Canadian Designer Spotlight: Brent Comber

<a href="http://www.brentcomber.com/">Brent Comber</a>   is an  innovative  Canadian furniture maker  who uses local woods to produce a variety of designs.  I first became aware of his work through his Alder series.  He dries and fastens alder branches and then carves the piles into cubic shapes. By combining organic materials with geometric lines he produces furniture with a very dynamic aesthetic. I particularly like the idea of using alder - a sustainable wood- that growns like a weed in most places in Canada.  My husband is always battling alder bush growth near our summer house in Newfoundland. Alders grow quickly  into dense stands and left alone they will overtake an area.  <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy84bMSYwSlrx6YAUMQ-PNq9mk2Xk1ke5wFLSCEXiXiuHhXZOnu9KR0SSn_WvSDjzcnMTAktCmNCAzhMjFCpHJLDO9C6Vt08A_gsJh8WQbPbrof1lWKNNwH9fh1p_wjEWhVXt7GT2qmnel/s1600/reclaimed-wood-furnirute-brent-comber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy84bMSYwSlrx6YAUMQ-PNq9mk2Xk1ke5wFLSCEXiXiuHhXZOnu9KR0SSn_WvSDjzcnMTAktCmNCAzhMjFCpHJLDO9C6Vt08A_gsJh8WQbPbrof1lWKNNwH9fh1p_wjEWhVXt7GT2qmnel/s400/reclaimed-wood-furnirute-brent-comber.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent Comber  alder stools and bench</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuR0G4gO9U-hGYdtNncj55uaLNT4jiaZketp1_vxAfvoh0OeGF39VidjFX7cFBy1XiqtwDMhGPySREDmubOIq45P3Hy2OfMzPYzN67gcCPsJ8EPRYNHY-eW280S5hMPc5xDUCHuGmuEUgt/s1600/Brent-Comber-AlderRound-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuR0G4gO9U-hGYdtNncj55uaLNT4jiaZketp1_vxAfvoh0OeGF39VidjFX7cFBy1XiqtwDMhGPySREDmubOIq45P3Hy2OfMzPYzN67gcCPsJ8EPRYNHY-eW280S5hMPc5xDUCHuGmuEUgt/s400/Brent-Comber-AlderRound-.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Round alder stools </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3K-TmzVyNBmgo0WrrbAKKKIjV9KWHxdC2gALRNPPSw44gnVDCFENBLswYfHI9wS2vAK0Jhifm32zLDTSlxXTeQMyB_cjH7Zq9SnxCSVNbIJ0l8JOqq4v8vJOy3lGCGC6J6EaIuz8rl1AO/s1600/Brent-Comber-ART-AlderDisk3-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3K-TmzVyNBmgo0WrrbAKKKIjV9KWHxdC2gALRNPPSw44gnVDCFENBLswYfHI9wS2vAK0Jhifm32zLDTSlxXTeQMyB_cjH7Zq9SnxCSVNbIJ0l8JOqq4v8vJOy3lGCGC6J6EaIuz8rl1AO/s400/Brent-Comber-ART-AlderDisk3-.jpg" width="348" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">54 inch Alder disk at White Horses Spa</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This  54” Alder Disk  hung in  White Horses Spa at <a href="http://www.doonbeglodge.com/gallery.html">Doonbeg Golf Lodge,</a>  Ireland.  While the same materials used in Comber's furniture pieces are used in the disk, the viewer is  engaged in a different way, looking  directly at the patterns and rhythms  that emerge at eye level. The piece is convex in shape and the light changes depending on time of day and the viewing angle similar to the way the light is filtered in a forest.   <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQptnqrPCDzRbmpYLJYmrXu7BfWdcQZCqoSeCoowUoTSmJ8wwq103lfFQK3VGg53GCwvu1butgT0XdfINNhqODs8gMvgoA0qOtY2tTXFMWq4FbnvZfiYP-YPY5UxRtHh3dDxnmEYqmDoB/s1600/brent-comber-spaces-baumkuchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQptnqrPCDzRbmpYLJYmrXu7BfWdcQZCqoSeCoowUoTSmJ8wwq103lfFQK3VGg53GCwvu1butgT0XdfINNhqODs8gMvgoA0qOtY2tTXFMWq4FbnvZfiYP-YPY5UxRtHh3dDxnmEYqmDoB/s400/brent-comber-spaces-baumkuchen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baumkuchn Cafe, Tokyo, "log cake"</td></tr></tbody></table>In German, Baumkuchn translates literally as “tree cake” or “log cake”. This European dessert is also popular in Japan, and is the namesake for this cafe in Tokyo.  