IN THE GROOVE
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THIS PAGE : 10 . LANTERN , Duran Searles . 11 . “ JIVIN ' AND TWISTIN ’” sculpture , Marcus Miglio . 12 . CHEST OF DRAWERS , Hank Gilpin , hankgilpin . design . 13 . “ SAHARA ” LIVE EDGE COFFEE TABLE , Hazem Bakir , hazem bakirwoodworks . com . 14 . “ AUTUMN IN NEW ENGLAND ” CHEST OF DRAWERS , Ugol Woodworks , ugolwood . com . 15 . APPLEPRESS LAMP , Duran Searles . 16 . TANSU STEP CABINET , Phil Gruppuso .
Fellow craftsmen Matt Johnson of Matt Johnson Designs and Duran Searles from Painted Karma have collaborated on a number of furniture and lighting projects . Around the time Duran and Kristy Searles first moved to Rhode Island ' s South County , Matt paid a visit to their store and clicked instantly with the two business owners . He and Duran had tons of ideas and enthusiasm about future projects to collaborate on .
The two would later offer a lending hand when they needed to install a commissioned piece of woodwork into a client ’ s home . “ He and I would just talk and brainstorm ; he helps me and I help him when needed ,” Matt says .
A memorable project they worked on is a sleigh bed that they converted into a table . “ A car dealership owner in Exeter had found an old sleigh bed ,” says Matt . “ He asked if Duran and I could turn it into a high table for his employees to drink coffee .” The first project together was indeed a fun one , as they chopped apart the sleigh bed and reimagined it as a functional piece of furniture .
Another notable work within Matt ' s portfolio is the wooden bench with large brass staples ( listed as number 5 on the left page ). He ’ s completed a couple of them , getting inspiration from the Japanese-American architect and woodworker , George Nakashima . “ That ’ s my answer to the Japanese butterfly keys that people do to hold cracked natural wood pieces together ,” Matt says .
Matt has been working with wood , doing antique respiration and sign carving since he was nineteen years old . The metalwork began when he lived in Texas for about five years , and crafting furniture and lighting fixtures followed shortly after , ultimately creating Matt Johnson Designs .
Matt looks forward to crafting more solo wood , metal and light pieces as well as collaboration projects with Duran , as they have several ideas to bring to life . mattjohnsondesigns . etsy . com , paintedkarma . com ◆
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY ’ S NEST | 2024 5