’s Alvar Aalto’s studio in Helsinki (it’s now the home of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, the Alvar Aalto Academy and the Alvar Aalto Museum Architectural Heritage). Way to go AT.

To see the full tour, click here. I highly recommend it!

I’m posting these flickr faves a day early because it’s a favorite workspace we missed last week. It comes to us from flickr member lockette. So white. So bright. So ORGANIZED! Those work surfaces and windows make this a perfect creative space. Love the photography too! You can peruse her creations in her Etsy store.