The 120 foot feature wall, texturally stunning and  simplistically beautiful, serves as a cohesive element in the design of this small space.   <br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8BroADPGxT-jLclu3cFnwI2fs5tgD1erF781q7kcOV7KJrLlUTcwELFg5mtXrPnLpQdDII0dlqX_9MNvSOzwCFQbgg7_BQKNLSjiod_T-JGoDOfi5hq1mnDAu5l6LN8FUMajQjI2bWI4/s1600/brent-comber-tea-cup-+stool.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8BroADPGxT-jLclu3cFnwI2fs5tgD1erF781q7kcOV7KJrLlUTcwELFg5mtXrPnLpQdDII0dlqX_9MNvSOzwCFQbgg7_BQKNLSjiod_T-JGoDOfi5hq1mnDAu5l6LN8FUMajQjI2bWI4/s1600/brent-comber-tea-cup-+stool.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">T  Cup stool </td></tr></tbody></table> This simple design speaks of the strength and stability of wood while referencing its passage and growth. <br /><br />And there's so much more...  <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-YpzqiM21Vy1A_nbEzml4Y-DkIGRwLEY8CtNjVfbJcjN4P5pHm5aRS69RFG83UQJLE4vMQu8TYQu1IuIhoYkhzaVCsfHkq_UXho61p5V33TpxZulT6jTn7sPYJZflJGW7LKi7gsinlAC/s1600/Aperture_walnut_1_e-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-YpzqiM21Vy1A_nbEzml4Y-DkIGRwLEY8CtNjVfbJcjN4P5pHm5aRS69RFG83UQJLE4vMQu8TYQu1IuIhoYkhzaVCsfHkq_UXho61p5V33TpxZulT6jTn7sPYJZflJGW7LKi7gsinlAC/s400/Aperture_walnut_1_e-web.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aperture table</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqX3WAUljai81ehXGB2NZ9urS2_gATAxAzG5oko8j1iLDyPVwqkmCWxYK_lt6agQT-SM9-ANnuFn8v9nCUxO8tqquFQfoavq4kA3onD_WdZQ7XHYPRJ-ZhvuuE1R6F-9SUGdg72ZRWvcf/s1600/Brent-Comber-horizon-dining-table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqX3WAUljai81ehXGB2NZ9urS2_gATAxAzG5oko8j1iLDyPVwqkmCWxYK_lt6agQT-SM9-ANnuFn8v9nCUxO8tqquFQfoavq4kA3onD_WdZQ7XHYPRJ-ZhvuuE1R6F-9SUGdg72ZRWvcf/s400/Brent-Comber-horizon-dining-table.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horizon Dining Table </td></tr></tbody></table><br />The man behind the design.... <br /><br /><a href="http://cesbelleschoses.blogspot.ca/2010/12/brent-comber.html"></a> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8-VZXtCknItJN3rZD-ZrP_KhFiJEB9C46-4fJGXadjWYag_kzOwI71HkIEEOPdl9c11sRnJdRV5mKI0HSNsRSmz1GyOGi75K9KKEL1AVy3AxViHoC1E5XwVJ7n1ihhqchNlyw_lu3l6d/s1600/brent-comber-photo-bench-table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8-VZXtCknItJN3rZD-ZrP_KhFiJEB9C46-4fJGXadjWYag_kzOwI71HkIEEOPdl9c11sRnJdRV5mKI0HSNsRSmz1GyOGi75K9KKEL1AVy3AxViHoC1E5XwVJ7n1ihhqchNlyw_lu3l6d/s320/brent-comber-photo-bench-table.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://mocoloco.com/archives/001097.php">source </a></span></div><br /> Check out Brent Comber at <a href="http://www.kostuikgallery.com/?section=Artists&page=Artworks&a=20&artist=Brent%20+Comber">Jennifer Kostuik Gallery. </a><br /><br />This fall  Brent Comber was awarded <a href="http://promoteratheart.com/news-events/brent-comber-awarded-western-livings-furniture-designer-of-the-year/">Western Living's Furniture Designer of the Year.</a>

Canadian Designer Spotlight: Brent Comber

Brent Comber    is an  innovative  Canadian furniture maker  who uses local woods to produce a variety of designs.  I first became aware of...

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