Design Tastemaker: Jared Rusten
San Francisco product designer shares his thoughts on object lust, avoiding trends and creating pieces to cherish
He's become known for his California series tables — warm wooden tables handmade of Claro walnut and shaped like the great Golden State — but Jared Rusten's artistic endeavors go far beyond these wooden silhouettes.
For Rusten, his furniture isn't just about having something beautiful in someone's home — it's about creating product that's meant to last. "I think the most important measure of a product is in how it wears," he says. "I want my furniture to be like a baseball glove: When you buy it, it's only worth what you spent on it, but after years of use, after repeated oiling and working the leather into the unique shape of your hand, it becomes invaluable."
Rusten, founder of the J. Rusten Furniture Studio, based his workshop in the heart of San Francisco's quirky Mission neighborhood. Keep reading for more of his thoughts on interior and product design, object lust, and the beauty of the materials he works with.
For Rusten, his furniture isn't just about having something beautiful in someone's home — it's about creating product that's meant to last. "I think the most important measure of a product is in how it wears," he says. "I want my furniture to be like a baseball glove: When you buy it, it's only worth what you spent on it, but after years of use, after repeated oiling and working the leather into the unique shape of your hand, it becomes invaluable."
Rusten, founder of the J. Rusten Furniture Studio, based his workshop in the heart of San Francisco's quirky Mission neighborhood. Keep reading for more of his thoughts on interior and product design, object lust, and the beauty of the materials he works with.
Rusten's California Series has attracted design lovers for its bold and clean design. Made out of the highest grade of heavily figured Claro Walnut, a cantilevered base is made with native oak and treated with a natural vinegar stain for a charcoal patina.
The Lightbox is a simple bedside light that makes a warm and pleasant glow. A built-in dimmer controls brightness, and allows the Port Orford Cedar to release its natural aromatic scent. It also doubles as a storage unit and mini-bookshelf!
Q: Where do you see product design for interiors going in the next 5 years?
A: I think people will be favoring warmth to stark and rectilinear modernism. Natural-edge slab tables are a nice way to bring some organic warmth and presence in the home, but I think that trend will wane as soon as amateur-built slab tables start showing up in everyone's home. It'll be like the heavily varnished redwood burl tables our fathers built in their garages in the 1970s — the association will go from novel and vital, to cheesy and crude.
Ultimately, I think we'll see carefully curated collections of simply well-made pieces. There is a greater appreciation today for quality goods than I've ever seen. I'm looking forward to the point in the near future when buyers demand the same degree of quality from their furniture that they do of other goods — when they are buying pieces to cherish and maintain for life, and not just until their next move.
Q: Where do you see product design for interiors going in the next 5 years?
A: I think people will be favoring warmth to stark and rectilinear modernism. Natural-edge slab tables are a nice way to bring some organic warmth and presence in the home, but I think that trend will wane as soon as amateur-built slab tables start showing up in everyone's home. It'll be like the heavily varnished redwood burl tables our fathers built in their garages in the 1970s — the association will go from novel and vital, to cheesy and crude.
Ultimately, I think we'll see carefully curated collections of simply well-made pieces. There is a greater appreciation today for quality goods than I've ever seen. I'm looking forward to the point in the near future when buyers demand the same degree of quality from their furniture that they do of other goods — when they are buying pieces to cherish and maintain for life, and not just until their next move.
The Cupertino Cantilever Desk is made with a combination of a beautiful grained black walnut and light maple. Traditional techniques such as mitering and half-blind dovetails make it strong and sturdy.
Q: How do you balance your artistic needs with the needs of consumers?
A: The answer to this question is: not very well. I can't be distracted by worrying what consumers might think they need. Many of the structures we now consider national treasures were received poorly at the time of their completion. Sometimes you get lucky enough to create something that is artistically vital, progressive, and critically well-regarded, but possesses something familiar enough to achieve a broad appeal. The greatest work is the result of an undeviating focus and vision. So, I'll continue to work toward some elusive ideal, and hope that I'm lucky enough to strike upon something that is broadly compelling.
Q: How do you balance your artistic needs with the needs of consumers?
A: The answer to this question is: not very well. I can't be distracted by worrying what consumers might think they need. Many of the structures we now consider national treasures were received poorly at the time of their completion. Sometimes you get lucky enough to create something that is artistically vital, progressive, and critically well-regarded, but possesses something familiar enough to achieve a broad appeal. The greatest work is the result of an undeviating focus and vision. So, I'll continue to work toward some elusive ideal, and hope that I'm lucky enough to strike upon something that is broadly compelling.
Rusten worked with a local tree surgeon to find fallen trees for each of these Orchard Slab Tables. The trees were milled into slabs, and air-dried in Rusten's backyard for 2-3 years before being made into tables.
Q: What are you trying to say with your designs? Where do you see your own line going in the next 5 years?
A: My goal is to engage both the nerdiest woodworkers and those with no sense of design or craft. I want people to feel a pure object lust, a need to caress the surface of the wood, to marvel over the depth of the grain. The attraction should be split evenly between the quality of the construction, the design, and the beauty of the material itself. Specifically, I'd like to get back into chair designs. I'll be making more chairs in the next few years.
Q: What are you trying to say with your designs? Where do you see your own line going in the next 5 years?
A: My goal is to engage both the nerdiest woodworkers and those with no sense of design or craft. I want people to feel a pure object lust, a need to caress the surface of the wood, to marvel over the depth of the grain. The attraction should be split evenly between the quality of the construction, the design, and the beauty of the material itself. Specifically, I'd like to get back into chair designs. I'll be making more chairs in the next few years.
The Cupertino Cantilever table is handmade with traditional techniques for ultimate strength and balance, and is built with a maple base and black walnut top.
Q: What are some of your favorite new design trends?
A: My greatest fear is to be part of a trend. I really, really don't want to be the next bird silhouette or fake moustache or deer head. Design trends… that just sounds gross to me.
Q: What are some of your new favorite product lines?
A: Roy Denim, Festool Power Tools, Tailor Stitch, Esquivel Shoes
Q: What designers inspire you?
A: My woodworking holy trinity has always been George Nakashima, Sam Maloof, and James Krenov, though I saw a Gary Knox Bennett desk recently at an exhibition that awed me. I really like what Joey Roth is doing. I'm totally enamored with the work of Ron van der Ende. This has made me realize I need to get out of the workshop more and see some new things!
Photography by Karen Cline of Pretty Simple productions
Q: What are some of your favorite new design trends?
A: My greatest fear is to be part of a trend. I really, really don't want to be the next bird silhouette or fake moustache or deer head. Design trends… that just sounds gross to me.
Q: What are some of your new favorite product lines?
A: Roy Denim, Festool Power Tools, Tailor Stitch, Esquivel Shoes
Q: What designers inspire you?
A: My woodworking holy trinity has always been George Nakashima, Sam Maloof, and James Krenov, though I saw a Gary Knox Bennett desk recently at an exhibition that awed me. I really like what Joey Roth is doing. I'm totally enamored with the work of Ron van der Ende. This has made me realize I need to get out of the workshop more and see some new things!
Photography by Karen Cline of Pretty Simple productions
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A: I've always felt an impetus to create — to generate an idea, execute it and see it manifested. I was the kid who was way more interested in building the skateboard ramp than skating it. I ultimately found wood to be a satisfying medium, and furniture gives me an opportunity to build objects that people have intimate relationships with — gatherings around a table, genius expressed on the top of a desk, meditation in a comfortable chair, etc.